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Originally Posted by ian_w
You need to take most claims in magazines with a pinch of salt, the concept is not without some serious flaws.
Anyway, MotoGP is not about top-end power, its about have a 'good connection' between the riders throttle hand and the back tyre, i.e. smooth linear torque curve with good throttle response and progression. The engines currently produce 'only' about 250 bhp per litre which is well shy of the 300+ from an F1 engine. There is no good reason why they can't make more, its just that its not needed. They typically only run about 10% of the time at full throttle and are wheelie/traction limited in the first 4 gears!
If there was ever a good demonstration that power is not everything, you only have to look at the times from the new 800cc bikes which in some cases are faster than the old 990cc ones.
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with a pinch of salt eh!.......I got the magazine feature form a post on the pistonheads forum - from an Ilmor employee who was involved with the design of the Ilmor F1 V10 rotary valve engine - it had been developed since the early 90's and they had run single cylinder test engines to 18000 rpm......looks like they had it sussed to me........believe me - it was well and truly going to hit the race track if the rules did not change ........and why did the rules change to ban rotary valves?........because Renault wrote the new engine regulations - John Hilton has admitted to this publically - I heard him say it at a technical lecture on stage - they knew Ilmor had a successfull rotary valve project underway - it was new technology that would have cost Renault a fortune - along with MMC pistons - so in an attemps to reduce cost and lap times - when Renault reccomended to Max Mosley at the FIA the 2.4 V8 engine regs - they also reccomended to ban MMC pistons and rotary valves - it got banned because it was a big loop hole in the rules, and it would have left all the other team standing. the drastically reduced C of G reduced frontal area and extra power would have wiped the floor with the other teams
if the magazine was telling porkies about it - why did they quote Ilmors name with it - because Ilmor approved it beforehand.......yes I agree - I have seen many "snake oil" projects in tech magazines - too many to be honest - but this one is deffo not snake oil........shame it will never happen.
But I agree with what Max Mosley says - F1 needs "road relevant technology" the bishop rotary valves just look too complex to end up in a road car - alternative fuels and regenerative braking looks the way forward for a bit of green-ness in F1.......and no - Diesel will never be in F1 - I think they will end up with regenerative braking and bio fuel derived from sugar beet.