Formula E: Round 2 - Putrajaya ePrix Preview

[Bram Hengeveld]

we need stuff like this to start developing now

Why now exactly? There are still a gazillion oilfields left to suck dry for many many many years to come.

What the car and petrol industry should do imo is start to develop less resourceful engines as they can easily produce them but that's not in the best interest of the oil industry .

Electrical engines might look clean but your striking image is right. The amount of CO2 produced by coal plants to produce electric energy are the real polluters. Not to mention the airplanes flying through the sky or heavy industries.

But lets force the little man to hop into an electrical car eh Unless the electricity comes from a nuclear power plant or is produced by a solar system I will never ever drive a single inch in an electrical "green" car.

 

[Philip Heck]

Strange no one has delivered a mod based on these cars yet.

Click

Unless the electricity comes from a nuclear power plant or is produced by a solar system I will never ever drive a single inch in an electrical "green" car.

fuel cells

 

[Jimlaad43]

Why now exactly? There are still a gazillion oilfields left to suck dry for many many many years to come.

What the car and petrol industry should do imo is start to develop less resourceful engines as they can easily produce them but that's not in the best interest of the oil industry .

Electrical engines might look clean but your striking image is right. The amount of CO2 produced by coal plants to produce electric energy are the real polluters. Not to mention the airplanes flying through the sky or heavy industries.

But lets force the little man to hop into an electrical car eh Unless the electricity comes from a nuclear power plant or is produced by a solar system I will never ever drive a single inch in an electrical "green" car.

I disagree, have a look at the electric cars of the moment. They are quite crap if I'm honest, so will need years of development to become more efficient. You say why now? But if we stop now and put it off, what do we do when Climate Change has accelerated and we need to get off the fossil fuels to stop a cataclysmic disaster. I do still think electric cars aren't viable until they can be charged exclusively on Renewables, but the more time we have to develop, the better they'll be when we're stuck with them. What would you be saying if suddenly the only cars you could driver were the Tesla Roadster and the Nissan Leaf? It's a tough technology, and the more time we have the better it will be.

Plus with Formula E, making it a manufacturers sport next season with different guys allowed to develop the cars, motorsport will help electric cars become better.

 

[Nox]

I watch racing because I enjoy racing. So I am happy to watch both fuel powered and electric powered racing, it doesn't matter to me. I'll enjoy the racing and let the others argue over the power and environment. Lazy? Well, no, I do have a hand in urban sociology, but I just want to relax and be entertained when I turn the TV on.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

what do we do when Climate Change has accelerated and we need to get off the fossil fuels to stop a cataclysmic disaster.

Our current climate change isn't caused by burning fossil fuels in car engines. At least there are much stronger factors in play (see previous post) plus the earth has coped with much higher CO2 concentrations over the course of millions of years pretty fine.

We are currently "recovering" from the last ice age of 10,000 years ago and temperatures will keep on rising in the coming centuries regardless if we burn fuel or not and after the peak has been reached they will gradually drop again when we near the next ice age.

 

[Connor Caple]

Anthropogenic Climate Change is an armchair theory with enough 'facts' on both sides of the debate to negate any proof either way. Yes, the climate seems to be changing, but it was easily this warm 2,000 years ago and nobody blames humans then. The temperatures dropped so much during the Victorian era that Britain is listed as experiencing a 'mini-ice age'.

I think the electric technology is interesting, but not viable for road cars. Lean-burning engines are the way forward to counter the costs of oil based fuels, but racing with internal combustion engines should be about raw power, imho, not artificial rules limiting fuel usage.

The Formula-E cars are fun to watch because they are racing 'electric' power, not because I want things to progress that way. The last race was a good race with drivers in equally capable cars putting their talent on the line which is what racing should be about, not who has the biggest bank account.

 

[mystaaRS]

The cars look sick! (Sick meaning good)

The shiny chassis, and the radical liveries make this an interesting series, and then you have the drivers, and the competitive teams, and the stunning street tracks

 

[Nelson Ullinskey]

http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/live-streaming.aspx

Link to the official FIA Formula E stream

 

[Jimlaad43]

DAMMIT, Heidfeld in the wall again

 

[Nelson Ullinskey]

Hey! I just noticed now, but they dropped the dumb techno music! Woo-Hoo!

 

[Nelson Ullinskey]

That hairpin reminds me of the one from the Baltimore street circuit IndyCar used to race at

 

[Jimlaad43]

Decent race, utter demolition derby though

 

[Nelson Ullinskey]

Decent race, utter demolition derby though

Yep, would have been interesting if it rained

 

[Philip Heck]

The video on demand links on the official website are not working for me

 

[Nox]

That hairpin reminds me of the one from the Baltimore street circuit IndyCar used to race at

Which, in my opinion, is/was one of the worst street circuits in history.

 

[Ken Hughes]

Anyone who complains about the sound of this year's F1 engines should be forced to watch an EPrix - talk about whiney.

It was fun to watch though - but what exactly is Fan Boost? Do they have a big fan at the back of the car that blows them down the track?

 

[Philip Heck]

It was fun to watch though - but what exactly is Fan Boost? Do they have a big fan at the back of the car that blows them down the track?

It is basically like an upgraded KERS button for them to use. More power for a set amount of time.

 

[Ridhuan Abu Bakar]

i thought the track was horrible

 

[Philip Heck]

i thought the track was horrible

Better than the Beijing one though.