motor

Kissyface · 07-23-2008, 07:43 AM

I posted earlier in the F1 Rumors and News section about the new system McLaren are using on the steering wheel and thought I would start a new thread to discuss is in detail.

Here's a picture of it courtesy of Formula 1 Complete

Reported by the UK's Telegraph, it allows the driver to select different engine mappings.

According to the FIA's race report from Hockenheim, Lewis Hamilton's engine will be checked before the Hungarian Grand Prix.

I have to go, but I'll be back.

styla21 · 07-23-2008, 08:32 AM

Wow. Very, very interesting..
I can't make it out from the picture, but it makes sense.. Talk about multi-tasking though. I'd crash for sure!

Pokiou · 07-23-2008, 09:10 AM

i cant see 4 paddles. i can only see 2 ... unless im looking in the wrong area ????

but who cares HOW many paddles it has ??? there is knobs and switchs all over the thing...

Kissyface · 07-23-2008, 10:38 AM

Boosted · 07-23-2008, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by Kissyface

In all honesty, they are so close together, it's almost as if you could want to change the mapping and hit a rumble strip and blip down a gear on accident. I can see the difference between where you show each of the paddles are, but it seems way too close. With gloves on, won't the paddles feel flush between eachother anyway? Very difficult to tell.

MidEngine4Life · 07-23-2008, 11:53 AM

So then that would make it a 6 paddle wheel lol

ae86_16v · 07-23-2008, 01:50 PM

I thought you can always change engine mapping?

pitfield · 07-23-2008, 02:23 PM

It apears to have 6 paddles. Maybe one is for that rear braking thing tey were tying?

Spiffu · 07-23-2008, 02:49 PM

Looks like Lewis hit the wrong paddle and the steering wheel came off, lol.

Kissyface · 07-23-2008, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by Spiffu

Looks like Lewis hit the wrong paddle and the steering wheel came off, lol.

...and the finger pointing up saying "just a second, lemme put this back on. Woopsie!"

Ferrari will surely be attempting a copy of this but after Silverstone they might want to put a Tom-Tom on Felipe's car

styla21 · 07-23-2008, 08:16 PM

Kissy, this is a really cool thread man. I'm impressed with your diagram too - thanks!
I was confusing the steering wheel release with the up-shift paddle haha. Now it makes sense!

SHIZL · 07-23-2008, 08:39 PM

by the looks of it is upside down and the "steering wheel release" is the upshift and the down shift u cant see my two cents dont know bout the rest

Kissyface · 07-23-2008, 09:48 PM

Judging by most of the replies to my thread, most people think this is some speculation on my part but in most of the F1 community this is a forgone conclusion.

My intention was not to debate whether or not there are four paddles there but perhaps how it works and how it will affect this year's championship and the sport as a whole.

styla21 · 07-23-2008, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by Kissyface

Judging by most of the replies to my thread, most people think this is some speculation on my part but in most of the F1 community this is a forgone conclusion.

My intention was not to debate whether or not there are four paddles there but perhaps how it works and how it will affect this year's championship and the sport as a whole.

This was one of the most original F1 threads i've opened - which wasn't just reporting on past-events, but actually diagnosing team-specific parts and performance that the general public isn't really aware of. Cool!

I wish I knew more about the mechanics of how a driver adjusts torque-bias on corner exit, but I am out of my engineering depth here unfortunately..

Kissy, please elaborate if you can, or any of the other engineering / mechanically talented members on how this may actually work. This is really freaking cool technology. I'd also like to know what other teams are running a similar setup, or variation of.

Kissyface · 07-24-2008, 03:33 AM

It is believed that Renault have a similar system but haven't refined the technology enough to exploit it or perhaps it isn't that advantageous to begin with.

From my understanding it works like this: engine mapping can increase or decrease torque and so by modifying the engine torque on certain parts of a circuit wheelspin is reduced to increase grip on corner exit. For example, you could exit one corner in 3rd gear at 120 mph and 9500 rpm and exit a different corner in the same gear at the same speed at 8500 rpm. It's possible that these settings could be modified during the race to compensate for the changing handling characteristics based on factors such as fuel load and tire wear so the driver can achieve a more balanced performance by offsetting these changes with different engine torque settings. Setup then becomes key on the days leading up to a race where the driver has to run the car at different fuel loads so as to build a database of engine output on that particular circuit then the engineers can determine where the most advantage can be gained.
I will continue to research this and update my findings so at obtain the most accurate information.