Page 1 of 8 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 80

Thread: Formula E - The New Hotness?

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Relaxing and enjoying life MR2 Fan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Tampa Bay, Florida
    Posts
    5,392

    Formula E - The New Hotness?

    I just started catching up on this...I was familiar with it when it started and was thinking it wouldn't last, but it seems like it's getting more popular.

    The new car IMO looks great, and they have some interesting new features. There's an attack mode which lights up blue LED's around the halo to show drivers ahead of them that they have 25 more hp for a short time. There's also a "fan boost" where they poll fans to give 5 drivers a very short burst of speed.



    It's also interesting that the drivers do a short 3-4 second "intro" video at the bottom of the screen like your typical one, but if there's an incident during the race, they also filmed themselves being upset or sad, which is funny. So you'll be watching a car crash, then you'll see a "reaction" of the driver that they pre-recorded...silly, but unique.

    The cars are all quite similar, so the racing is closer, and the tracks seem often to be a LOT narrower. The good thing about this season compared to previous ones is that the Gen 2 car can go the full race distance on a charge, whereas before they had to literally swap to a new car halfway through the race.

    I'm excited that manufacturers are getting into this, because any battery improvements they make here will help electric cars on the road.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    2,293
    I think ideas like "fan boost" make it a bit of a joke, but it does aim it at a much younger audience.
    Did I see something about getting more power if you take a wider line in a corner?

    In the end it needs overtaking and exciting racing to make it successful.
    And it is competing against F1, which has a long history, huge brand awareness and is rightfully considered the peak of 4 wheel motorsport.

  3. #3
    Relaxing and enjoying life MR2 Fan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Tampa Bay, Florida
    Posts
    5,392
    The wider line is if you go to the Attack Zone, which is a several hundred meter part of the track that you drive through. Every driver has to use their attack zone twice per race, since you go off the racing line...it keeps it equal and strategy is needed.

  4. #4
    Administrator dodint's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    'Trep
    Posts
    5,619
    The new hotness? No. It may mature into something eventually, right now it's gimmicky.

  5. #5
    Severed Member JoeW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Tampa, Fl
    Posts
    2,720
    What would be more funny is fan drain, where they pick a car to lose power in critical parts of the race.

  6. #6
    Junior Potato
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    9,600
    Here’s last weekends race highlights, for those watching from the sidelines.



    Things it’s got going for it:

    - it’s a big-dollar sport that’s attracting significant support from large companies
    - this year’s cars are much better then the old ones
    - spec chassis, but teams can develop their own engine/battery/regen setups
    - unique racing ideas to make it fun to watch
    - it’s got plenty of passing
    - city streeet races in great locations
    - recent and past F1 stars taking part (notably Massa)
    - is the legit technological future of motor sport, especially F1 and Le Mans
    - professional TV package that’s fully available on YouTube after the race

    Things against it:

    - limited interest among ‘traditional’ fans who shun electric cars
    - not serious enough as a pure motor sport
    - one day format, plus expensive street circuit construction makes it costly to host events, so requires continual backup from corporate funds
    - questionable relevance to motor sport fans

    I do hope it gains a foothold and becomes more popular. I’ve been watching the events a little bit this year, and I want them to come to Surfers to race alongside the SuperCars series! That would shake up the bogans somewhat

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    12,805
    Quote Originally Posted by JoeW View Post
    What would be more funny is fan drain, where they pick a car to lose power in critical parts of the race.
    What a great idea!

    Anyway, I like it because it keeps drivers employed. There are quite a few drivers I really think deserve F1 seats, but just couldn’t for whatever reasons... so it’s good to see them racing.

    As for technical aspect of the sport, it’d be more awesome to see Tesla involved, or see these manufacturers actually putting serious EVs on the road. Right now it does seem gimmicky.
    Last edited by Crazed_Insanity; January 29th, 2019 at 05:08 PM.

  8. #8
    Administrator dodint's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    'Trep
    Posts
    5,619
    RWA keeps saying 'motor'; anyone want to tell him? *giggle*

  9. #9
    Severed Member JoeW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Tampa, Fl
    Posts
    2,720
    Quote Originally Posted by dodint View Post
    RWA keeps saying 'motor'; anyone want to tell him? *giggle*
    He actually said engine. You blew your own punchline on that one

  10. #10
    We All Live in a Yellow BRZ The359's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    1,516
    It does nothing for me. The street courses seem to have horrible, narrow layouts that just exacerbate the tendency that the drivers have to run into each other. The aerodynamics of the cars seem to be the opposite of what they need, the cars are so slow that it's just all for show.

    A technological achievement, sure, but just not good racing. The reason so many manufacturers are involved is that it is so much cheaper to run a factory team in Formula E than it is in any other motorsport. Development cost is low to something like an LMP1.
    Nulla Tenaci Invia Est Via

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •