Comparing Mercedes and McLaren engines
The main purpose of this report is to provide a detailed overview of the Mercedes type of an engine and the McLaren engines. The McLaren engine can be considered as one of the oldest types of an engine in formula 1. Mercedes is also currently in the formula 1 chassis type of model. Both of these types of engines are highly regarded when it comes to engines with high power compatibility.
Introduction
- Background
- Historical overview
Mercedes is an international company of car manufacturing and a close division of a Germany group by the name Daimler AG. The brand is popularly known for its coaches, buses, trucks and mostly luxury vehicles and has its headquarters in Stuttgart. Mercedes had formerly competed in the racing known as the Grand Prix motor racing in the late 1930s and in this case silver arrows won the race with the formula 1 engine (Mercedes, 2016). McLaren is typically one of the oldest teams that are still active in F1 and has remained in the competition since the year 1966 up to date. This team was formed by Bruce McLaren, New Zealand racer, who died while doing a test of the Can-Am cares which gave the model the name McLaren in 1970 at Goodwood (McLaren Honda, 2016). Four years down the line, the team emerged the winners of the first world championship and the second time in 1976.
In the 1980s, the team lost to Ron Dennis but became the dominant force in after 1984 to the 1990s. McLaren split with Honda and joined forces with Mercedes in the 90s and this merge assisted them to win the 1998 and the 1999 championships. Later in 2014, McLaren split with Mercedes to join with Honda again since the split in 1992.
- Statistics
Mercedes F1 AMG high-performance powertrains are one of the most successful types of F1 engines in the car racing which is designed and manufactured according to the direction of Aldo Costa, Paddy Lowe, and the Geoff Wills in order to compete for the 2015 F1 season. Mercedes performance over the years has been progressive especially due to its investments in research and development strategies. McLaren has also been progressive when it comes to its performance. McLaren has won several races while under the original McLaren engines before using the Mercedes model of engine.
Comparison
- Engine
- Capacity and weight
The minimum weight of Mercedes F1 is 145kgs, has a power unit perimeter which is composed of a control phase, Motor generator unit (kinetic), Turbocharger (TC), Motor generator unit (heat), Energy storage (ES) (Mercedes, 2016). McLaren M838T type of engine has a 90degree twin turbocharged engine which is a flat plane V8 3.8litre engine compared to the Mercedes which also has a 90 degree turbocharged but has 1.6liter capacity with 6 cylinders. According to this statistics, the McLaren is more powerful than the Mercedes engine. This similarly indicates that the models of the vehicles are totally different. The length of McLaren is at least 428cm and a width of 182cm, the height of 114cm and wheel base of 272cm, can accommodate only 2 people and has a curb weight of 1140kgs
- Energy recovery system
Mercedes powertrains which were previously identified as IImor engines is a British Formula 1 manufacturer which is owned by the Mercedes-Benz. The company has been on the front line with the supply of Sauber in 1994, McLaren since 1995 to the year 2014, Force India from 2009, Mercedes factory from 2010, Lotus from 2015, Williams from 2015, manor from 2016 and Brawn from 2009. In the recent years, Mercedes has been the supplier of engines to McLaren but enhanced by Honda as a way of making the vehicles more powerful. The number of valves is equal in both McLaren and Mercedes causing the engines to almost have the same performing power range (Jenkins et al., 2016).
The figure above shows the F1 engine of Mercedes
The figure above shows F1 engine of McLaren
- Fuel consumption
- Internal engine combustion
Making a 900hp with a 3litre engine for the McLaren and a 1000+ hp with a 1.6litre engine for Mercedes relates to the fuel flow which is vast accordingly. The maximum rpm exhaust turbine of the Mercedes is around 125000 while that of the McLaren is above 200 000. Both of these indicate the ability of the engines to burn fuel at a very high level and this attributes to the high power of the engines. The displacement is at least 6064cc, the engine of V12 Mid engine RWD, horsepower of 627 HP, transmission of 6-speed manual gear, a maximum speed of 386km/h and a 0-60mph of 3.2sec (Whitby, 2016). On the engine specifications, Murray needed an engine that was naturally aspirated and which allowed it to be reliable and very easy to manipulate occasionally.
- Power unit
The team again settled for a BMW design with a 6litre V12 engine which had a total weight of 266kgs and still had the capacity of generating a horsepower of 627. This engine is so powerful and has the capability of causing damage to the carbon fiber parts and so the compartment is planted with a gold foil for easier insulation. The most crucial part when it comes to performance is to have a vehicle that is both low in weight and with a high power and McLaren F1 has achieved the target. McLaren is the first type of a car to use the monocoque chassis which was made out of the carbon fiber. All the other components of the car such as the interior, body, and any other part are made from lightweight materials like carbon fiber and titanium (McLaren Honda, 2016).
Both of these vehicles cannot be compared based on their weight since they can perform almost similar tasks but McLaren has a greater chance of performance. The engine capacity is 592hp or 441 kW and a 466 ft lbf which is way higher than that of Mercedes which is 161kp or 120kW. Comparing the two models, McLaren is more powerful and can produce immense energy when it comes to pick off (Whitby, 2016). The on-start accelerating forces generated of McLaren at 0-60 mph are at least 3 seconds compared to Mercedes which is at least 10 seconds. Comparing McLaren F1 engine to that of Mercedes F1 brings series of consideration in the idea that the F1 for McLaren is highly invested in terms of developing the engines.
Conclusion
McLaren is a company that has been known of not manufacturing their own types of engines but always depends on other companies such as Honda, BMW and Mercedes including others to manufacture engines for them. The company has heavily invested in getting the best engines with a high performance for the benefit of remaining among the best brands of vehicles in the world (Jenkins et al., 2016). Today a normal McLaren F1 engine car is close to $100 million. Mercedes on the other hand has been involved in making the best luxury and influential cars in the world and which have the best price and performance in capacity (Mercedes, 2016). Efficiency is highly observed at Mercedes and this creates the opportunity for the car to sell itself worldwide.
References
Boretti, A., & Scalzo, J. (2015). Design of 65 degree V4 Moto GP engines with pneumatic poppet valves or rotary valves (No. 2015-26-0176). SAE Technical Paper. Retrieved from: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Boretti%2C+A.%2C+%26+Scalzo%2C+J.+%282015%29.+Design+of+65+degree+V4+Moto+GP+engines+with+pneumatic+poppet+valves+or+rotary+valves+%28No.+2015-26-0176%29.+SAE+Technical+Paper.&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5
Jenkins, M., Pasternak, K., & West, R. (2016). Performance at the Limit: Business Lessons from Formula 1® Motor Racing. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Jenkins%2C+M.%2C+Pasternak%2C+K.%2C+%26+West%2C+R.+%282016%29.+Performance+at+the+Limit%3A+Business+Lessons+from+Formula+1%C2%AE+Motor+Racing.+Cambridge+University+Press.&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5
McLaren Honda. (2016). History of the F1 engines. Retrieved from: http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/car/history-of-the-f1-engine/
Mercedes. (2016) Formula 1 engine facts. Retrieved from: http://www.mercedes-amg-hpp.com/formula-1-engine-facts/#
Petronas (2016). PU106C Hybrid. Retrieved from: https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/mercedes-amg-f1/pu106c-hybrid/
The supercars. (2011). McLaren F1. Retrieved from: http://www.thesupercars.org/mclaren/mclaren-f1/
Whitby, R. D. (2016). The challenge of low-viscosity engine oils. Tribology & Lubrication Technology, 72(5), 96. Retrieved from: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=Whitby%2C+R.+D.+%282016%29.+The+challenge+of+low-viscosity+engine+oils.+Tribology+%26+Lubrication+Technology%2C+72%285%29%2C+96.&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=
