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Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

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Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#71

Post by corin_ »

nutjob123 wrote: post #6
mikeash wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wasn't aware there was anything wrong with that word. Is it derogatory?

It has a slightly negative connotation.

In my experience it's actually rarely used negatively (ymmv of course) - I only really hear it when the context is "these people (the boffins) do something about which I don't understand", so it's almost self-deprecating to call them boffins. On the otherhand it's also not particularly positive, either.

As an example: Stephen Fry uses it, and he is a.) a geek and b.) not the kind of person to insult people for that kind of thing - when he uses it he always just means that they're people doing something complicated that he doesn't know about.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#72

Post by corin_ »

exDM69 wrote: post #39
encoderer wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't the article say they were working on this for 2 years?

Yes, the article did say that and I found it a bit odd. While they probably have been working on the power unit for two years, the split turbocharger was first seen at the first race. Of course, my knowledge is based on media reports, it is possible that none of the media have seen it in Jerez and Bahrain tests but it was first reported by Craig Scarborough during the Australian GP weekend.

I don't follow F1, but surely with anything that's going to give a team a big competitive advantage, a.) there always has to be a line between "haven't used" and "have now used" and b.) to delay other teams efforts to copy, the later that point comes the better.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#73

Post by gregpilling »

sliverstorm wrote: post #61
TallGuyShort wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a hardcore fan and I love the new sound. I do miss the epic V-12 screaming, but the sound of the turbo? Breath-taking.

I didn't think turbos usually made sounds. Superchargers whine, but turbos seem pretty quiet?

They make a nice whistling and wooshing sound.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#74

Post by gregpilling »

enko wrote: post #24
sbierwagen wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who cares about the sound? I'm tired of seeing blog comments on Jalopnik complaining about it. Of the many dumb excuses car nuts use to whine about electric cars, "they sound different!" is by far the worst.

I have to admit I love the sound of a good engine - and aeroplanes, and boats, trains, everything. It's the sound of power. Watching cars race without that sound is a far less emotive experience. One of the commentators on tonight's Bahrain race said that the safety car sounded much better than the race cars, and I wistfully agreed. That said, I do think some people overdo it a bit and I actually like that FIA is wil…

They have a long history of suppressing innovation though. Chapter 13 of this book is about all the tech that was banned. http://www.amazon.com/Formula-Technology-Peter-G-Wright/dp/0...

It is the most interesting chapter in the book.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#75

Post by ajtaylor »

johnwyles wrote: post #10
ntkachov wrote: post #7

I'm loving the direction F1 is going. Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same, and the cars aren't going as fast anymore, but I love that they are trying to force the manufacturers to improve their lower spec engines. Maybe the next rule change we'll have CVT as a requirement instead of a gear box.

Also keep in mind that Formula E debuts this year; it will be the sport we all eventually follow (not sure how I feel about the passing cars sounding more like aircraft than cars): http://www.fiaformulae.com/

Thanks for the link. I didn't know about Formula E! I watched a video linked off the front page and while I missed the roar of a petrol engine, but it had it's own neat sound.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#76

Post by brc »

ntkachov wrote: post #7

I'm loving the direction F1 is going. Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same, and the cars aren't going as fast anymore, but I love that they are trying to force the manufacturers to improve their lower spec engines. Maybe the next rule change we'll have CVT as a requirement instead of a gear box.

Well, I'm a long-time fan, and I sure miss the noise.

I have nothing against the turbo engines, but the lack of noise takes away a lot of the atmosphere, especially live.

But particlarly odious is the fuel metering. This is racing - not hypermiling. When stupid rules interfere with racing, racing suffers.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#77

Post by sanoli »

brc wrote: post #76
ntkachov wrote: post #7

I'm loving the direction F1 is going. Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same, and the cars aren't going as fast anymore, but I love that they are trying to force the manufacturers to improve their lower spec engines. Maybe the next rule change we'll have CVT as a requirement instead of a gear box.

Well, I'm a long-time fan, and I sure miss the noise. I have nothing against the turbo engines, but the lack of noise takes away a lot of the atmosphere, especially live. But particlarly odious is the fuel metering. This is racing - not hypermiling. When stupid rules interfere with racing, racing suffers.

Long-time fan here who also finds fuel metering ridiculous.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#79

Post by sbierwagen »

gahahaha wrote: post #22

Why would it be bad to put hot air into the engine? For blast furnaces you want to preheat the air going in so that it does not cool down the furnace. Is it just about cooling the engine down, or is it something else?

All three of the replies to your comment are true, but they don't cover everything.

Car engines are heat engines, they extract mechanical work from differences in temperature. Heat engine efficiency is n = 1 - sqrt(Tcold/Thot)

If Tcold, the cold end, isn't cold enough, then you lose efficiency, and thus horsepower. A badly overheating engine loses a lot of power. If you can cool the compressed air back down to ambient, then your engine produces more power.

Re: Mercedes Is Owning This Formula 1 Season

#80

Post by TallGuyShort »

sliverstorm wrote: post #61
TallGuyShort wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a hardcore fan and I love the new sound. I do miss the epic V-12 screaming, but the sound of the turbo? Breath-taking.

I didn't think turbos usually made sounds. Superchargers whine, but turbos seem pretty quiet?

Listen on the downshifts. You can hear the turbines spinning at high speed, lagging behind the V-6's speed a bit. It almost sounds like a sucking sound as they lift off the throttle.
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