There has been much time, effort and money expended in bringing kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS) to Formula One. The much-heralded introduction saw many of the teams developing a system at great expense and not choosing to race it, or those racing with KERS not really seeing a huge benefit.
At the end of the 2009 race season, the media seemed to be of the opinion that the team that had achieved most from KERS, having used the most successful system, was McLaren. Its KERS system was developed in conjunction with Mercedes and Zytek. Read more…
In the July 2010 issue of RET-Monitor, keyword: heads-blocks, I gave some insight into fracture splitting of the main bearing cap. The advantages of a fractured split line were discussed, including the design freedom that can be achieved using fracture splitting.
To many, the words ‘fuel’ and ‘economy’ have no real place in the motorsports world. After all, and as everyone knows, to save fuel the driver has to be delicate on the throttle, avoid braking and keep in as high a gear as he (or she) can. And with these actions seemingly totally at odds with the concept of travelling quickly, I might find it hard to do anything other than agree.
The use of composite materials in racecars is not new; nor does it represent a particular novelty for race engines. The strength, stiffness and low density make them ideal for many components, both structural and decorative.
One of the biggest changes to the engine ECU in recent years has been the rise of the drive-by-wire system. Generically known as ‘x-by-wire’ or sometimes (incorrectly) as ‘fly-by-wire’, such systems were introduced by vehicle OEMs in response to more punitive emissions legislation in recent years.
I’m sure we’ve all been accused of it at some time - the compulsive desire to have things just the way we want them, with little or no compromise. Perfection is the goal, anything else is a poor second best and, except in the case of pure genius perhaps, it is often considered a major flaw in one’s character. But in the world of engine dynamometers, control is everything.
While the main purpose of a crank is obvious, it has many other demands placed upon it. Rotating constantly as it does, it is ideal for taking drives to other assemblies such as pumps. While it is possible to drive pumps electrically - and there are some advantages to doing this - it is banned in some forms of motorsport, and the vast majority of series-production engines drive their pumps mechanically.
In my 
In the recent coatings Focus article in Race Engine Technology (Issue 47, June/July 2010), there was brief mention of thermal dispersion coatings. The aim of these coatings is to eliminate surface ‘hot spots’ on components and thereby equalise the temperature. Their most common use is on cooling system components, although one supplier we spoke to said one of his customers found success using the coating on aluminium connecting rods, making them less prone to failure.
The complex interaction of components that represents the valvetrain operates in some of the most difficult tribological circumstances. With rapid changes in instantaneous direction between adjacent parts, and high contact stresses, the challenge of maximising the output of the engine while maintaining an acceptable level of reliability has never been more onerous.
