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      10-24-2010, 11:02 PM   #94
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elp_jc View Post
Pretty much everybody used up their allowed engines, no? Can't remember who was the exception. What I don't understand is how you can 'baby' an engine if you have to run them flat out in order to win. Or does 100 or 200 rpm make a dramatic difference? But maybe there's some truth to Renault engines; SV has had more mechanical DNFs than everybody else this season, although not all of them were engine related. It's better to be penalized 5 grid positions than DNFing due to a blown engine, right?

Hey, does anybody know what oil those engines use? Just curious, as well as what the hell could have caused SV's engine to literally blow up, throwing pistons, rings, and all kinds of engine parts on the track. Is it oil breakdown? With so many sensors, you'd think engineering would detect tell tale signs of impending failure, no?

They use a highly special synthetic (it is definitely not some OTC stuff or anything like that!). They usually have specialists that travel with the team (eg Shell with Ferrari) that monitor the quality of the oil and lubricants being put into the car. So oil breakdown doesn't sound terribly likely.

I actually got a pit pass several years ago into the BMW pits back when it was BMW williams, and one of the things we got to see was the Castrol guys and their mini 'laboratory' where they tested the synthetics right in pit lane. It's pretty carefully monitored stuff!

F1 blow-ups (at least in the old days) are pretty spectacular and rapid - don't forget that the engine is chugging at near 18,000 rpm, so if anything goes slightly wrong, it's going to get exponentially worse very, very quickly.
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