Found this article on Sky F1. Thought some turbo lovers would like it. Explains why the Merc has such a power advantage. Revealed: How Mercedes' packaging of their turbo engine has given them the edge | Mercedes GP Petronas F1 News | Formula 1 Teams | Sky Sports
IMO some/lot of that is bollocks mind, due a mix of Sky not knowing, and Mercedes not wanting to give the game away. Near the end is says moving the 'very hot compressor' to the front allowed the rear be cooler and the gearbox can now be in a better place. It's the turbine that's the hot bit, not the compressor, so that'd make fuck all difference. While separating the comp and turbine WILL help, it won't be that much- Procharger outlet temps are often 140degC+ and they have NO fucking turbine at all- Not much different to turbo outlet temps. Same with 'reducing lag' shorter pipes and smaller intercoolers will help, it isn't drastic. The things that probably DO make the difference in that feature is the improved aero by changing the packaging. I'd be willing to put money the REAL reason it's done like this is it's simply a turbocompound setup, which funnily enough looks exactly like this 'revolutionary' design, and has done for about 60 years. There's no way Mercedes would design a block to run a fucking turbine shaft through it simply for the tiny reasons given in the Sky video- It's because it's partially connected to the crank. Turbocompound setups have been around since the 1950s, are used specifically to reduce specific fuel consumption, ie a key thing in F1 now, and this deffo isn't the first time they've been thought about for F1, as if you watch the mid-80s episode of Equinox on YouTube about the Ford F1 engines, whatshisface from Cosworth says in an ideal world he'd like to go down that route. So yeah, I call massive misinformation from the 'experts' as usual.
I`ve never really understood how they get the advantages without the disadvantages of the traditional turbo. All the engines, diagrams and cut aways I`ve seen look like you`d get the disadvantages. And when you look at the prototype engines for loco`s that didnt work, I still can get my head round it. Maybe for F1, with modern turbine designs, bearing technology and an electric clutch pack, you`d be ok.
