ATLAS F1 - THE JOURNAL OF FORMULA ONE MOTORSPORT
Burning Rubber, Burning Oil

Dieter Rencken, South Africa
Contributing Writer



I found Leonel Corona's avocation of Felix Wankel's patents for use in Formula One fascinating, not least because I am a paid-up member of the rotary piston club. In fact, so much do I admire the free-spinning ways of NSU-Wankel engines that I own not one, not two, but three vehicles powered by these compact engines.

It is this deep-rooted relationship with all things Wankel allows me to agree with Corona that the FIA's Formula One engine regulations require overhauling, but my thoughts on the process differ totally with his suggestion that F1 standardise on rotaries - whether for the good of Minardi, Jordan or the sport.

Present day automotive-application rotaries have but a single manufacturing source - Mazda, controlled nowadays by Ford (after the Japanese company became a prime acquisition target due, say some analysts, to heavy losses on its Wankel investments). That Ford, which includes Jaguar Racing and Cosworth - with heavy investments in reciprocating technology - is haemorrhaging, according to some sources, upwards of $30,000 per second, is well documented.

So, what chance of Ford switching tack, and irrevocably ditching its Cosworth expertise in favour of technology that almost bankrupted a subsidiary? Frankly, the square root of zero. Next, what chance of a competitor adopting rotary technology for F1 use should the regulations permit it? Consider that it took Mazda 15 years (1976 - 1991) to develop its Le Mans winning engines, for them to prove successful only after major weight and fuel economy concessions were made by the Le Mans promoters, and the chances of any other manufacturer adopting Wankel technology for F1 are the cube root…

While Wankels can and do find favour with engineers - predominantly those concentrating on marine, fast road and aviation applications - specifying their use in F1 would alienate, at least, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Renault, Ford (Cosworth), Toyota, and Honda - every single manufacturer presently in the sport, bar Ferrari (more of the Maranello marque shortly).

But Corona correctly identifies that F1's engine regulations are in dire need of overhaul, and nobody is more in agreement with this stance than FIA President Max Mosley. The suave former barrister is absolutely intent on reductions in the two areas Formula One views as sacrosanct: engine power and costs.

Reduce the first, and you increase reliability and so save costs, goes Mosley's logic. This route also, he reasons, gives F1 stronger road car ties: only fools buy new cars expecting techno-bristling engines to last only two hours or 320 kilometres (whichever is the sooner), and only on fortnightly Sunday afternoons at that.

No problem with the logic of this barrister, who has an above-average understanding of physics thanks to having majored in the subject with a view to specialising in patent law except that, recently, road car engine technology seems headed fairly and squarely down the Turbo Diesel route. In France and Italy, Diesel passenger vehicle sales account for almost 80% of the total; in Germany the number is hovering at 60% while, despite higher Diesel than petrol prices, Diesel passenger sales are doubling every quarter in the UK. In fact, passenger diesel car sales are on the up in every major F1-following country, and only in the US - which, despite the hype, is hardly grand prix orientated - are Diesel sales graphs flatter than their torque curves.

Proof of accepted performance marques embracing Rudolf Diesel's patents is highly evident: Jaguar has recently introduced Diesel variants whilst even Honda, which a decade ago swore that Diesels had no place in its product range, has sexed up its ranges with TDi technology. In fact, every manufacturer involved in F1 produces road engines based on the patents of Rudolf Diesel - including Ferrari, via parent FIAT and sisters Lancia and Alfa Romeo - and worldwide over 20 marques, from Audi through Toyota to Volvo, list oil-burners. Why, rumour has it that even Gruppo Ferrari's Maserati will shortly debut a Diesel - the appearance of an oil-burning Porsche Cayenne can only be a matter of time.

Don't kid yourself that Diesels are slow, dirty or heavy on anything. A BMW 330CD produces marginally less power than the Bavarian company's petrol equivalents (216 bhp vs. 231bhp, or less than 5%), whilst delivering lower emissions, reduced fuel consumption, greater service intervals and all the political correctness associated with a prestige manufacturer.

The 330CD emits, according to British Standards, 20% fewer grams of poison per kilometre than its 330 Coupe brother, yet out-accelerates the hairy 3.4 litre BMW M3 under certain conditions. For the record, the Coupe M3's emissions are a whopping 50% greater (287g/km vs. 182g/km) than the Coupe Diesel!

But, those numbers relate to road applications; track experiences, crucially, are a little different: VW races 2500cc Bora TDi models internationally, with the latest competition evolutions of their road car engine-based units producing well over 130bhp per litre and delivering a staggering 650 Nm of torque (which governs acceleration) at 3250rpm - more than a 3800cc Porsche Carrera GT2, so no problem on the power front. VW and BMW saloons have proven their mettle in endurance races, with events being won strategically via fewer pitstops against the petrol-powered opposition's higher outright speeds - just what the FIA propagates.

A barrel of Brent crude can, depending upon chosen refinement, deliver up to three times the distance traveled compared to petrol from the same source, and does so at lower specific (pre-tax) prices. Plus, 21st Century Diesel is a sustainable, renewable resource: in June DaimlerChrysler launched Biotrol - a diesel-compatible fuel manufactured from renewable wood residues.

Diesel of course has lower volatility rates, so fire danger - whether via crash or pitstop - is reduced, thus eliminating drivers' (and team members') greatest fears. Marshals, too, have every right to expect fewer fire risks, and Diesel delivers just that.

Of course, Diesel engines revolve slower than petrol equivalents - road-going versions of the former rarely go above 5000rpm, whilst civilian spark ignition engines hit double that with little problem - although F1 technology aided their cause over a period of fifty years. Remember this also: you'd be hard-pressed to find sixties petrol engines running much above 5000rpm…

Picture the rev limits of Diesels after a few racing seasons - their sounds would be like nothing else on Earth - imagine the reverberations of 26 V10 turbocharged Diesels (yes, the technology will attract newcomers to F1), each pulling 800 torquing bhp at 12,000rpm out of Turn Ones all over the world.

That Diesels are inherently heavier than petrol equivalents is undeniable but, again, racing technology will aid in this area. Modern F1 cars, in any event, carry strategic ballast to compensate for lightweight construction so, if anything, additional engine mass will assist the FIA in regulating minimum weights. Plus, through specifying wastegated turbos, power regulation is possible at the stroke of a pen - all the while using technology developed by F1 during its 80's turbo era.

Finally, through Diesel's ignition by compression there is no easy route to that despicable bugbear of modern F1 - traction control, which works through retarding ignition timing and/or cutting spark frequency on petrol engines - is available to the more cunning. Although engineers I have spoken to in this regard admit that activation of TC systems is possible through sudden restrictions on fuel delivery, all agree that response times are way off F1 requirements, and could never be as instantaneous as the systems which allow Fernando Alonso's Renault to rocket ahead.

During the 2003 British Grand Prix weekend, five F1 Technical Directors were questioned on speed reduction in F1. Without exception they suggested reductions in engine power, with the majority recommending 2.5 litre V8 units based on existing V10 petrol technology. These would, of course, necessitate massive investments in new blocks, cylinder heads, crank - and camshafts - all for more of the same.

Basing new engine formulae upon existing V10 engines - converted to turbo Diesel - would require considerably less investment, allow bi-directional F1/road car technology transfer, increase engine life, reduce fuel consumption and fire risks, reduce straight line speeds whilst increasing acceleration, remove traction control as well as attract newcomers (such as, perhaps, VW-Audi) to the sport.

It seems, exactly 90 years after his death, Rudolf Diesel's patents may find a rejuvenated shelf life. And I may well have three cars to sell…


About the author:
South African Dieter Rencken is a current Formula One journalist, following the championship around the globe annually. He writes for a variety of publications, and works extensively with South African radio and television to cover the sport. During the early 90s he translated Wankel books from German into English, and has since published various Wankel features in numerous languages. In addition, he rallied Mazda RX2s in African rallies during the 70s, and still regularly lusts after a good RX7!


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Volume 9, Issue 49
December 3rd 2003

Articles

In the Matter of da Matta
by David Cameron

The French Revolution
by Caroline Reid

Burning Rubber, Burning Oil
by Dieter Rencken

2004 Countdown: Facts & Stats
by Marcel Borsboom & Marcel Schot

Columns

Rear View Mirror
by Don Capps

Elsewhere in Racing
by David Wright & Mark Alan Jones

The Weekly Grapevine
by Tom Keeble



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