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Kinetic Energy for Formula One

popsci.com — An innovative fuel-generating system could bring car racing into the green era.

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MaGCoL 98 days ago, made popular 98 days ago

365 diggs
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newmoney08, on 07/04/2008, -6/+0There is nothing than BOOM-engines nowadays i suppose... Other types of engines are not as good as these ones
- irgeorge, on 07/04/2008, -0/+7I've read your comment like 6 times over and I still don't know what you're really trying to say.
RATM4EVER, on 07/04/2008, -0/+19F1 has always been at the pinnacle of race technology, good on them for trying out this new piece of engineering.
Then again, I could see drivers exploiting the device and putting in some ridiculous qualifying laps ....

Ah well, adding or banning components to the cars mid-season is nothing new to the FIA anyway.
- dsmx, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4It's a pity every time someone comes up with something that makes it have a significant advantage over the competition it's outlawed.
  - sirbeta, on 07/04/2008, -0/+5We can't have Ferrari losing first place more than once now can we?
  - kansai22, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1And we will cheat and give drivers like Hamilton unfair penalties so that Ferrari keeps winning. F1 = Ferrari First
  - prophetpimp, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2did you forget 2005 when the stupid qualifying and tyre rules were put it in just to ***** around with Ferrari and when schumi was penalized in monaco for "Blocking". The problem with F1 is not Ferrari, its just they change the damn rules way too many times.
- ferrariman60, on 07/04/2008, -0/+4It isn't mid season. This is supposed to happen next season. I do agree with the rest of your statement though. :)
AnalogCamera, on 07/04/2008, -3/+3Well that totally ruins it.
imacbook, on 07/04/2008, -0/+5Lewis Hamilton has wet boots on, I bet you guys didn't notice that!
mchacotay, on 07/04/2008, -0/+8KERS is not a fuel-generating system. It just recover the energy otherwise wasted as heat when the brakes are applied for later use. Very simple yet efficient.
antonio97b, on 07/04/2008, -8/+3Christ. The once great F1 is bad enough already. How can we butcher this race even more?
- tomj88, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3Have you even read this article? One of the bad things about F1 right now is the lack of overtaking, this could be used as a boost so that people can speed up to overtake others.
ferrariman60, on 07/04/2008, -2/+6Great to see F1 on the front page!!

That said, I don't know what to say about this. On one hand, I love that F1 is trying to stay ahead of the curve on this, and retain their spot on the top of the heap in terms of technologically advanced race cars. On the other, I want them to stick with one ***** spec! Why in gods name can't they come up with a spec that will last a couple seasons? I realize that they are trying to cut costs lately with switching to V8s and all, but the cost is easily offset by the cost to develop a whole new engine! They should come up with one spec, allow engine development, and stick to the engine for a few years. That wouldn't kill anyone, would it? And why, for ***** sake, cut downforce by 50% for next season? At least Mosley is stepping down soon. He's hellbent on destroying F1.
- tomj88, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3Engine development is currently frozen if I remember rightly, but I do see your point. They just can't stop tinkering with the rules can they...
  - ferrariman60, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3Correct, it is frozen, I think that engine development is something that should be left open. I meant engine configuration, I apologize for my clear as mud statement.
fragout36, on 07/04/2008, -5/+0Kinetica anyone? Oh the good old days of PS2...

/nostalgia
luftrofl, on 07/04/2008, -2/+2I can see how this technology can be used for helping cut fuel consumption. From reading the article, however, I don't see how this will really make F1 any more "green."

FTA: "The sanctioning group, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), has defined the amount of energy recovery for the 2009 season as 400 kilojoules per lap, giving the driver an extra 80 horsepower over a period of 6.67 seconds."

That's not a reduction in fuel consumption. That's just using the new gained energy for more power. Buried as inacurate.
- htan, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1in general, a "green" technology would have increased efficiency compared to its non-green companion
  
  recovering energy is the focus here, cutting fuel consumption wasn't the intended purpose
  
  rtfa and learn to discern relevant/irrelevant info
  - luftrofl, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1That's not what "green" technology means. If that were the case, you could create a hyper-efficient gas engine that creates 128370129873hp and gets 1mpg and call it green technology. That'd be incredibly efficient, but hardly environmentally friendly.
    
    This technology gives the cars more power. It does not cut fuel consumption. Hence, it is not "green" technology.
kirwoodd, on 07/04/2008, -8/+1If F1 wants to go green then
1) use a bio diesel, as in B100
or
2) go 100% electric
ThatEvilGuy, on 07/04/2008, -6/+8Is anybody else fed up of all this green *****?
- bromac, on 07/04/2008, -0/+3Not if you're any sort of automotive enthusiast. You know, those machines that run on petroleum products.
  
  It's in their interest to get more power and distance out of every drop of fuel. Innovative technology like this does just that. Fewer pit stops for fuel means you gain a huge advantage. And being able to USE that otherwise wasted power is a driver's wet dream. Just because it has a side effect of saving fuel doesn't mean that's their only motive.
  
  And besides, if the necessity of avoiding environmental catastrophe produces awesome machines like this, bring it on.
- RexxHavoc, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0I am it's motor racing not save the whales
  
  they want green... then stop flying 2 separate 747's full of their crap around the world for each race and the drivers doing international P.R. jaunts incessantly
  
  or do all the races on one Continent at a time rather than crisscrossing back and forth
  or put an end to testing at tracks the week before the race there, that only leads to processional races.
  
  don't get me started...
- prophetpimp, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1i am. I was really hoping Honda would do bad last year because of the green livery and earth dream *****. i wanna be eco friendly like everyone else but there are somethings that should not be touched.
RexxHavoc, on 07/04/2008, -7/+4I'm not even going to get into what a gimmick device this is and how it's more for the mickey mouse fan base than an F1 purist
push to pass button, it's a joke initiated by champ cars
now Derek Daley can get his job back incessantly screaming "THE BUTTON , THE BUTTON, HE'S PUSHING THE BUTTON ... HE'S PUSHING THE BUTTON!" ala ESPN broadcasts of the mid 90's

true GREEN INNOVATION would be opening the formula to any engine design and limit the B.T.U.'s available from what ever fuel source is used

in other words if 200 gallons of gasoline will fuel a current car to the finish of a 71 lap race then calculate the B.T.U.s available from that fuel and apply it to C.N.G., ethanol, etc...
and let the engineers and their 250-600 million dollar annual budgets design something truly note worthy

buried due to lameness of the concept
- SpeedyG, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1I think if there's ANY racing series out there that could really use the unpredictability push to pass provides, it's F1. It's hard enough getting up at dawn to watch the races, then to have a race be a 70-lap parade... ugh.
  
  KERS is, to say the least, fascinating, but it's yet another tinker requiring the teams to spend a lot of engineering dollars to figure out how to get the most out of it. All this business about cost-cutting seems to go in one ear and out the other.
  
  That said, I'll flame Derek Daly with you. True quote from his brief stint doing CBS F1 races during the summer a couple seasons ago:
  
  "The car is controlled at the steering wheel by the driver"
  - RexxHavoc, on 07/05/2008, -0/+0I'm with you about the lack of passing but "both" cars have the button and it's only used once a lap and is not cumulative
- JKAL, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1To me F1 has always been about gimmicks, what I cannot for the life of me undesrtand is how F1 drivers are rated as the best, when it is not the driver but "The richest company with the latest technology that wins", the only way to see who the best driver is, it is to have them all race with the same car, then we can truly say who is the best driver.
  - RexxHavoc, on 07/05/2008, -1/+0keep watching nascar homes...
    
    if I have to explain ... you would'nt understand
jakash, on 07/04/2008, -1/+1This is all round great news, for everybody - the race cars have more power and road cars will be more environmental, but what I wanted really wanted to know is how they are going to store this kinetic energy as the car slows down - will it be like a heavy, rotating, separately spinning wheel, that is used to slow the wheels down by being forced against the tyres or something?
Ghorkvos, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Its not exactly "Going Green" as much as its improving efficiency by storing energy so that it won't be lost. It looks like something that would go alongside the transmission, the whole concept is very interesting.
liuite, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1another company has a CVT that captures regenerative energy in the form of hydraulic. running engine at a more constant speed and storing unused energy will greatly improve fuel efficiency.
sickanimations, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1Finally, a solution to the extravagant waste of energy in braking :)
necroprancer, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1'Is Formula One racing out of step with an auto industry whose greatest innovations have been in the area of fuel economy?'

Lost me right there. Which auto industry would that be? Because the one I know has fought increased fuel economy tooth and nail for decades.
Foda, on 07/05/2008, -0/+0In Formula One the cars generate massive amounts of heat, so much that the rubber on the tires heats up to a point that the drivers must keep them hot. When you see them swerving on the road, they are actually trying to keep the tires at a hot temperature, or the small pieces of rubber on the road will stick and ruin the tires. Braking also generates tons of heat; braking is used quite frequently in F1.
star7, on 07/09/2008, -0/+0I have been critical of Hamilton in the last few races, but yesterday it was good rase!
http://www.autonovosti.com.ua
Wujian01, on 07/20/2008, -0/+0Formula 1 is the platform for car engineering enter the new era....
They are always working on new technology.
Ferrari is the good example
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Kinetic Energy for Formula One

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