
Formula E - hpeikemo
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/09/formula-e-intro/
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pjc50
Well, people are being suprisingly negative about this; my opinion is that
it's a very good thing for the image of the electric car. Especially if it
gets shown on TV. It can bust all of the "slow", "unmacho" negative
stereotypes.

There will probably be ongoing changes in the technology regulations; there
always are.

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Gravityloss
The article is erroneous in stating that F1 has the same engine for all teams.
The engines are mostly similar but they are made by different manufacturers.

See here:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Formula_One_season](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Formula_One_season)

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spotj
Indeed. Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Cosworth are all engine suppliers this
year.

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k-mcgrady
>> "The schedule is set to include London, Berlin, Rome, Rio de Janeiro,
Buenos Aires, Beijing, Bangkok, and Purtrajaya, as well as stateside races in
Los Angeles and Miami. "

The fact that this is run completely on street circuits will hurt it. Over
taking is incredibly difficult on street circuits and that will turn most
people away from it.

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buster
Seems like they can temporarily boost the horsepower to overtake.

For me, it's exciting, i will definitely try to attend a race in my city :)

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canthonytucci
This is possible now in F1 through the use of the "KERS" system, which uses in
wheel (I think)electric motors, they can also use a "DRS" system, which
temporarily reduces downforce via an adjustable rear wing.

The problem with both technologies is that they're artificially limited and
their use is subject to convoluted regulations. In the end, Vettel always wins
anyway.

I love F1, but I would love to see a truly forward looking series with active
aerodynamics and suspension, and where teams can develop and use their own
tires, this kind of "unlimited" racing, on the same amazing circuits and with
the same level of drivers would be truly exciting. Driver safety and minimum
weight limit regulations, (and of course rules against oil slicks and the
like) would be enough to keep the sport sane, but also encourage a more
diverse and interesting set of solutions from the teams.

I understand that F1 is not this series, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't love
to see the same drivers in some more interesting machines duking it out around
Monte Carlo.

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zalew
Agreed, the beaurocracy is unbearable, I'd love a no-handcuffs F1.

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lumberjack
Would anyone like to speculate on the reason why they would rather, the teams
switched cars, instead of switching batteries?

It does not seem like the kind of decision that would catalyze innovation
feasible for the consumer market.

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ianstallings
I hate the idea but it's probably because swapping the battery would slow down
the race and instead of the usual quick pit stop it might be a 10-15 minute
pit stop given the weight of the battery at 400+ lbs.

I wonder if they replaced them with fuel cells, would that be an easier on the
swap? Could they then just "fuel up" like a petrol-based vehicle?

~~~
jwl
It seems like a missed opportunity to push for innovation. Changing tyres on
normal cars is also a slow process and back in the earlier days of racing it
was as well. Now all four tyres can be changed in just around 2 seconds due to
great technological innovations (and training the pit-crew like OL athletes).
Developing a system where a battery could be changed quickly would be equally
as interesting.

~~~
DanBC
The extensive crew training, and having a crew, and having air tools, and
having a car that is jacked in a single push motion, all make changing F1
tires easier.

I'm not sure what can be transferred to regular cars? How often do tires need
to be changed? (I guess more often if you have snow and ice some times of
year?)

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ianstallings
_and the pit stops don’t just involve swapping tires or batteries, but
switching cars_.

This is _not_ what racing is about. Racing is about making sure you not only
go the fastest around the track, but it's about endurance of the car itself.
Particularly in what amounts to a manufacturer race where it's all about the
car.

I love this idea otherwise. Electric cars are getting better and better each
day.

~~~
alan_cx
This is a spec series, and every team will expect reliability. Endurance in
top flight racing is a given. Races are well with in the endurance of the
cars. Technical failure is way less than driver failure.

Besides, the car swap is an interim thing to get them going. In time, it will
go.

Im very looking forward to this.

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mehwoot
_Endurance in top flight racing is a given. Races are well with in the
endurance of the cars._

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche is popularly reported to have said "The perfect race car
should fall apart the second it crosses the finish line."

Point is, there is always a trade-off between speed and reliability. If you
get to the finish line well within the bounds of your reliability every time,
you are sacrificing speed.

But it is less of an issue if the cars are all almost identical.

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qwerta
Original Formula 1 was ruined by restrictions on maximal engine performance,
acceleration... even tyres are dictated. In result cars are practically
identical and race is very boring.

By reading article Formula E is going to have similar limitations. It is very
sad, we just lost technological race where victory would be won by innovation.

> During the race, the cars are forced into a power-saving mode of 133 kW (180
> hp)

> The motor is good for a maximum output of 200 kW (270 horsepower), but that
> power is only allowed to be used continuously during practice and
> qualifying.

> Formula E racer can go from 0-60 MPH in three seconds, while the top speed
> is limited to a rather anemic 140 MPH

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k-mcgrady
>> "In result cars are practically identical and race is very boring."

Not true at all. If the cars were practically identical Red Bull wouldn't be
running away with the championship every year. As important as the drivers are
in F1 the car is much more important.

>> "Formula 1 was ruined by restrictions on maximal engine performance,
acceleration... even tyres are dictated"

Without some of those restrictions most of the smaller teams couldn't afford
to go racing. We would lose probably half the teams. And tyres are what has
made F1 so exciting these last few years. Tyres could easily be made to last
an entire race taking away the strategy aspect from F1 that makes it so
interesting.

~~~
rett12
I agree. Maybe the only real limitation should be how much a team can spend
per year, a 'team cap'.

~~~
cjg_
A money limit is very easy to workaround.

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Gravityloss
But why do the cars look so much like regular F1? They wouldn't need much air
intakes, only some for cooling... Are the batteries so big?

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exDM69
> But why do the cars look so much like regular F1? They wouldn't need much
> air intakes, only some for cooling... Are the batteries so big?

The cooling ducts in the sidepods are a lot smaller in Formula E than in F1.
On the top, there's no airbox where the air intake would be but you need to
have a rollover bar above the driver's head.

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blackaspen
I hope Formula E serves as an excellent gateway drug into something more, erm,
exciting.

Watching refrigerators go around a racing track for an hour at a time, with no
car endurance, making no noise, doesn't sound like an enjoyable way to spend
an afternoon.

Hopefully F1 viewership will go up.

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themckman
I'm curious if you saw the video at the bottom of the article. There's a small
clip of the sound the cars make. It certainly won't be as loud as the current
engines, but I don't think they'll be making "no noise".

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rajeemcariazo
I would like to see a Elon Musk's Tesla compete in this race

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thedrbrian
He wouldn't bother as there is no scope for rule bending. It's a spec series

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robomartin
The biggest problem with this race series is the organizing body. The FIA is a
dinosaur. Unless they change their ways you will not be able to watch these
races in the US unless you have expensive cable/satellite service that include
the Speed channel. The FIA has not embraced the Internet. There is no easy way
to watch F1 races online.

I hope they take a different approach with Formula E.

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eirikm
Weird. In europe you can watch it online on the provider who bought the rights
in your region. Only thing that is annoying is that they dont allow retention,
so if you are 3-4 hours late you are SOL. Sad if the sold the US rights to
someone who does no online streaming.

