WhiteBlue wrote: ....... It makes a big difference in fuel efficiency if you run a 1.6 or 2L turbo engine with 6 or 3 cylinders. There is a huge amount of friction from the additional mechanical components to begin with. On top you loose thermal efficiency by all the additional heat exchange surfaces.
are you now saying that Porsche etc should be using a 3 cylinder engine, not a 4 ?
the 6 has smaller pistons, shorter stroke, and lower piston speed than the 3 so friction (swept area x velocity) is only slightly more
the V 6 and your inline 3 will both have 4 main bearings
anyway, friction power will only be about 9% of engine power in 2014
the main difference between 6 and 3 cylinders is the surface area:volume ratio of the combustion zone
this gives relatively less heat loss in the 3 (helping TE)
but this lower heat loss causes the limiting CR to be lower in the 3 (hindering TE)
granted some of this efficiency loss could be recovered with more ERS bias than F1 currently has
(ERS bias could take us to free-piston engines with linear and turbine generation, no rods, no crank, no transmission etc)
there is little new here
unless you believe the new DI and superoctane fuel will allow unlimited CR even with a boosted engine
and you seem to be determined to confuse the downsizing etc benefits for road use, ie at partial powers
with the different situation (WOT) that is racing