2014 regulations

[Retro Formula 1]

It's going to be different.

1.6L turbo's, 15k rev limits, starter motors, mandatory 8 speed box and a requirement to be propelled by non-combustion at all times in the pit lane.

http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.ns ... _20.07.pdf (http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/A0425C3A0A7D69C0C12578D3002EBECA/$FILE/2014_F1_TECHNICAL_REGULATIONS_-_Published_on_20.07.pdf)

[Bagwan]

The new regs for F1 are released , and we're going electric , kids .

5 .18 -"It must be possible for the driver to start the engine at any time when seated normally at the wheel and without any external assistance."

And , that goes along with the real kicker :
5.19 -"The car must be run in electric mode (no ignition and no fuel supply to the engine) at all times when being driven in the pit lane."

So , KERS moves from being an assist , to being a starter , and the drive train proper in the pit lane .
So , now your KERS had better work , and work well , or you're going home early .

It's gonna change the whole feeling in the pit lane with all the cars running in silent mode . They might be actually able to converse without the radio in the ear .



One thing I've been wondering is how best to achieve the starter mode if the engine has quit on track . If the car is set in motion by the KERS motor , is this the best way to start the engine , or will they clutch it to the motor and start it separately ?

[Mark]

Interesting. I think even the current KERS would have enough power to get the cars down the pit lane. However having it as a starter isn't really an issue as with modern ECU's the cars don't stall anyway.

[Bagwan]

Interesting. I think even the current KERS would have enough power to get the cars down the pit lane. However having it as a starter isn't really an issue as with modern ECU's the cars don't stall anyway.

Well , they'll have to let them stall completely , given they can't use any petrol in the pitlane .

The way they are now , they are never run without the engine .
Of course , with 80hp or so , they should have the power , so they will likely just run up to the pit exit , and flick on the ignition , as there is very little spinning momentum in those motors .
I do think that's most likely .
With a little thought , and your post , Mark , I guess I've answered my own question .

[Mark]

I guess the relevance is to start stop technology which is already featured in many road cars.

[Bagwan]

Easy to police as well , as all they'd have to do is have some guys with good ears at either end of the pitlane .

To save gas , you could run through the pitlane . hee hee .

[intheway]

Hmm... what happens when you have to come in to the pits to fix KERS?? ;)

But seriously, KERS is about the only thing that's breaking on the cars these days... I suppose they'll have fixed the reliability issues by 2014 though!

[Rollo]

Interesting. I think even the current KERS would have enough power to get the cars down the pit lane. However having it as a starter isn't really an issue as with modern ECU's the cars don't stall anyway.

The Kerb Weight of a 1.2L VW Polo is 1075kg and the car produces 59bhp.
An F1 Car with 200kg of fuel, plus a 100kg driver (I'm guessing someone like Jeremy Clarkson) plus a 640kg car is still only 940kg, and KERS is worth 80bhp.

KERS by itself would keep an F1 car motoring quite happily on the motorway at normal speeds until the charge ran out.

[SGWilko]

5 .18 -"It must be possible for the driver to start the engine at any time"

Except perhaps when the internals are no longer internal! :p

[Bruce D]

One thing that crossed my mind when reading this was Brundle's comments during the British GP where he said they were battling to bring the KERS up to full charge during a lap because they didn't brake enough during the lap. Now if that is for the current volume of charge and they're increasing the volume, will they increase the ability to store more quickly or will we see cases where someone can't pit just yet because he doesn't have enough charge in the battery to get him in and out of the pitlane?

[SGWilko]

One thing that crossed my mind when reading this was Brundle's comments during the British GP where he said they were battling to bring the KERS up to full charge during a lap because they didn't brake enough during the lap. Now if that is for the current volume of charge and they're increasing the volume, will they increase the ability to store more quickly or will we see cases where someone can't pit just yet because he doesn't have enough charge in the battery to get him in and out of the pitlane?

Possibly, but with turbos, rather than dumping the pressure built up once the throttle has been released, I bet they'll find a way to harness that unused energy, and use it to charge the KERS batteries.

[Mark]

If they are short of KERS power they will have to use the engine to charge the battery on the in-lap.

[wedge]

It's a joke.

The use of hybrid technology for 2014 is beyond a gimmick.

This is what happens when FOTA influences the decision making process. F1 are prototypes but most of FOTA is answerable to shareholders of companies selling 'normal' cars and hence road relevant technology. But then how do you keep those manufacturers in F1?......

[intheway]

If they are short of KERS power they will have to use the engine to charge the battery on the in-lap.

Or cruise to a stop! If you're the last team on the pit-lane you've a short dash to get out after stopping..

[Brown, Jon Brow]

It's a joke.

The use of hybrid technology for 2014 is beyond a gimmick.

This is what happens when FOTA influences the decision making process. F1 are prototypes but most of FOTA is answerable to shareholders of companies selling 'normal' cars and hence road relevant technology. But then how do you keep those manufacturers in F1?......

But racing cars have always had relevance for normal road cars. All the FIA is doing is trying to push the innovation on a bit.

[ioan]

It's a joke.

The use of hybrid technology for 2014 is beyond a gimmick.

This is what happens when FOTA influences the decision making process. F1 are prototypes but most of FOTA is answerable to shareholders of companies selling 'normal' cars and hence road relevant technology. But then how do you keep those manufacturers in F1?......

:rolleyes:

[wedge]

But racing cars have always had relevance for normal road cars. All the FIA is doing is trying to push the innovation on a bit.

Besides weight, what engineering challenge is there for electric powered starts and pit lane use?

I'm all for KERS but there's greater potential with less restrictions than current.

[Mark]

I think one could argue that the time for racing pushing forward road car development has passed, except perhaps in safety development.