cplchanb wrote: ↑31 Oct 2017, 16:08
garyjpaterson wrote: ↑31 Oct 2017, 15:37
I'm a total noob when it comes to this stuff, but regarding the higher RPM limit, surely we need a much higher fuel flow limit to make the most of this? I mean do the current cars ever come close to the 15k limit we already have?
18k RPM could sound neat if they actually make use of it.
youre right, a 3k boost means nothing if the fuel flow limit doesnt go up drastically as well. teams dont go over 12k these days so theyll still stick with 12-13k even if the limit was raised to 18k
If you want higher revs (without making a step back in technical development) is raising the minimal fuel flow limit revs, which are now at 10.500 rpm. This is why they all only go to 12.000 rpm, so with an upshift they fall back to 10.500, keeping it as low as possible for best internal friction efficiency. Because its a turbo engine, the pressure inside the cilinders just drops, but the air/fuel mixture will stay the same. Less power per stroke but more revs. Only raising the FFR won't change the revs, would just give more power.
For many here the logic of efficiency, turbo engines and the impact and use of the fuel flow limit is still not entirely clear.
"in the old days" with NA engines, more air = more fuel. To get more air you needed more revs so you could put in more fuel to get more power.
With a turbo engine, revs or engine capacity are not a part of the fuel to power equation. With a turbo you easily and more efficiently get more air trough the engine just raise the boost. This means it doesn't matter in theory if you have a 1.2l four cylinder engine at 20.000rpm, a 2.0 v8 at 5000 rpm or even a 0.9 v4 at 8000 rpm. Its all about how much air can you get into the turbo to maximise the fuel flow.
thats why every racing series has a limit in either airflow (with a boost or restrictor) or a fuel flow limiter. Even in NA cars, the amount of air is limited trough engine capacity and/or max revs. This limits the max output of an engine.
You can't swop the regulations of NA and TC engines...