Source: http://www.automobil-produktion.de/2012/04/elektro-formel-1-startet-noch-2012/ Formula E will start in Fall. The only parameters will be a fixed battery weight and a fixed vehicle weight, nothing else (apart from safety rules, I suppose). There will be a knockout system with 24 cars, a single race lasting 15-20 minutes. First races will the this and next year and a championship from 2014 onwards.
Now that has the possibility to be very good - Kinda "Can-Am for laptops"..... *If* it takes off and a few manufacturers get involved (Tesla? Fisker?) it's gonna get expensive and that usually prompts more rules & regulations. I wish them well with it though. Just keep 'em the hell away from F1 - Beyond a support race maybe - But I suspect the crowd reaction may not be what they want - "No noise!" WTF? They'd get booed out of there! Cheers, Ian
Hey, Lifted from this weeks SI. For reasons that need not concern us here, it'll be 3 jpgs, all called 'image'!..... Cheers, Ian Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maybe someone should inform the FIA that we already have formula E and it's run by 15-year-olds and middle-age nerds down at the local hobby shop.
But, not at 170MPH & 2.6 seconds to 60 thru city streets...... It will never, ever, supplant F1, or almost any suck-squeeze-bang-blow motor, but I wish them the best with it. I like their "one day & done" approach too. More motorsport, of any description has gotta be good, no? Cheers, Ian
I've got this down as being a one year wonder at best! Motor racing is about more than just cars trying to go faster than the opposition! (especially for those watching at a circuit) - it's about the noise, the smell of the exhaust, the shock-wave that messes with you stomach as the cars go by! A big part of seeing F1 live is the start, when all the cars gather on the grid, revving their nuts off as they do their approaches to their grid spots, then sitting on idle speed as they wait for the cars behind to park up, whilst at the same time the fumes from the exhausts drift into the crowd. Then there's the building up of the noise level as the lights go on and the revs rise until they hit their crescendo as all 5 lights are on and then........BANG! - all of that pent up energy is released in a cacophony of noise, as they scream through 1st gear in a split second and launch the cars off the line! suddenly, all that's left for the crowd is the diminishing noise level and the remains of exhaust fumes and a burning rubber smell from those who had too much wheel-spin! Then as they approach for the start of the next lap, you get a pre-warning build up of sound, and just as you think you're braced for the noise level as they go past, they try to rip your eardrums out whilst at the same time creating a shock-wave that tries to pull your stomach down the track with them! With electric cars, off the line you might get an electric hum like a herd of electric cows mooing, and a hint of burnt rubber possibly, and you'll marvel at how quick they pull away, but I can't help feeling that once they've moo-ved away, you'll be left thinking: Mmmm...... So what? Then, on the following laps there'll be no sound build up, you'll just watch them whoosh past in almost silence and feel like there's something just not right about it, like your senses are missing something primeval that stimulates you. Tell you what, when you're watching the next Grand Prix on TV, try watching it with the sound switched off and see how entertaining it is! - I'm sure you'll think it's definitely lacking something!
Couldn't agree more. Nicely put! Personally, I'm with you 100%. I've said before, until you've experienced F1 'up close & personal" you simply can't grasp what they're all about. And as you say, the standing start is something to behold. OTOH, they should be pretty quick and are running in "city centers" - Maybe spawn a few more fans for "the real thing"? And that can't be bad, surely? As for "one & done", I dunno - Seems JT and the boys in Paris want it, so that's a good start. I may be wrong, but he also makes a good point about sponsors wanting to be involved - "We're all about hugging trees" blah, blah. Two cars is an interesting concept too - That could get "entertaining" I also wonder if they'll slow down "late" in the race the way R/C cars used to? - Screaming fast off the line, but struggling to finish..... [I'm out of touch with electric R/C but back in my day "we" couldn't compete with the works drivers and their ability to grab the best cells from the 1,000's they tested. Li-ion (and Li-po now) may have removed that problem?] Cheers, Ian
Just got done with a weekend of RC racing with my son. Brushless motors and LiPo batteries have made fuel planes and cars and boats obsolete in the RC world. I can easily see it happening to full size cars; I was a die-hard fuel racer but now even I'm converted. When my kids inherit my Ferraris, they will be scrounging for gas. The electric motor in LaFerrari is an omen. BTW the RC electric cars make a lot of gear noise. Think of straight cut trannies in 1:1 cars, they will make some noise.
Not a chance, from what I understand, Fisker is broke and Tesla has lost $650 million dollars the last two years
Some interesting posts in this thread from people that have played down the importance of sound in other engine threads...
OK, thanks for that. I kind of figured as much. [Although, my LHS still seems to sell plenty of gas powered stuff.] Me too. Back in my day (Ni-cads!) the top electric guys were the ones importing the cells - They'd literally put the entire shipment on testers and cherry pick the best. Was impossible to compete, so we ran gas cars..... Not a "satisfying" noise by any means IMO! The closest I got was the diesel Audis at Road Atlanta a few years back - Tire noise and "whoosh" as they went by didn't exactly set the heart racing! I gonna guess that's at least partly aimed at me?!.... I've played down the differences between configurations, but not that noise (that you *feel*) is unimportant. They'll be loud and still shriek nicely IMO. I certainly don't want to listen to gearbox noise!..... Cheers, Ian
Partly, yes And I agree, hopefully the new engines deliver the goods. I still remember how the V10s made your whole body shake
+1 That's one of the prime reasons I support Toyota in the LMS; their engines sound fantastic! All that diesel crap I care not for...
I'll stop watching racing series if they'll be solely electric powered. I don't believe we will not have way to drive petrol powered cars in the next 100 years. All mainstream cars will be powered by hydrogen; petrol will be for the mere rich but still available. There'll be a hybrid sort of fuel.
Motorsports invention was a grassroots movement driven by a passion. This is a contrived political posturing passed through the FIA's digestive system. I would add far more dangerous to anyone in the vicinity because these things make little to no noise to warn anyone of there velocity or position.
