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Only downside is that Ricardo can learn things about the Honda power unit and the systems they use, which is probably why they want to keep everything internal.

Fun With Physics 1: Calculating the Honda F1 power gap to Mercedes
by Niels Heusinkveld

First of all, the consultants who were in the test was to help in the electrical part. I think it was boullier who confirmed this, but I'm sorry I can not find the news.. And as far as I can understand, the biggest problems of honda are not in the electrical part


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I found something very interesting about the honda facilities. Although the program is for nsx-gt, they use the F1 program installation.
In the video shows the tunnel









Link video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F2nzeAbljs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZZXePoceAY

More info: http://www.racecar-engineering.com/cars/honda-nsx-gt/

godlameroso wrote: ↑

23 Apr 2017, 18:43

Only downside is that Ricardo can learn things about the Honda power unit and the systems they use, which is probably why they want to keep everything internal.

They could restrict access to anything that secretive though so it shouldn't be enough of a reason to rule out collaborations. They could for example focus on the combustion process and ICE themselves if that was the part they wanted to keep secret while working with Ricardo on the ERS side of things.

Of course it doesn't mean it's actually Honda they're working with if it's true they were there, it could be on the transmission side of things with McLaren too.

They've a good span of knowledge.

I have read somewhere that Honda build a new big wind tunnel in Usa for road cars and sport cars. Because of they are not chasis maker in F1 I think they don't use it for f1

If ricardo truly there in testing, for me they are looking for one specific problem, the transmission vibration. It is good anyway.

etusch wrote: ↑

23 Apr 2017, 22:00

I have read somewhere that Honda build a new big wind tunnel in Usa for road cars and sport cars. Because of they are not chasis maker in F1 I think they don't use it for f1

The new WT will be goog for 192MPH and it will be part of the TRC complex of Honda in Ohio. Will have 5 belts one of them dedicated to race cars. Good tech tool to play.

Im thinking why f1 still prohibit full scale WT since it is related to road car Development. About cost, teams can rented available WT compared to build one

Who's building the Honda engine?
Found this: "More teams is better, more teams running is better definitely, [but] there's always a price to pay for that which is obviously deviating our resources to maybe build more engines," Boullier said."
Bouillier seems to refer to our (McLaren)resources building more engines.
McLaren have long been in building engines without ever building themselves:
1) 1970's till now McLaren Nicolson to have their own DFV rebuild (improvement) services. Last high profile project was to rebuild a Matra V12 for historic racing so very far from F1.
2) Current V8 turbo for their road car. Origin this was a Nissan commissioned engine done by TRW. Rights and plans bought by McLaren at the TRW liquidation sale. Handed over to Ricardo to develop and produce.
Can anyone shed light of what is McLaren's involvement in the manufacture and development of the Honda engine?

Formula 1's Strategy Group is set to face calls on whether it should intervene to help Honda make better progress, on the back of the Japanese manufacturer's difficult start to the 2017 season.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-s ... da-897438/

Let's hope the strategy group indeed will allow Honda to make up ground. They need all the help they can get.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-s ... da-897438/

What form of help are they going to give them? There's no magic 'performance' knob they can turn up and it's not like BTCC where they could let them run more boost to gain performance.
I just can't see how it's going to work as the engine fundementally seems to not have power or reliability.
If McHonda were allowed a load of extra test days the rest of the midfield would cry fowl at McLaren getting extra chassis and aero testing.
They could allow Honda penalty free engine changes but that won't make it faster if it can't even survive a few laps without imploding.
Changing the fuel flow limit would hamper them with having to carry more fuel and again if the engine can't last a race it's pointless.
Practically it's too late to do anything for them this year as the engine just can't last. If it was a bit of a truck, reliable but slow something perhaps could be done but with the thing shaking itself to pieces i cant see much hope until that fundementally problem is solved.

Also the embarrassment factor for Honda is pretty bad....

The embarrassment factor can't be worse then it is right now.

They could allow them unlimited engine changes / more tires in weekends so they can run test program during GP weekends / allow them testing with (older) chassis / access to Mercedes/Ferrari/Renault data. There's tons of stuff that can be done.

They could let them use more KERS storage/deployment, but even that would need revisions.

I suggest the least objectionable offering would be additional test time / engine allowance. This would hurt the pockets of the struggling teams.

Another one could be a small (1%?) increase in fuel flow - as this could never be spun positively the the recipients of this charity - "we are less efficient" is a hard sell in a hybrid formula. An increase in KERS allowance could be spun positively however "we harvest more".