Noodleguitar
Admin
Since Marc and I used both fuel saving strategies in the first BES race; lifting early before a corner and using a higher engine map, I was curious about the effect of each method, so I did a little test.
I compared two laps of normal racing at Monza with fuel saving by lifting early plus braking later and using engine map 2. It is not a complete scientific experiment but it wouldn't surprise me if the results hold over an entire stint.
Each time I recorded the starting fuel when crossing the line and the remaining fuel after two laps. When using engine map 2, I activated this before the last corner.
Normal racing:
Fuel used: 8.0 L
Lap times:
1 - 1:49.2
2 - 1:49.1
Lifting early:
Fuel used: 7.4 L
Lap times:
1 - 1:49.4
2 - 1:49.6
Lifting early means going completely off the throttle before the braking point. The amount of time off throttle can be varied, but I used a moderate amount. Lifting at just after the 300 sign before turn 1, around the 200 sign at the last turn etc.
When lifting early you should of course also brake later to account for the loss of speed from rolling friction, drag and engine mechanics. This is the tricky part, estimating a dynamic braking point based on your current speed.
I suspect that lifting early and braking later is more effective at low speed corners with heavy braking zones. Turn 1 being a good example, just like the last chicane at Spa. A bad example I feel would be the Lesmos corners.
Engine map 2:
Fuel used: 7.4 L
Lap times:
1 - 1:50.4
2 - 1:50.1
Conclusion:
These results seem to indicate a massive advantage for lifting and coasting over using a higher engine map. The fuel used was the same in both scenarios but the lap times with engine map 2 were significantly higher.
This is Monza however, which means using engine map 2 will lose you a lot of time on the straight. Maybe at a track like Brands Hatch, engine map 2 will perform better. Other than that, I don't see many reasons to use engine map 2 over lifting and coasting.
Lifting and coasting is also very well suited for driving in traffic. When going into a braking zone directly behind another driver you will have to brake early anyway, so you might as well lift even earlier and brake around the normal braking point. Being in his draft means you will lose less speed when off the throttle as well.
Another situation occurs when you're going into a corner defensively on the inside and another driver is drafting past you on the outside. This is also a pretty good opportunity to lift early and brake later as long as you can make sure the other driver won't snatch the apex away right in front of you.
The trade-off between losing time and saving fuel seems pretty favorable to me. At a cost of less than 0.5 seconds per lap I was using 93% of normal fuel. Over a full stint at Monza consistently fuel saving this way can gain you 2-3 extra laps.
I compared two laps of normal racing at Monza with fuel saving by lifting early plus braking later and using engine map 2. It is not a complete scientific experiment but it wouldn't surprise me if the results hold over an entire stint.
Each time I recorded the starting fuel when crossing the line and the remaining fuel after two laps. When using engine map 2, I activated this before the last corner.
Normal racing:
Fuel used: 8.0 L
Lap times:
1 - 1:49.2
2 - 1:49.1
Lifting early:
Fuel used: 7.4 L
Lap times:
1 - 1:49.4
2 - 1:49.6
Lifting early means going completely off the throttle before the braking point. The amount of time off throttle can be varied, but I used a moderate amount. Lifting at just after the 300 sign before turn 1, around the 200 sign at the last turn etc.
When lifting early you should of course also brake later to account for the loss of speed from rolling friction, drag and engine mechanics. This is the tricky part, estimating a dynamic braking point based on your current speed.
I suspect that lifting early and braking later is more effective at low speed corners with heavy braking zones. Turn 1 being a good example, just like the last chicane at Spa. A bad example I feel would be the Lesmos corners.
Engine map 2:
Fuel used: 7.4 L
Lap times:
1 - 1:50.4
2 - 1:50.1
Conclusion:
These results seem to indicate a massive advantage for lifting and coasting over using a higher engine map. The fuel used was the same in both scenarios but the lap times with engine map 2 were significantly higher.
This is Monza however, which means using engine map 2 will lose you a lot of time on the straight. Maybe at a track like Brands Hatch, engine map 2 will perform better. Other than that, I don't see many reasons to use engine map 2 over lifting and coasting.
Lifting and coasting is also very well suited for driving in traffic. When going into a braking zone directly behind another driver you will have to brake early anyway, so you might as well lift even earlier and brake around the normal braking point. Being in his draft means you will lose less speed when off the throttle as well.
Another situation occurs when you're going into a corner defensively on the inside and another driver is drafting past you on the outside. This is also a pretty good opportunity to lift early and brake later as long as you can make sure the other driver won't snatch the apex away right in front of you.
The trade-off between losing time and saving fuel seems pretty favorable to me. At a cost of less than 0.5 seconds per lap I was using 93% of normal fuel. Over a full stint at Monza consistently fuel saving this way can gain you 2-3 extra laps.
