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The Quiet Revolution of Formula E Electric Car Racing
pbahra writes One of the greatest emotional triggers at any auto-racing event is the noise. In Nascar, it is the earthshaking growl of V8 American muscle. In Formula One, it is the chest-rattling wail of 15,000 rpm. To some the sound is repellent. To others it is like an opera. But what if there is no sound at all? Welcome to the quiet world of Formula E, a global racing series for electric cars, which debuts this month in Beijing.
I think the idea of cars that go >200mph that barely make a sound is pretty badass...
in other areas of "badass stuff" like planes, the stealth is unquestionably considered "badass"
there's no reason that "badassness" can't carry over from planes to cars
Thank you Dave Raggett
Although the current regulations allow Formula 1 engines to rev up to 15,000 RPM, they don't because that would exceed the maximum fuel flow requirements. I believe the practical limit is around 11,000. F1 introduced a new hybrid powertrain this year that ironically has caused some uproar because it's perceived as too quiet, compared to the screaming V8s and V10s that ran at 18-19,000 RPM. Audi's diesel LMP cars are also quiet compared to other ICE race cars - you don't need earplugs around them - but they're not silent.
I'd love to check out a Formula E race if I have a chance, and I hope the series does well. I think there's the potential for an all-electric racing series to contribute toward the technological development of powertrains in electric road-going cars, just as traditional gas-powered auto racing has with ICE road cars.
my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
They can run at 15k RPM this year. The change was from 18k to 15k.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_engines#Engine_specification_progression
I think they still sound pretty nice, although not a screaming as previously.
...The "opera" category. I'd never been to any sort of motorsports event until I experienced F1 at the Circuit of the Americas. There is nothing like hearing that banshee wail coming at you from all directions. Amazing.
If you're in the US, and more specifically, the Midwest, check out a mini-sprint race if you can. Those little bastards are bonkers, as are the people who typically drive them.
One of the fondest memories of my childhood was being lulled to sleep every Saturday night by the roar of those little race cars, echoing across the valley from a nearby track.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
You mean the wail of high frequency electric motor drivers?
I love auto racing, in all its forms. Can't wait until they start televising this circuit, especially every time a driver pits to swap vehicles; from TFA:
That should be rather entertaining :)
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
This is really cool. I'll probably watch a race... if at all possible. But I'm really watching Formula E as an industry because I can't wait for the day when they announce "Next year, no more car-swapping! You must develop battery-swapping methods!" Let Formula E be the test bed for 30 different battery swapping methods and let the world be better for it.
You should check out MotoGP next spring as well. It's got all the noise and power of F1, but with actual overtaking.
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I used to work in an F1 team.
The thing I hated most was the noise.
There is no downside to Formula E racing. It's quieter. There isn't liquid fuel sloshing around. The races are shorter.
Let's just drop F1 and move over to Formula E. I might even consider going back if that happens.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
For sound, you go to Top Fuel drag races, or, even louder, air shows(The 16 Spitfire low-altitude flyby at Duxford in 2010 for example... Made any F1, Nascar or Indycar race seem tame, no matter what engines you wanted to compare with)
Let me guess, you're one of those guys that think music is better if its louder ...
Loud doesn't impress me. The sound of a turbo blow off value in something like a Toyota Supra as it cycles through the lower gears in just a couple seconds is for more sexy than any top fuel dragster, and thats just out of the factory.
The sound of a Audi turbo diesel in an LMP1 car running at Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mons or at Le Mons is far sexier than the roar of a top fuel dragster where you can rest assured that before the end of the day, part of the sound you are hearing from the dragster is one or more pistons vaporizing and coming out the exhaust. With the Audi turbo diesels you hear more of the turbo blow off and transmission noise than you do of the engine and they do it for 24 hours straight in one piece, and they spend their entire time at the top of the field and in the winners circle or at the minimum on the podium.
Don't get me wrong, TF dragsters are impressive powerful beasts, but they are hardly sexy.
The larger engines are not 'dead ends'. They are too big for the sanctions put in place on F1 to keep the costs and more importantly, the speeds down. If you can make a V6 as fast as a restricted V8, then you've just saved some weight when means faster acceleration. It doesn't mean the V8 is maxed out, its just restricted so theres no point in trying to go any faster with them. With a V6 doing the same, you can almost certainly carry less fuel and less engine weight as well as lower rotating mass. All of these things add up to faster lap times due to better acceleration and braking.
F1, Indy, Champ, all those style of cars has been working to reduce top speeds for the last 10 years at least, probably longer.
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For sound, I've found the best venue is tractor pulling. All kinds of motive power in a single meet, from RR Griffons to high-strung V8 to helicopter turbines to methanol two-stage turbo engines. Because speeds are relatively low you can get really close to the track, it also means more immersion in the sound compared to having cars whizz by at 200+ km/h.
"Let me guess, you're one of those guys that think music is better if its louder ...
Loud doesn't impress me. The sound of a turbo blow off value in something like a Toyota Supra as it cycles through the lower gears in just a couple seconds is for more sexy than any top fuel dragster, and thats just out of the factory."
You didn't read my entire post in context then. It was a reaction to Virtucon complaining that the cars did not squeal as high-revved and quite as loud this year and claiming that the noise was an important part of F1. My point was that if noise is an important part, there are better avenues. I also did point out that WEC, with the LMP1-H's, is my favourite series right now.
"The larger engines are not 'dead ends'. They are too big for the sanctions put in place on F1 to keep the costs and more importantly, the speeds down. If you can make a V6 as fast as a restricted V8, then you've just saved some weight when means faster acceleration. It doesn't mean the V8 is maxed out, its just restricted so theres no point in trying to go any faster with them. With a V6 doing the same, you can almost certainly carry less fuel and less engine weight as well as lower rotating mass. All of these things add up to faster lap times due to better acceleration and braking."
Renault and Ferrari engineers have stated that the V10's and V8's were dead-end. To do any new engineering approaches fit for the racing they do, they would have had to entirely redesign them from scratch. A large part of the problem is material sciences and engineering. The cars themselves are actually slightly heavier this year, and still have insane torque from the V6's.
One of the reason they have been trying to reduce speeds is because of the greater risks of fatal crashes that comes at higher speeds, especially on the older tracks.
Indeed. People are now complaining the cars actually sound like lawnmowers. It's not the high-screeching sounds anymore.
I like the new sound actually.