Track testing is a very limited commodity for Formula One teams. In 2013, they are limited to just four pre-season tests – the three free practice sessions before a Grand Prix and a single young driver test. The recent furore surrounding Mercedes’ test session with Pirelli highlighted the importance of track time and the potential impact it can have on car development. Ultimately, there is no substitute for real-world running and teams need to maximise the volume and quality of...
The FIA regulations governing the materials used for the construction of Formula One engines prohibits the use of composites for major structural components, and this is set to continue, despite the fact that it is planned to use composite cylinder blocks on a much lower budget race engine soon. However, just one bolted joint away from the engine is the transmission, and there are no such regulations which affect the transmission case. Although composites have not been universally adopted,...
On the face of it, hydrogen is an ideal fuel for an internal combustion engine. The combustion products contain no carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide – indeed the product of complete combustion should be water. It is alternatively presented as a panacea for road transportation by those who point to emissions, and as being a non-starter by those who point out that the production of hydrogen takes much more energy than can be liberated by its combustion, and the difficulties in producing...
I think it’s fair to say that the crankshaft thrust bearing will not be very high on the list of priorities for most engine designers. And yet with higher engine output torques requiring greater (if somewhat intermittent) axial forces within the torque converter or clutch assembly, the thrust bearing now has to do so much more than it was originally designed for. And while a radial bearing can accept forces of many thousands of pounds per square inch, limitations of space and simple...
I would guess that very few of those who handle cams – in that they either buy them or install them, or have some form of interaction with them in any way – have ever thought about the actual profile of the cam and the way it is generated. Sure, enthusiasts regularly talk about cam timing and lift, or even about valve lash or ‘lobe separation’, but in consideration of how such timing and lift is achieved in the practical sense I’ll bet that only a tiny fraction...