During Brazil practice 2 Fisi stalled. David, Bob, Steve and Peter ALL said they should have on board starters.

They do! It's an 80BHP electric motor called KERS!

US_F1_Fan - 17 October 2009 08:17 AM

During Brazil practice 2 Fisi stalled. David, Bob, Steve and Peter ALL said they should have on board starters.

They do! It's an 80BHP electric motor called KERS!

Formula One cars do also carry small starter motors. Some are powered by compressed air, others by an external battery that is plugged in to an outlet on the car. What they no longer carry is an energy source for those starters.

As for the KERS system, that is a different motor that is only useful for a few seconds a lap and must be re-charged between uses. I have not heard of the KERS system used as a starter.

If it is fully charged before the start of a race, the driver would probably use KERS at the start or within the first few corners to gain positions. Using KERS to start the car on the grid would negate that.

since when does speed carry all of the practice sessions. If so, how come I can't get them

dgrblue - 17 October 2009 10:08 AM

since when does speed carry all of the practice sessions. If so, how come I can't get them

They don't. They carry practice 2, qualifying and race.
Practice 1 and 3 are not on SpeedTV.

I don't know of any on board starter parts but this is what most teams use to start the cars.

http://www.f1technical.net/features/2267

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al6Yz3Nv7dY

It is possible to start a stalled car without using a starter motor.

Briefly, when the engine stops one of the pistons is at or near TDC on the compression stroke. The sensors and other gadgetry figure out which one, close the valves on that cylinder, open the valves on the other cylinders, and send a spark to that cylinder. That should be enough to get the ball rolling. The electronic wizardry then messes with the valves and sparks on the other cylinders until the engine is running on its own.

Very high-tech. Very complex. But it should work.

Guys, nobody read my post. I am well aware of all of your comments but you ignored the fact that KERS is an electric motor connected to the driveline and if the design was tweaked it could be the starter motor.

US_F1_Fan - 17 October 2009 02:56 PM

Guys, nobody read my post. I am well aware of all of your comments but you ignored the fact that KERS is an electric motor connected to the driveline and if the design was tweaked it could be the starter motor.

The answer to you question is – the FIA does not allow the KERS system to be used for that purpose.

GreyWolf74 - 17 October 2009 09:39 AM

US_F1_Fan - 17 October 2009 08:17 AM

During Brazil practice 2 Fisi stalled. David, Bob, Steve and Peter ALL said they should have on board starters.

They do! It's an 80BHP electric motor called KERS!

Formula One cars do also carry small starter motors. Some are powered by compressed air, others by an external battery that is plugged in to an outlet on the car. What they no longer carry is an energy source for those starters.

As for the KERS system, that is a different motor that is only useful for a few seconds a lap and must be re-charged between uses. I have not heard of the KERS system used as a starter.

If it is fully charged before the start of a race, the driver would probably use KERS at the start or within the first few corners to gain positions. Using KERS to start the car on the grid would negate that.

US_F1_Fan - 17 October 2009 02:56 PM

Guys, nobody read my post. I am well aware of all of your comments but you ignored the fact that KERS is an electric motor connected to the driveline and if the design was tweaked it could be the starter motor.

I devoted two paragraphs (see the blue text) to answering your question. The KERS system may indeed engage the crankshaft. Theoretically, you might use it to start the car, but it is not used as a starter.

curvhog - 17 October 2009 10:26 AM

I don't know of any on board starter parts but this is what most teams use to start the cars.

http://www.f1technical.net/features/2267

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al6Yz3Nv7dY

Thanks for the correction, Curvehog! The last time I paid attention to how Formula One cars were started, they used jump-start motors. I believe some other classes still do.

This video shows an air starter being used on a turbocharced Ferrari.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut7yBdIehYY

Listen closely and you'll hear the high-pitched whine of the air motor.

I was not aware that Formula One had changed to an external starter of the sort used in Indy cars.

Given the possibility of a car stalling and having to be push-started or dropping out of the race entirely, I can see why drivers would want on-board starters. They used to have them in Formula One in the 60s; back then, a spin that stalled the engine was annoying, but not the end of the race. In fact, cars were required to be self-starting. If anyone other than the driver touched the car during the race, the car was disqualified.

Gurney - 17 October 2009 11:18 AM

It is possible to start a stalled car without using a starter motor.

Briefly, when the engine stops one of the pistons is at or near TDC on the compression stroke. The sensors and other gadgetry figure out which one, close the valves on that cylinder, open the valves on the other cylinders, and send a spark to that cylinder. That should be enough to get the ball rolling. The electronic wizardry then messes with the valves and sparks on the other cylinders until the engine is running on its own.

Very high-tech. Very complex. But it should work.

Seems plausible, surely it would require more than just one cylinder firing, but maybe some of the tech experts here could address this further.