The future

[Speedworx]

Am I right in thinking that F1 engines have more power each season?

Is there a limit on the BHP an engine can have? If there isn't, does anyone else think that engines could oneday reach 900BHP?

[neilap]

There is a limit on everything. I feel that they are close to the Hp limits with the given technology. What I think can be done is the power band can be modified so that the cars do better on fast slow or medium tracks. Someone suggested that the new BMW has 900 hp. That to me is bull! Unless it was there last year I do not see them adding 50 hp to a motor that was blowing up at all the races.

[Mr V]

it has been said, in autosport, i believe, that the bmw engines can run at 900bhp, but will be "tuned down" to 850 bhp for more reliability

[Damon]

I read that too.

[neilap]

So last year what were they running? If they blow up as much this year again then they need to lose another 20hp till they become reliable. I could extract 250 hp from my car. However it would not be reliable either. So that number to me is just hype. Another thing then I can assume that they will be qualifying with the 900hp motor. I do not disagree that the motor is the most powerful on the grid but I really find it hard to believe that they found another 50 hp out of an unreliable motor.

[Damon]

F1 engines are engineered for super high performance for a limited time, much unlike your road car. How else would they achieve 200+mph when you can only do about 130 tops?

[neilap]

Whoa! There are many road cars that have been modified to over 200mph. The problem with F1 is the n/a motor and lack of displacement. I know I can do over 130. That is besides the point though. From my very limited experience in racing and tuning motors it is very difficult to get an extra 10 hp much more 50. With turbos it is a bit easier but with all motor applications it is hard. How can BMW do this and the mighty Ferrari and Mercedes cant. Hell Honda is the largest motor manufacturer in the world and they can hardly keep up. If it is true that the have found 50 hp. I have an all new respect for the BMW engineers.

[Gt_R]

WOAAH!
If i were really to ask who is the best engine makers...i'd put BMW right up there!

Since their V10 days, Ferrari engines are not made to be the most powerful, but one with the highest power/reliability ratio.

Mercedes is using Ilmor, but i reckon the Men in Msport are far better in engineering skills. And yes, in automobile world, i think BMW is far better than Mercedes.

Honda let themselves down by dropping their guard and letting too many junior road car engineers have a role in their F1 program.

The BMW guys are really great...really.

[RWC]

As honda said waaay back in the sixties when they were running 23000rpm motorcycle engines,"once you go above about 11000 rpm there are no big surprises-Just hugely increasing forces to deal with,increasing friction,etc"
So there are no 'hard' limits.If the engineers can keep inventing better anti friction coatings and stronger materials(& they WILL)then revs can only increase-and so hp

[Valve Bounce]

There are only so many ways engine designers can go, and the one that offers the most scope would be the valves: how they open and close, valve timing, and the profile of the valve opening vs time. This used to be limited by valve springs and cam lobes. With solenoid operated valves and computerised control of valve timing, valve operation goes into a new area for improvements. But yes!! It seems logical that a limit would be reached.
This limit used to be 100 BHP per litre back in the days of the Coventry Climax engine with people thinking that any improvements would be marginal. And look what's happened. With the use of automatic gears, engines can be kept at virtually the same peak revs most of the time, controlled by computerised engine management systems.
I suppose we really have to find out what specifically made the BMW's go bang last year to determine if that problem has been overcome. Suffice to say that Valve Bounce has been eliminated.