Is the Honda engine now better than Renault?
Discussion
I was wondering, with the recent upturn in the performance of McLaren is the Honda engine now better than the Renault?
I know Red Bull are outperforming Honda at the moment but how much of that is down to their chassis and aero package? McLaren are now outperforming Renault, Torro Rosso, Force India and Williams and although their chassis is also being developed I would guess most of the performance increase is down to engine development.
So what do you think, is the Honda unit better than the Renault (TAG)? How far behind the Ferrari and Mercedes do you think it is?
I know Red Bull are outperforming Honda at the moment but how much of that is down to their chassis and aero package? McLaren are now outperforming Renault, Torro Rosso, Force India and Williams and although their chassis is also being developed I would guess most of the performance increase is down to engine development.
So what do you think, is the Honda unit better than the Renault (TAG)? How far behind the Ferrari and Mercedes do you think it is?
Do you really believe it's better than the Merc in the back of the Williams and FI? Can't really compare to Renault as that chassis was built around the Merc motor rather than the Renault and hence is quite a compromise. But that means the chassis is well ahead of at least three of those teams...
I think it might just about be a match for the Renault in overall power (well, it seems to balance out, the Renault seems to have more outright power but the Honda can deploy KERS for longer now) but I don't think it is in race pace, still seems to use too much fuel saving.
I think it might just about be a match for the Renault in overall power (well, it seems to balance out, the Renault seems to have more outright power but the Honda can deploy KERS for longer now) but I don't think it is in race pace, still seems to use too much fuel saving.
Edited by PhillipM on Friday 29th July 12:17
MB mentioned that the honda engine was accepted as having passed the renault engine in power by most in the pitlane BUT the leccy recovery was down by a fair bit still, so yes i recon it is but it isn't if that makes sense ? on a differant track form hungary with less braking events (and hense less energy recovery) and longer straights the ren is the better unit as a whole of the 2.
S0 What said:
MB mentioned that the honda engine was accepted as having passed the renault engine in power by most in the pitlane BUT the leccy recovery was down by a fair bit still, so yes i recon it is but it isn't if that makes sense ? on a differant track form hungary with less braking events (and hense less energy recovery) and longer straights the ren is the better unit as a whole of the 2.
Think they commented recently that the non-ICE side of the power unit is now equal to anyone else. Part of the issue is that the Honda doesn't have the trick injection system the other cars do ( http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/revea... ) which harms both total power & fuel economy. That's apparently due either later this season or before the start of next.As others have said, not sure it's better overall than the Renault PU. In qualifying mode the Honda maybe a bit better but the Renault is better in the race. The Honda started out this year on par with the 2015 Ferrari PU, but worser fuel consumption. It has steadily got better, and now is definitely better than the 2015 Ferrari PU even with the fuel consumption problem present to an extent in the race.
RenOHH said:
Unfortunately it doesn't really matter. I promise I am not trying to be a smart arse, but I worry that even if the McLaren had a Mercedes PU that they would still not win any championships 
That was the whole point wasn't it, Ron said that nobody ever wins with a customer engine and he wanted his own engine manufacturer.Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff