Up close with Formula E

[Mark]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24918209

[Tazio]

Interesting video Mark. It should be a fun series, but I dont like the air foils on the wheels. It reminds me of Indy cars.

[airshifter]

Looks to be interesting stuff. With what appear to be high performance street tires (with treads at the very least) and in the instant torque of the electric motors they should be a handful to drive. I'm wondering if they will have torque limiters or such?

[TheFamousEccles]

Interesting stuff. I like the low downforce aero configuration, and that the driver will have to handle a lot of torque through what are effectively road tyres. Not sure about the "push to pass" thingo, but lets wait and see how it goes. Is there any word on TV broadcasting?

[555-04Q2]

Driver, "I've stopped at turn 7."

Pit wall, "What happened? You crash or mechanical failure?"

Driver, "Neither. Bloody batteries are flat mate!"

[airshifter]

Also of note was the mention of two cars per driver. I wonder what the reasoning is there?


Push to pass followed by limp home mode?

Drivers limping into the pits on solar cells?

Positioning on track to jockey for electricity transmitted from the stands?

Intentional late braking to recapture more braking energy?


Back to being serious, it does sound very interesting. With the limits on KERS and the huge braking forces of these and even lesser classes of cars, I'm wondering what the energy consumption per lap will be. Also of note is the fact that the wheel has a shifter on it, so my guess would be that even with the motors they will be trying to maintain the most efficient rev ranges as much for "economy" as power.

[555-04Q2]

Also of note was the mention of two cars per driver. I wonder what the reasoning is there?


Push to pass followed by limp home mode?

Drivers limping into the pits on solar cells?

Positioning on track to jockey for electricity transmitted from the stands?

Intentional late braking to recapture more braking energy?


Back to being serious, it does sound very interesting. With the limits on KERS and the huge braking forces of these and even lesser classes of cars, I'm wondering what the energy consumption per lap will be. Also of note is the fact that the wheel has a shifter on it, so my guess would be that even with the motors they will be trying to maintain the most efficient rev ranges as much for "economy" as power.

The way I look at this formula, it will be better to drive at an average speed with low energy consumption than to go flat out and use a massive amount of energy. I suppose it depends on the number of laps they will do and the range of the cars which I'm sure they would have taken into account. But this could land up being an eco run series if they not careful.

Top Gear showed how a car that can theoretically do 200 miles can be flat after just 20 odd if driven to the limits!

[Koz]

So um, why 2 cars per driver?

Is this going to be something like...

Start with fully charged car #1, drive around as long as you can... Limp to pits get into the car #2 and hope it lasts till the end of the race??

[Mark]

Two cars does seem odd. If the cars cannot manage the distance, then have 2x shorter races like they do in other series?

[555-04Q2]

At the end of the day, don't care what anyone says, nothing beats the good old internal combustion engine for plain old practicality and reliability!

Is there no info on how long the races are going to be and/or the range of the cars?

[AndyL]

Two cars does seem odd. If the cars cannot manage the distance, then have 2x shorter races like they do in other series?

That would make much more sense wouldn't it. Switching cars half way through the race is just drawing attention to the biggest deficiency of the technology they're trying to promote.

[555-04Q2]

Two cars does seem odd. If the cars cannot manage the distance, then have 2x shorter races like they do in other series?

That would make much more sense wouldn't it. Switching cars half way through the race is just drawing attention to the biggest deficiency of the technology they're trying to promote.

Exactly! The dumb thing is it is never going to be the future of powering automobiles. There are just to many downsides. It's actually not green as manufacturing the batteries and disposing of them is worse than the combustion engines emissions. Then take into account the poor range, replacing batteries every couple of years, needing a charge station everywhere. I don't see why people persist with electric powered cars. Water or nuclear are the future, start perfecting them instead.

[Koz]

Races will begin by standing start and last for approximately one hour with drivers making two mandatory pit stops in order to change cars. Engines will be restricted to power saving mode (133kw / 180bhp) but can be temporarily increased to maximum power (200kw / 270bhp) by using the 'Push-to-Pass' boost system.

So basically, a car can last a 20 minute stint?

This is a pathetic excuse for a joke.

http://www.fiaformulae.com/guide/event-format

[555-04Q2]

http://www.fiaformulae.com/guide/event-format

That has to be the dumbest racing formula / idea I have ever heard :shock:

What a waste of time.

[Bagwan]

It certainly will be different to anything we've seen , that's for sure .

Give it a chance , guys .
While I agree with the idea of changing cars going against the idea of promoting the longevity of the batteries , which should be paramount in importance , it will enter into a few new ideas we haven't seen yet .

Consider first , the idea of this change over having the driver rushing out of one and into the other with a little bit of feel of the old Lemans-style start where they ran to the cars .
It could be complete mayhem , where a trip loses you the race , or incredible clockwork , where a little ballet training might be of use .

To pass someone in the pits might be worth a little more kudos than at present .


And , then consider that no two cars are ever perfectly equal , and that a driver running away from the field might not feel so comfortable in the second car .
It might just say that the driver who can master this is a more adaptable one .


You guys seem right , though , that this seems ripe to fail , and looks to have been designed so it will .

[airshifter]

Races will begin by standing start and last for approximately one hour with drivers making two mandatory pit stops in order to change cars. Engines will be restricted to power saving mode (133kw / 180bhp) but can be temporarily increased to maximum power (200kw / 270bhp) by using the 'Push-to-Pass' boost system.

So basically, a car can last a 20 minute stint?

This is a pathetic excuse for a joke.

http://www.fiaformulae.com/guide/event-format

That link explains most of what most of us have been wondering. And really if you look at the entire site, they make it clear that their purpose is far from being just about the racing.

And I like it. I can see no down side to furthering development of something that is already in the marketplace, and IMO will continue to grow in the marketplace. Electric and hybrid cars alone are surely not the total answer for all our global issues, but they do provide alternatives and the technology is still growing in leaps and bounds.



Think about just how many aerodynamic, safety, efficiency, and plain old just fun and cool features in modern day cars were inspired by developments and engineering in various racing series. I love a good old fashioned ICE as much as the next guy, and I've seen them raced in more formats than I can think of. But I can get my head around this series as well.

[steveaki13]

Two cars does seem odd. If the cars cannot manage the distance, then have 2x shorter races like they do in other series?

Totally agree.

Who's idea would it have been to reckon changing cars mid race would be a good idea. :laugh:

[555-04Q2]

It is certainly going to be strange watching a bunch of race cars going round the track....making no sound at all!!!!!!!!

[steveaki13]

It is certainly going to be strange watching a bunch of race cars going round the track....making no sound at all!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lipRfJx0aHg

:stareup:

[555-04Q2]

It is certainly going to be strange watching a bunch of race cars going round the track....making no sound at all!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lipRfJx0aHg

:stareup:

Eish! Sounds like a cat on heat :p: or more accurately like my wife whining at me when I've had one to many :D

[call_me_andrew]

I don't mind changing cars (actually I mind a lot, it even bothers me when MotoGP riders switch to rain bikes) so much as I mind changing cars in a live pit stop. Weren't Le Mans starts banned for safety?

[Doc Austin]

I think electric cars will be awesome once they get them fully developed. The first few years could be a disaster, but once the cars are reliable and can charge quickly we will have a great new sport. I wish this had been done in 1973 or so, back when we first knew energy was going to be a problem.

What I can tell you for a fact is that electric power systems have revolutionized RC aircraft. In the smaller sizes there is no substitute for electric power and internal combustion engines have all but disappear in high performance aerobatic planes.

In the beginning, the loss of sound was a bit disturbing because you use that as an aid to your flying, but once I learned to listen to the motor and interpret what it was doing, I came to really love the sound. It's almost like a littler turbine. It's nice to be able to go to the field and actually talk to your friends instead of screaming over some idiot endlessly tuning his IC engine. With an electric, you just hit the throttle and it goes every time.

Since I started flying electric planes in 2008, I have seen charge times for a 2200mah battery pack go from one hour down to about eight minutes! I've also seen the weight cut in half, and the price dropped from $70 down to about $6 or $7.

How all of this relates to motor racing is that we have seen all this progress made by the RC cottage industry, which doesn't have all that money for development. If you put electrics into the hands of well funded racing teams and in a competitive atmosphere, we will see quantum leaps in this technology.

I am very hopeful Formula E will succeed and I hope motorsports fans will embrace it as the future.

[Whyzars]

The biggest downside for the "one weekend a year" F1 fan is the bothersome noise and fumes.

With "E" they will be able to enjoy a caviar dipped cracker in the peace and dignified murmur of the chattering class.

Nothing but polite company, fresh air and the clink of champagne flutes.

Heaven.