[callum]

Anyone explain how the ECU on the formula 1 engines control the engine braking?
Formula 1 has become soft.

[Twincam16]

[87seca]

I thought that the new rules meant that there was no longer going to be any engine braking??



As i understand it, Engine braking refers to the rear wheels only. As the car brakes very hard, the ECU determines the grip level (and locking) of the rear wheels, and to avoid locking, the ECU pours extra fuel into the engine to keep the rear wheels from locking up. This is why you see the current (2008) formula 1 cars lock up the rear wheels. They no longer have engine braking.

As the rear wheels are still being driven by the engine, it makes it that much harder for the brakes to be able to lock the rear wheels. Thus adding to the amount of traction the car has.

[Twincam16]

The whole idea of forumula one is to get the fastest, not to hold back the cars with certain restrictions...

[trdee]

if that were true they'd be driving 3000HP turbo monsters right now. the point of formula 1 is to go as fast as the rules allow. the new rules mandate a standard ecu across the board, which means no more traction control, launch control etc etc. It just means the teams have to find different ways of going faster and as far as i'm concerned it's a great thing. It splits the men from the boys when the conditions get tough eg Monaco

[callum]

i agree with getting rid of traction control and launch control as it makes the driving tougher but the cars should be faster. I think its about time F1 cars were reaching +400km/h!!

[trdee]

they're trying to make f1 cars slower for the same reasoning as to why balmain is a 40kmh zone lol. "slower speeds save lives"

[callum]

F1 is supposedly the pinnacle of motorsport, it doesnt exactly live up to that. I think enough has been done with safety, hasnt been a death in the sport for about 14 years.

[YoungTrader]

I think also a contentious point was that drivers were begining to complain that the cars were becoming too fast to drive. I guess this draws back to the safety aspect.

[trdee]

hey man if it were up to me i'd mandate that all cars have to have a minimum of 1500HP and make all the tracks have a 2km long straight... but it's not gonna happen

[Twincam16]

To hard to fast to drive?

Harden the fuck up

[Adjacent]

I thought they placed the restrictions in F1 because the it was a one horse race (pun intended), and to help Honda and Toyota to keep up. But i agree, F1 should be the ultimate with the best technology, aerodynamics, engines, drivers, basically the best their is in the world of motoring.

[callum]

f1 sure needs turbo monsters.

[GTI-TRD]

been there; done that in the 80's too. again - too powerful and dangerous. They were pumping out 1500HP in qualifying specs in '83 form 1.5lt turbo.

Now imagine todays technology and what kind of HP they would pump out...

F1 cars handle well and turn corners and shite - not going to be very practical with 3000Hp now is it
If you want something with max HP go drag racing

I dont believe F1 is soft at all, and with the removal of driver aids this year, they are getting back to real racing and driver skill a little.
F1 is the pinnacle of Technology (the introduction of KERS next yr is a great example) but without rules and reg's it would be totally unrealistic

my two cents
cheers Bretto

[callum]

GTI-TRD, on Jun 20 2008, 08:35 AM, said:

been there; done that in the 80's too. again - too powerful and dangerous. They were pumping out 1500HP in qualifying specs in '83 form 1.5lt turbo.

s##t 1.5 litre turbos with 1500HP back in the 80's.

[trdee]

yes i already said that.. they had 7bar of boost in qualifying trim. ran on toluene/benzene with a drop of petrol to make it legal lol.

listen to the engine surge when it hits boost in the wet wheelspin in a straight line at over 150kmh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE13zilzvXE...feature=related

i dont deny that formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, but just like modern cars, they arent REALLY at the potential they could be at. In the 80's these were the fastest cars you could possibly build, nowadays you couls build faster cars but they dont..

[gzerolla]

its the same with every motor sport every motor sport is limited look at top fuelers

they only user a 400ci engine....when u can put a 600ci engine in a street car.

[callum]

F1 is probably the peak of safety in motorsport for open wheelers. so wouldnt hurt if the cars were faster.

[lewwy]

they got rid of the drivers aids so its the driver actually driving the car not a computer. also it makes more of a level playing field to make races more closer, exciting and to encourage overtaking.

personally i think its is better know, especially watch the monaco round.

[callum]

French F1 round is on tonight. If you have ten HD its on early.
Hope alonso gets smashed...

[Four age]

callum, on Jun 19 2008, 02:04 AM, said:

F1 is supposedly the pinnacle of motorsport, it doesnt exactly live up to that. I think enough has been done with safety, hasnt been a death in the sport for about 14 years.

A marshall was killed in melbourne a few years back after he was hit with a wheel after it came off in a smash. Was a big thing making the barriers higher etc.

[TERRA Operative]

trdee, on Jun 19 2008, 12:58 PM, said:

hey man if it were up to me i'd mandate that all cars have to have a minimum of 1500HP and make all the tracks have a 2km long straight... but it's not gonna happen

With a slight rise and a hairpin at the end......

[callum]

Four age, on Jun 23 2008, 06:33 PM, said:

A marshall was killed in melbourne a few years back after he was hit with a wheel after it came off in a smash. Was a big thing making the barriers higher etc.

Thats true. I remember a few years back at monza a marshall was killed also. hard to find a compromise in all this.

[Talasas]

I think all the rules so far have been good to keep the change going. I think in order to keep the sport interesting they should slightly relax the rules a bit. This way manufacturers have are forced to develop rather than spend $10M on getting every last 0.1hp out of an engine. KERS is a great example of this. Then the odd change here and there, like bringing back slicks and (what I would love to see) active suspension. Removing the rev limit would also be really cool to see them going over 20k rpm.

Of course allowing active suspension and then removing it again would get people shifting in their seats since it was the controversial cause of Ayrton Senna's untimely death at Imola in 1994.

For now I'm going to keep watching it, it has been improving in the last few years. If we do indeed get slicks back it could prove to be very exciting if we get some similar weather to this year.

[GTI-TRD]

Talasas, on Jun 24 2008, 11:41 PM, said:

Of course allowing active suspension and then removing it again would get people shifting in their seats since it was the controversial cause of Ayrton Senna's untimely death at Imola in 1994.

I thought his steering failed/ frontend collapsed?
either way I remember watching it as a youngen and being quite moved by the whole thing... still remember seeing it quite vividly. It was replayed on CH 9's 20-1 show a few months back. made me shiver all over again.
and lets not forget the other guy that died first that same weekend, Roland Ratzenberger... and Barrichello very nearly did too.

I too am liking the rule changes thus far. KERS will be very interesting.

[Hiro Protagonist]

GTI-TRD, on Jun 25 2008, 11:09 AM, said:

I thought his steering failed/ frontend collapsed?
either way I remember watching it as a youngen and being quite moved by the whole thing... still remember seeing it quite vividly. It was replayed on CH 9's 20-1 show a few months back. made me shiver all over again.

From memory, his steering "failed" as in failed to turn the car because he bottomed out. This was due to 1) the active suspension, and 2) the fact that the tyres were cold (just come off a lengthy safety car period) so pressures were down and this dropped the ride height. Some people don't think this affected things though, and it's up for debate).

300km/h into a corner with no steering, no wonder he died.

[callum]

it would have been good if the development of active suspension was continued. F1 really restricts the potential of the technology there could be. The moment something bad happens there is a knee jerk reaction, eg. more regulations.

[GIVE WAY]

Talasas, on Jun 24 2008, 09:41 PM, said:

For now I'm going to keep watching it, it has been improving in the last few years. If we do indeed get slicks back it could prove to be very exciting if we get some similar weather to this year.

Slicks are in next year.

[Blind Kid Seeks]

gzerolla, on Jun 20 2008, 07:06 PM, said:

its the same with every motor sport every motor sport is limited look at top fuelers

they only user a 400ci engine....when u can put a 600ci engine in a street car.

Just for the record TF dragsters are 500 Ci's... and 45+psi makes this things pretty much the top of the charts when it comes to screwing every ounce possible out of them

[gzerolla]

^^^ so a 600ci engine wouldn't make a difference with the same amout of work done to it?