What if they banned Pneumatic valve springs?

[browney]

Hi,
I was wondering if it had ever been sugested that F1 banned Pneumatic valve springs? It is a completely irelevant to road cars and allows the engines to rev extremely high. Wouldn't the use of a more conventional valve operation lend itself to cheaper (and perhaps more road relevant) engines?

[Adam43]

I don't think that this is in itself will save much money. This is old techonology now! Although lower revs may mean cheaper other parts.

[broadrun96]

May help with engine durability as well, lower revs means less strain right? Could it help make internals more relevant to the street as well?

[Marbot]

I don't think anyone uses Pneumatic valves in their road going engines,not even Honda in its motorcycles.They just don't rev high enough to warrant its use.Honda use it on their MotoGP bikes,as do others,but again these bikes rev to 18,000 rpm or thereabouts.So its an "old" technology that isn't really relevant to anything other than F1.Same old same old.

[Dutton]

I hope they come up with some new fandangled, outrageously esoteric valve spring system.

I dunno, utilising ionised moon dust combined with ocean-bed bacterial excretions (or something).

[Marbot]

All those trips to the moon and to the bottoms of the deepest oceans will be well worth those extra 100 rpm.

[Pingguest]

What if they go back to the 1950's engine technology, just as NASCAR?

[browney]

1950s tech is a long way from using a more conventional and valve system that could reduce revs and produce more of the 'road relevant' engine tech that they want.

[Marbot]

What's "conventional" ?

"Among the early pioneers of DOHC were Isotta Fraschini's Giustino Cattaneo, Austro-Daimler's Ferdinand Porsche Stephen Tomczak (in the Prinz Heinrich), and W. O. Bentley (in 1919); Sunbeam built small numbers between 1921 and 1923.[2] The first DOHC engines were two- or four-valve per cylinder designs from companies like Fiat (1912), Peugeot Grand Prix (1913, 4 valve), Alfa Romeo GP (1914, 4 valve) and 6C (1925), Maserati Tipo 26 (1926), Bugatti Type 51 (1931), and Audi[clarification needed]. Most Ferraris used two-valve DOHC engines as well."

Nothing new under the sun is there.

[Pingguest]

Originally Posted by browney

1950s tech is a long way from using a more conventional and valve system that could reduce revs and produce more of the 'road relevant' engine tech that they want.

In my opinion there are only two possibilities to make Formula 1 engines be more road relevant:
- introduce production-based engines and allowing only minor changes.
- introduce a new, Group C-like set of rules in which any configuration is allowed.

[Glen]

I don't get the road-relevant thing at all. These are open-wheel, open-top pure racecars designed for going round in circles for two hours as fast as possible. Could hardly be more different to the brief for a road car.

[Kieran20]

formula one should be about striving to find the next best thing in engine technology.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Glen

as fast as possible.

And that,my friend,is the rub.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Kieran20

formula one should be about striving to find the next best thing in engine technology.

I guess that there's only so much relevant stuff you can do with a concept as old as the internal combustion engine.

[egomeister]

I'm normally against restrictions in technology but I like this suggestion.

Engine manufacturers will always strive to get their engines revving as high as possible so this could open up development of an alternative system of valve actuation which may have other applications.

[JeremySmith]

Originally Posted by Kieran20

formula one should be about striving to find the next best thing in engine technology.

It should be about bollicking along at great speed..

[tristancliffe]

A lot of energy is going into finding valve control systems to take the IC engine into the future - 100% infinitely variable, cylinder-by-cylinder valve timing with a pneumatic actuator (possibly even opening AND closing, unlike F1) are being examined by more than one road car company.

Just because there aren't production cars with pneumatically closing valves now, don't assume it's not relevant. It's old technology in F1, but some stuff just takes time to filter down.

But, as has been said, road relevance is NOT THE POINT OF F1, and his insistence it should be is one of many reasons why Max should leave F1.