davidfroshanzen wrote:Just wait and see what mclaren honda can to do in spain gp ,,, the second spec PU ,,, i believe they at least 3rd fastest car,,
got the right lottery numbers for this weekend?
amyway. i think that's still a tad too enthusiastic. i do believe they will advance quite far but also expect the 'second spec' pu to have some minor start-problems - well, rather the way the engine will work with the electric parts, which are generally their current problems.
to be fair though, they had a lot of electric problems but it were mostly sensor problems. Their packaging is very tight, and i kinda think they might even be intending to pack it even tighter; this is 'just' their first new-era V6T hybrid engine.
They have intentionally built it very tight, but i have a feeling they've even held back to be able to understand things better.
offcourse there are dozens of issues that come up thanks to this 'daring' approach. However, take it on the chin and learn from it; not by changing back to be less tight; but by improving the sensors and materials that can't take the current strain. i think this is exactly what Mclaren is doing, and in the end they probably benefit that their technology is built in-house; they can make it completely customised to their package, and they have all the know how which isn't shared with 'outsider' companies.
let's just say; sensor X can't handle the vibrations and heat caused by the area it's located in. f.e. right next to the exhaust log.
to solve this you can either; improve isolation from the exhaust log [ at the loss of weight benefit and perhaps power ],
improve cooling by enlarging the area around it [ at the loss of packaging and aero benefit ]
or construct a sensor that CAN take the beat [ at the loss of time and research money ].
result is a far more advanced sensor.
if sensors really are the things that take the beating, and not critical engine components, then well, Honda actually has done a extremly impressive job.
Sensors sending out less clear signals due to the tighter package can be solved by either filtering out [add a translation code to the reading computer] or improve the way the signal is sent, or perhaps use an entire different approach of sending info through the sensor.
the message to alonso that they did not have correct data on fuel measurement is interesting, too. That means they were playing around with fuel usage and probably dealt with unforeseen consequences or sensor errors that could not be resolved. Alonso still managed to finish the race with enough fuel in the tank, without using more then the allowed fuel flow ratio, AND managed to crawl right back up to Button whilst he got behind really far from him during the race, AND all whilst having tire wear issues which were not aero-related but were power transfer related.