Mario Illien: "Tweaks would make V6 engines louder"
- Published on 23 Jan 2015 14:37
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- By: Danny Sosef
Mario Illien says it is possible tweaks to the current generation of turbo V6 cars can produce a louder sound for formula one. The most controversial aspect of the new 'power unit' regulations, introduced last year, is their mild tone in comparison to the screaming V8 and V10s of the past.
Bernie Ecclestone is still pushing hard for changes, and while some solutions were studied and trialled in 2014, the sport will enter a second season in 2015 with the same quieter sound.
But Mario Illien, the famous F1 engine designer who is now working with Renault and Red Bull, has told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that there are some possible solutions that could make the basic V6 layout louder.
He said the biggest problem is the way the engines' 'wastegate' is currently laid out.
"It does not blow into the atmosphere, but into the exhaust, which is very long and quite thick and the sound is lost," Illien said.
He said if another valve exits separately, "the sound that the engine makes would go directly to the outside and you'd hear it a lot better", Illien predicted.
He cautioned, however, that his solution would only produce more noise in certain 'phases' of the power unit operation, such as when the battery charge is full.
"In the race, the benefit would be less," he admitted.
Illien also said the current regulations prescribe the position of the wastegate, speculating: "The FIA was probably concerned it would (otherwise) be used for some aerodynamic tricks".
He also said a shorter exhaust would help, while the typical turbo whistle would be louder in F1 if a bi-turbo was introduced.
And Illien said that if the current maximum fuel-flow rate was increased, the sound of the engine would also be turned up.
Bernie Ecclestone is still pushing hard for changes, and while some solutions were studied and trialled in 2014, the sport will enter a second season in 2015 with the same quieter sound.
But Mario Illien, the famous F1 engine designer who is now working with Renault and Red Bull, has told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that there are some possible solutions that could make the basic V6 layout louder.
He said the biggest problem is the way the engines' 'wastegate' is currently laid out.
"It does not blow into the atmosphere, but into the exhaust, which is very long and quite thick and the sound is lost," Illien said.
He said if another valve exits separately, "the sound that the engine makes would go directly to the outside and you'd hear it a lot better", Illien predicted.
He cautioned, however, that his solution would only produce more noise in certain 'phases' of the power unit operation, such as when the battery charge is full.
"In the race, the benefit would be less," he admitted.
Illien also said the current regulations prescribe the position of the wastegate, speculating: "The FIA was probably concerned it would (otherwise) be used for some aerodynamic tricks".
He also said a shorter exhaust would help, while the typical turbo whistle would be louder in F1 if a bi-turbo was introduced.
And Illien said that if the current maximum fuel-flow rate was increased, the sound of the engine would also be turned up.
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Replies (1)
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Posts: 58
Don't need to tweak it . . . just change one of the primary fuel use rules!!! If the acceptable instantaneous fuel flow rate were raised, the drivers could then use all the engine revs allowed by the rules - but are currently unreachable without violating the fuel use rules. (Who did the math on that?? 1.6L@15,000rpm*Boost factor*stoichiometric fuel ratio = more than 100L/hr.) To keep the higher revs from producing grenades, and thereby preserving engine longevity and cost basis, perhaps a max boost/pop-off valve could be mandated. The extra exhaust would then go right out the pipes, at a higher pitch = more sound with little to no extra engineering/cost.
A slightly higher max rpm and total fuel allotment would also help; but with some slight degradation of engine life expectancy. (Though the V8s and V10s had no mechanical issues running at 18k.) The only real "negative would be the total power available would probably be in excess of 1,000 hp with a ton of torque due to the turbo/electric assist. (It would make for more exciting racing but perhaps be too dangerous on circuits not capable of handling that much power.) So a future downsizing of the engine might be needed. Say to 1.2L or so?
I will say that I prefer the innovative side of F1 more than the current legislative/specification based requirements . . . So to me, I'd probably like to make a 1.2L Turbo-Hybrid V (or boxer) 4 that would scream to 20k and still produce 800 hp!! It would lighter and shorter that the current "power units" as well as being more energy efficient, though perhaps with a bit less torque than the current engines.
I don't think the "sound" of the cars is the real problem anyway. That's just the most noticeable point of contention. It's all the other REQUIRMENTS (such as fuel allotments, rates, engine size/configurations, etc.) that have caused the cars to sound as they do that makes the sport less interesting. Make some reasonable global max power rule (say .5L of fuel per KM of race distance) and then whatever safety rules are required and then let the teams come up with their own solutions.