Mercedes says engines will be louder in 2016 F1 season
Ryan Joseph Ramos January 23, 2016
Because of revised F1 rules on exhausts, Mercedes AMG Petronas technical chief Paddy Lowe said that F1 cars are sure to be ‘significantly’ louder this upcoming 2016 season.
Since the shift to the new power units, many fans and enthusiasts have complained that the sound you hear as an F1 car speeds by just isn’t the same anymore–and it’s not a very good change. The sound of an engine’s roar is part of any F1 race’s atmosphere, and the power units just aren’t providing the same kind of auditory oomph as engines of many seasons past.
In a video via Mercedes, Paddy Lowe said that the changes in the regulations will allow for the sound to improve. He attested that it can’t be ascertained at the moment just how much louder the 2016 engines will be, but that measurements on the current setup have already shown that the sound has had ‘a significant increase’.
The changes have been made specifically to allow the sound increase. These measures include having not one, but two exits for the exhaust tailpipe.
“The reason for that is the wastegate was causing a sort of silencing of the main exhaust pipe,” said Lowe. “So by removing it from the main exhaust pipe we have less silencing going on of the main flow.”
Now, instead of having the main exhaust go through the lone tailpipe and having a wastegate to churn out the excess exhaust pressure, engine designers now have more wiggle room in the form of a second tailpipe.
“It will work,” Lowe assured.
It’s good to know that steps have been made in the right direction. Hopefully, teams can achieve the kind of engine sound that spectators at the grandstands and viewers on television have been looking for from F1 cars.
We will know just how successful this is in a month’s time, when teams take to the track for the first preseason testing in Barcelona, Spain. The tests will be held from February 22 through 25.
