xcel
03-20-2009, 01:44 PM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Australian_flag.jpg Racing cars borrow a trick from the Toyota Prius (economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13350762)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Renault_F1_with_KERS.jpgEconomist (economist.com) – Mar. 20, 2009
Renaults F1 R29 with an 18,000 RPM, 2.4L V8, a seven-speed semi-automatic carbon-titanium gearbox and an electric based Magnetti-Marelli KERS hybrid system in Melbourne.
We cannot wait until a Flywheel system reaches the consumer ;) -- Ed.
With the Formula One season opening in Melbourne next week, people are about to be bombarded once again with rhetoric of how “racing improves the breed”. The idea that motor racing is an incubator for technologies that make passenger cars safer and better has always been something of a myth. With its demand for the ultimate of engineering in terms of performance and lightness (and scant regard for endurance and cost), F1 racing is so far removed from everyday life on the road that there is little scope for transferring its technology from the exotic to the mundane.
As often as not, the flow of new automotive ideas is the other way round, from road to track. In fact, the biggest innovation being introduced to F1 racing this year comes from the lowly Toyota Prius and its hybrid forebears.
The technology in question is KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) for capturing and storing the car’s braking energy instead of wasting it as heat. The idea is that racing drivers will then be able to use the stored energy to deliver quick bursts of speed for overtaking—and thereby make the sport more entertaining...
This year, the F1 teams will have the option of using KERS. Next year, it will probably be mandatory...
Used judiciously, KERS should offer three-tenths of a second gain per lap—a lot when the difference between coming first or second can be a few hundredths of a second...
Jaguar and BMW will be selling passenger models equipped with KERS long before Formula One has made its power-boosting technology a decisive factor in wining races… http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13350762
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Renault_F1_with_KERS.jpgEconomist (economist.com) – Mar. 20, 2009
Renaults F1 R29 with an 18,000 RPM, 2.4L V8, a seven-speed semi-automatic carbon-titanium gearbox and an electric based Magnetti-Marelli KERS hybrid system in Melbourne.
We cannot wait until a Flywheel system reaches the consumer ;) -- Ed.
With the Formula One season opening in Melbourne next week, people are about to be bombarded once again with rhetoric of how “racing improves the breed”. The idea that motor racing is an incubator for technologies that make passenger cars safer and better has always been something of a myth. With its demand for the ultimate of engineering in terms of performance and lightness (and scant regard for endurance and cost), F1 racing is so far removed from everyday life on the road that there is little scope for transferring its technology from the exotic to the mundane.
As often as not, the flow of new automotive ideas is the other way round, from road to track. In fact, the biggest innovation being introduced to F1 racing this year comes from the lowly Toyota Prius and its hybrid forebears.
The technology in question is KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) for capturing and storing the car’s braking energy instead of wasting it as heat. The idea is that racing drivers will then be able to use the stored energy to deliver quick bursts of speed for overtaking—and thereby make the sport more entertaining...
This year, the F1 teams will have the option of using KERS. Next year, it will probably be mandatory...
Used judiciously, KERS should offer three-tenths of a second gain per lap—a lot when the difference between coming first or second can be a few hundredths of a second...
Jaguar and BMW will be selling passenger models equipped with KERS long before Formula One has made its power-boosting technology a decisive factor in wining races… http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13350762