Goodbye 18k RPM v8's: F1 is Officially going Turbo 4-banger!

[scheides]

1.6L 4-banger, specifically. This is pretty cool!

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/10/o...e-four-cylind/

[mlomker]

A good opportunity for more technology to trickle down.

[turbotalon1g]

Hey, they are using FFM toO!

[Febo]

Is there really no timing chain on that engine?

[awd-drifter]

Gonna be insane. Definite witchcraft goin' on in those engines. lol.

[LingLing]

It's pretty cool that they're trying something new, but I do have my doubts. First they lower the maximum allowed RPM, now they're completely changing platforms. What's next? No exhaust noise over 98db, and it must pass CA smog?

Don't get me wrong, I love Formula 1 and I don't ever want it to go away. But this is a HUGE change. Questions that come to mind are, how is this going to affect the handling of the car, how is the new reduced engine allowance going to affect lap times and power? However, I can see this making F1 even better to watch. Now that teams are going to be allowed an even more limited number of engines they are going to have to focus even more on reliability and overall balance. Plus now that were going to get to see millions of dollars of R&D in to a 4 cylinder, I am sure this will push the envelope (in all aspects) for power output and reliability for the 4 cylinder platforms.

You could call this an early morning rambling, so I apologize if any parts or all of it is just a bunch of useless shit.

[TwoTalons]

Well, it's not the first time F1 has made a major engine change and likely won't be the last. What I don't get is they want to keep costs down yet they do something like this. Will be interesting to see how this plays out. Four engines per season?? Ya right.

[123abc]

Originally Posted by Febo

Is there really no timing chain on that engine?

Nope, looks like gears.


I'm liking this rule change. It'll be like a blast to the past....

[Matt D.]

This will prove to be interesting. I wonder if they're going to limit boost like stupid CART did.

[jrohner]

I say just limit engine size and RPM, and tell them to have at it. Do whatever else you want with the engine.

And they could deliver a couple engines to me, I wouldn't mind.

[jrohner]

And they should throw the Coates rotary valve heads on them while they're at it.

[scheides]

Originally Posted by jrohner

And they should throw the Coates rotary valve heads on them while they're at it.

Holy eff those are awesome! I hadn't heard of them before. The high-rpm aspect makes it well worth doing.

[DoughtCom]

Wow, this is gonna own.

[FattyBoomBatty]

Originally Posted by jrohner

And they should throw the Coates rotary valve heads on them while they're at it.

They should, but for some reason, those haven't caught on with any major manufacturer for cars. I found that site back in 2001 or 2002 after thinking about what kind of awesome improvements could be made. It turns out someone beat me to that punch.

Anyway, the 4 cylinder idea is great and I can't wait to hear numbers from teams like Brorarri.. er Ferrarri.

[Pushit2.0]

F1 did run turbo 4 cylinders and 6 cylinderss making a ton of power for 1 quick qualifying lap, then dropped the power so it would last the race.

As for limiting the boost I think they covered that by saying they can only have a hand full of engines for the hole season.

Its about cutting costs on one hand and trying to further develop products that could be used in cars of the future. Which for the most part is small displacement high MPG engines.

~John

[MustGoFaster]

And also dropping to a 12,000 RPM rev limit. I'll miss the sound more than anything.

But while dropping engine size and output, they are also adding in hybrid systems or as they call them KERS, Kinetic Energy Recover Systems. So overall, speed should be similar.

And yes Febo, there is no belt or chain. As the picture shows they used magical gears to drive the cam. It's less common but out there.

[blackrosenova400]

Nobdy has mentioned the coolest part of the whole thing..... DIRECT INJECTION!!

[MustGoFaster]

Originally Posted by blackrosenova400

Nobdy has mentioned the coolest part of the whole thing..... DIRECT INJECTION!!

Meh. Diesels have been direct injection for...ever... It will be interesting to see what they manage to do with it. I'd guess the only reason they didn't use it already was some rule that said so.

[goodhart]

^^Not to mention Mazdaspeed 3's and 6's have it, and its really nothing special on those, they really struggle to make any kind of big power.

[blackrosenova400]

There are nice gains to be had, bieng able to control fuel timing.....