Formula One engines

Since its inception in 1947, Formula One has used a variety of engine regulations. "Formulas" limiting engine capacity had been used in Grand Prix racing on a regular basis since after World War I. The engine formulae are divided according to era.

Formula One currently uses 1.6 litre four-stroke turbocharged 90 degree V6 reciprocating engines.

The power a Formula One engine produces is generated by operating at a very high rotational speed, up to 15,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). This contrasts with road car engines of a similar size which typically operate at less than 6,000 rpm. The basic configuration of a naturally aspirated Formula One engine had not been greatly modified since the 1967 Cosworth DFV and the mean effective pressure had stayed at around 14 bar MEP. Until the mid-1980s Formula One engines were limited to around 12,000 rpm due to the traditional metal valve springs used to close the valves. The speed required to operate the engine valves at a higher RPM called for ever stiffer springs, which increased the power loss to drive the camshaft and the valves to the point where the loss nearly offset the power gain through the increase in rpm. They were replaced by pneumatic valve springs introduced by Renault, which inherently have a rising rate (progressive rate) that allowed them to have extremely high spring rate at larger valve strokes without much increasing the driving power requirements at smaller strokes, thus lowering the overall power loss. Since the 1990s, all Formula One engine manufacturers used pneumatic valve springs with the pressurised air allowing engines to reach speeds of over 20,000 rpm.

Formula One cars use short stroke engines. These engines are common in racing motorcycles and streetbikes. The bore is the diameter of the cylinder in the engine block, and the stroke is the distance the piston travels from top dead-centre (TDC) to bottom dead-centre (BDC) inside the cylinder. To operate at high engine speeds the stroke must be relatively short to prevent catastrophic failure; this is usually connecting rod failure as the rod is under very large stresses at these speeds. Having a short stroke means that a relatively large bore is required to make the 1.6 litre engine displacement. This results in a less efficient combustion stroke, especially at lower RPM. The stroke of a Formula One engine is approximately 39.7 mm (1.56 in), less than half the bore diameter (98.0 mm), what is known as an over-square configuration.

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