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I've done a quite deep research in the past year about the possible 2014 LM engines, as i've examined which one can be a possible winner according to the new regs. Three engines were simulated and tuned on computer:
- 3,4 l, V8, NA petrol based on today LMP1 petrol engine
- 3,7 l, V6, TD, monoturbo, based on Audi R18's engine
- 1,6 l, V6, monoturbo petrol, based on future F1 engine
The results were interesting... Best one (without hybrid aid) was the... V8 NA petrol! Second: TD, and then came far-far away the 1,6 l F1.
Petrols: V8 had better torque and power than the V6, and also better fuel consumption. The main reason for the lower consumption is the higher CR. Little turbo engine can have about half the friction losses as the big one (even at the same rpm!), but you need to push too much air in it to reach the same power level. This means really so much, that engine reaches the limits of possible long term operation, and also the limits of the fuel itself (burning process). Not in temperature, but rather in peak pressure. So it was impossible to turbocharge even more... But BSFC was always higher, with 4-10%, due to the lower CR. Porsche RS Spyder had CR of 15:1 (i've simulated an engine of 14:1, but there was space to increase this a little bit, as i haven't reached the limits mentioned earlier), but TP eninge reached the limits at 9,4:1. 1,6 l V6 suits well for future F1 regs, but doesn't seems ok for LM.
Diesel: very-very good, the gap between the V8 and this one was very little. Also, i have to say that for the spirit of the future regs, this one fits the best. However, contrary today when TD engines have a little advantage from the regs, in the future TDs have to be held back! That what you can see in the "technology factors" in the regs, these one equalize them to the level of the petrol engines. Without them, diesels would be unbeatable at LM in the future, as they are more efficient.
And i have to say the difference between V8 and TD was very-very low, they are almost equal. So regulation seems almost perfect, have to say ACO did a very great job.
I didn't simulated petrols between that two one. Less NA engine, or a bigger TC (with not so high TC pressure) can be interesting, but for me it seems that NA engines will have always advantages over TC engines, when efficiency is the key factor.
Three another thoughts:
1. One single turbo is now competitive, because with the downsizing of the engines they need to suck less air in. With 4l engines or even bigger one, they would still use two turbos.
2. As i heard already car manufacturers realised the same consumption problem as i explained. Everybody did downsizing and TC, but now they see that probably it wasn't the right step... (it's only valid for petrol engines diesels neeeeed turbo)
3. 14,7 fuel ratio is absolutely theoretic at race cars. The mixture is lot denser (somewhere at 13:1) to reach higher performance. But in the future it must change to fit to the efficiency requirements.
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