Sorry, but what happens to racing????? After the soundchanging from wow! to wtf in Formula 1, we now have a new series with no sound? Come on....
Its evolution I guess, not a fan of it either, its not like 20 cars are going to add much to global warming. but at least they try to avoid using planes and such to move them around. Bit of an redundant gesture though. Lets hope the masses don't pickup on it and it dies a slow and painless death
It's the future of racing IMO. Racing is where street car technology is born and a racing series like this was only a matter of time. How many years until F1 goes completely electric? It makes me scratch my head when some want this in rF2.
I have no problem with evolution, but i have a big problem when racing comes along with worse or no sounds . And when manufacturers like Porsche have a complete section for sound-design for their normal street-cars, it should be possible to adapt this to racing too (in a different way clearly). Electricity is there anyway and all needed components are available. Racing without adequate sounds, for me, looses more than the half of it's atmosphere.
Formula-E is racing mostly for the 'tree-hugging' set. That's okay....as long as it doesn't encroach on F1 broadcast. I still want my internal combustion unit...even if it supplemented by electric motors.
I am personally a big fan of F-e because of its purpose as technology booster. Electric motors are extremelly more efficient than ICUs, a good ICU achieves about 30% efficiency. That means it transfers about 30% of energy released by combusting its fuel into the force its meant to produce, in our case torque. The rest is wasted and gotten rid of. As heat through radiators and exhaust gases. As light when expolosion occurs. As noise when explosion occurs. And all the frictional resistances along the drivetrain produce even more unwanted heat as wasted energy. I dont know what efficiency current high-end electric motors achieve. But its miles miles better than ICUs, Thats why i consider it to be our future or energy tranforming device. Which is basically what engines are. The biggest issue currently is our incompetence in storing pure electric energy. I strongly believe that Formula 1 with ERS and especially Formula e will have significant impact on this technology from which the entire humanity will benefit. Yes, i mean batteries. Thats why i am a big fan and trully hope that Formula e will be largery popular, as more popular it gets, more money will go into it. Thanks to all above, what i also enjoy is that the regulations in Formula E are far more inteligent than in F1. The cars have far better aerodynamics in terms of drag because stupid regulations do not forbit from covering the wheels of the car to avoid that massive drag they produce. in F1 wheels are currently the very most unaerodynamic, turbulence and drag producing objects on the car. And they are not allowed to do anything about it. Next year Formula E will be far more interesting. As for this year all teams got their cars and have to race them as they are with absolutelly minima differences in between each other. But for next season that door will open.
I find the whole 'noise hysteria' quite amusing to be honest. Racing is racing, it's about what goes on on the track between competing drivers in state of the art machinery. Not how it sounds. Big Formula E fan and a huge F1 2014 fan as well, both regarding look and sound.
To a point that is true, however, then sensation of speed makes it better in most cases. I have seen an electric go kart once, and it looked A LOT slower then the petrol-powered go karts, and looked really boring. However, the people who got to drive it said it was excually way faster, and very exciting..... Off course, if the racing is really great the speed and the sound (or lack of it) doesn't matter too much (I have seen a Clio Cup race with over 40, maybe 50 cars at Spa, and it was great fun to watch) but the sensation of speed sure adds a lot to the excitement, as does the loud sounds (at least in person, on tv it is less so)!!!
Just watch some sci fi movie that has cars and they all sound like this, even in Star Wars the howering cars. Its the sound movie sound engineeres chose to use as futuristic. And people go like "Hooah thats cool how it sounds". And now its reality.
For me it has nothing to do with "hysteria". It's just my personal impression. When you (my impression ) have ever been on a racetrack to watch a race live, the sound makes a lot. My most impressive experience was the start of the Formula 1 race at Hockenheim in 1993, sitting directly at start/finish-line.
Nah, no hysteria here either. Its not just about technical evolution. like Mike states, all them things that go on under the hood that are theoretically awesome and will help mankind survive into the future.....its also about immersion. I'm not a tech guy, I don't see those parts being awesome, I don't see the 30% increase because ICU, all I see is the outside, what a driver does, and how it sounds, how it looks, it gives me essential info on what's going on and helps me to understand and get exited. I know when a car is about to explode because the engine sounds iffy, I know when Raikonnen has issues before the commentators see it because I saw his rear-flap malfunctioning for 2 laps, I saw Rosberg doubling his gears well before Couldhart did, I knew it was the end for him. I love DRS in F1 not just because they can drag/slip/pass but because it gives me a tool to be able to follow it just that little bit closer and get more exited about it. I can see what's going on. It works the same with sound for me. Not just because its awesome to listen to, it gives info, tells a story, warns on forehand and it is violent. (and it smells better) Comparing it with sci-fi films is just downgrading it to something silly, its far from F-E reality what they do in movies, 'an electrical sound' is not what those sound-designers where after or they might as well could have used their mom's hair dryer for the lot of them I don't want to sit on the couch with a spreadsheet of awesome evolutionary items and then look at it allot in order to be able to say how fricking cool this is. But hey, if they decide to race close to or in my country, i'de probably go see it anyways
Im am into science so our point of views differs. But Keep in mind this is evolution same way petrol engines were back in 1920s when they were replacing steam engines. People also didnt like them, they were worse than Steam engines of the day, because the technology was not developed and invented yet. But the manufactures saw the advantage of petrol over steam and what potential it has, its exactly that same for electric motors. And you can hear them the same way as you hear an ICU, only a bit quiter, if there is something going on with the motor, its sounds will also change. And because Formal E does have gears, what happened to Rosberg may as well happen to Prost. DRS is just a rule that took place some years ago, it will probably take place in F-e too, well, assuming that in some years of development they will move onto faster tracks. Everything you said is possible in F-e too. you just need to get rid of your "new technology resistance stance" i hate iPhones btw.... or the whole smart phone idea..
Ah ok, its my inability to adapt to change that is causing my resistance, fair enough, glad that's sorted then
I watched the first one (Shanghai, I believe). It's bad when they have to add music to a racing broadcast. Treaded skinny tires that belong on a Skip Barber car. Did anyone notice the audience? Was just "ok" smaller than an Indycar race. I won't be watching another one. Ask the Isle of Man audience what they think of electric bikes. They want them gone, calling them appliances.
tiny tyres are to reduce rolling frictional resistance, its all to do with the batteries, as they are saving energy, so as the technology develops, the cars will get faster and more fun, just give it a chance
I know what the tiny tires are for. I gave it one chance, that was one too many. Changing CARS halfway through the race?
It's always funny watching a discussion between those who think that things should never change and those who know things have to change sooner or later. Lol
I more would say it's funny to see how a thread can take a complete weird direction It's like to open a thread with: i like like banana-ice-cream which ends with: people in the 3rd world who reap bananas are exploited.
