Are we going to see engines revving to 23,000 RPM?
It all depends on other restrictions that are enforced such as aerodynamic and tire specs. The engines by themselves may be capable of revs above 19,000 but may be limited due to other constraints of the car.
Car aerodynamics and tires have nothing to do with the redline of the engine. There are three big factors that limit the redline of any engine. 1)The amount of internal friction within the engine. This friction increases as engine speeds rise to the point where the engine itself cannot produce more torque at a given speed and the horsepower generated by the engine begins to drop off as engine speed is increased. 2)The rate at which air can flow through the ports and valve openings is also limited by the local speed of sound inside the ports. The engine will effectively be choked at this sonic speed, the flow rate of air reaches a maximum. No aditional air available means no additional horsepower. 3)Internal integrity of the engine. The forces generated by a piston on the connecting rod, crank, wristpin, etc is incredible at these speeds: something like 5000-7000 times the force of gravity. For every engine design there is at least one "weakest link", in other words some component that will fatigue prematurely if the engine is revved over a certain RPM. All of these items, 1-3, are inter-related. By changing one you change the other two to optimize the design. Every design is a compromise. BTW, the speeds will remain around 19,000 unless they are artificially lowered due to regulation. If engines have to last 2 or 3 races, #3 above will dictate design changes to strengthen parts or reduce RPM. With the same bore/stroke ratio and 300cc cylinders, they won't jump to 23,000 RPM overnight.
Agree. Maybe though F1 will get the performance reduction, or otherwise more interesting races (? ... probably not related) so that they will relax some current material restrictions. This will mean that revs may climb. Pete
So you think the engineers that develop the cars would put an engine in the car, that the car is not capable to handle. The aerodynamics and tires do determine the capabilities of the car and restricts what power the car can handle. I also agree with the other factors you mentioned.
A race car can never have too much power ... seriously, so the engineers will be making an engine that has the absolute maximum power possible (reliability, etc. taken into account). They will then make the chassis to handle the power and when all else fails , it is up to the RACING driver to control that power. Remember the 1.5ltr Turbo days ... 1500hp!!!!. Nobody involved with motorracing will ever say detune that engine mate as it is too scary. Remember also if you have a power advantage, you can add wing angle and thus run with more downforce than your competitors and thus have a handling advantage TOO. Pete
