Highest revving??

[Big Stu]

So, here's a question for y'all.....
What car has had the highest revving engine?
The Judd GV4 V10 has peak power (600+bhp) at 10250rev/min
But of course the Mazda 787B in '91 had peak power at 9000rev/min or 27000 combustion/min (thats why I love 'em!)
Has there been any faster??

Stu

[SL]

I would guess the Mazda's as they actually raced using the high revs. They also also claimed 700bhp at 9000 rpm.

Nissan did have a special q engine that they used in 90 this was said to have 1200 bhp in a turbo at 2 bar. This was 6 sec clear of 2nd place 962. I do not have the RPM but probably less than 10,000 as they increased turbo boost to get the power

SL

[Big Stu]

Oh dear, I think my 27000combustion/min is incorrect, that's just for a single rotor whereas the 787B was quad rotor......
Didn't the Nissan have a wastegate 'problem' for that qualifying lap, supposedly Blundell ignored the teams orders to back off or risk blowing the engine..... What was the power whilst all that was going on????

[SL]

I don't think so. It was a special lap, the team kept him informed of traffic ahead and apparently he only met one car the whole lap. I have heard various powers from 1000 - 1200. the engine was only built for 3 laps at Le Mans, about 25 miles. The lap was just 12 seconds slower than the previous years without chicanes

[MulsanneMike]

The Peugeot 905 motor maxed out near 13,700 in qualifying, around 11,500 in race trim. Check out the "Last of the Longtails" article in Racecar Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 4

[Splatz the Cow]

No SL that is incorrect. The following info comes from the now defunct, :Le Mans Series & Sportscar Racer" magazine, July 2001.

It was the 1990 LeMans, and three Nissan factory teams (US,UK, Japan) competed to be the quickest Nissan team. Nissan Performance Technology Inc, Nissan Motorsports Europe, and NISMO fought "believing that the operation that did best that week would be chosen to construct Nissan's chassis to the new 3.5-litre Group C rules."


*** Written by Gary Watkins:
Mark Blundell may have been the only Nissan driver with a qualifying engine at his disposal, but the Briton couldn't have forseen quite how many horses he would have under his right foot for his pole shot.

Nissan's standard twin-turbo 3.5-litre V8 pushed out around 800bhp in race trim, qualifying boost would have given nigh on 1000bhp and this one-off special was designed to give significantly more than that. In fact, the Briton found himself with the best part of 1400bhp for his 147mph lap.

Not that this was by design. The waste gate had jammed shut on his out lap and the boost went skyhigh before he even started his flier. This was all too evident to the engine technician's monitoring the 3.5-litre unit's progress on the car-to-pits telemetry. And they weren't happy at all.

"Mark had made it onto the Mulsanne Straight when all these Japanese guys started shouting 'must stop, problem with boost, must stop' over the radio," recalls Nissan Motorsports Europe team manager David Price. "My response was the thing hadn't blown up yet so why stop?"

Blundell, meanwhile, was having the ride of his life. "I heard him say: 'Bloody hell, this thing is quick. It's like a rocketship,'" remembers Price.

Over the course of the 8.45-mile lap Blundell hit 238mph on the Mulsanne. That would have been an impressive terminal velocity the previous year but 1990, don't forget, was the first year the chicanes were inserted into the most famous straight in motorsport.

"I've got a picture on my office wall of Mark heading towards Indianapolis," says Price, "and the speed of the thing appears to be sucking his helmet off."

Blundell stopped the clocks at 3m27.02s, more than six seconds faster than the pole time set by Oscar Larrauri just minutes before. At that moment Martin Brundle, who'd just climbed into his TWR-Jaguar for a pole bid of his own, calmly stepped out of the car and walked away.

***


So a great lap all the same. Thought you'd enjoy part of the article on, "that lap".


By the way, the Judd makes 630BHP in restricted form at 10250 but some teams run it at 10500, and Intersport Lola past 11000 with 11500 max. Without restrictors it makes well over 700bhp. This is probably the winner, for me but what about the 333SP?

[Big Stu]

The Ferrari 333SP managed 650bhp @ 11000rev/min in '94. what spec/restrictors were in use I don't know...... What about the McLaren F1 and BMW LMP?

[Aysedasi]

Originally posted by Splatz the Cow
recalls Nissan Motorsports Europe team manager David Price. "My response was the thing hadn't blown up yet so why stop?"

Lovely stuff Splatz (the whole story I mean), but I can hear Dave Price saying that now (although I would have expected a "bloody" between the "the" and the "thing"!!).

[SL]

Sorry Splatz,

Never heard that before and it is not mentioned in the year book. Interesting reading, thanks for that. No wonder he was 6 seconds clear.

SL

[Muzza]

Hello, Splatz,

Great story! Thanks for sharing. Amazing how many stories Le Mans has to tell.

Muzza

[Splatz the Cow]

Yeah it's interesting you guys mention the record books coz imagine how it must look when you see a guys name 6 seconds clear of the fella that qualified second ???!! It probably helped cement Blundell's career because if he didn't get poll it was really a disappointing year at LeMans for Nissan (as was every year).

About the BMW engine... I dont know if the McLaren F1 and BMW LMR engine are exactly the same... Ayseadsi, do you know?

The Mac actually has a low safe limit for normal use (apparently? of around 6.5K RPM. But in BMW magazine the guy who built the engine says it's capable of nearabouts 850BHP at a "significantly higher rev range" {I'll get quotes in a minute, I'm just watching Manchester United play Bayern Leverkusen.] I think he's talking +9000. I'll try some torque/horsepower modelling to check.

Anyone got BMW magazine start looking for the years when the LMR raced and there will be info. For some strange reason they give out lots of info thatother manufactures don't.

I guess I'd boast about the McLaren being capable of 850bhp too.

Imagine #1. So if it does 391KM/h with 627bhp what happens when you get 850? and weigh only 915kgs in 1997 spec? I have to swear a lot just thinking bout it!!!!

Imagine #2. So imagine you've got the restricted 1997 car in the ALMS or at LeMans - with diffusers!!!! Bye-Bye Saleen Bye-Bye!

[SL]

I have the 98 book and will check details on Thursday

SL

[Aysedasi]

Splatz, I'm not really much of a "techie", but looking at the ACO's car specification stuff from 98 and 99, I reckon they were all but exactly the same (if that's not a contradiction in terms).

If that's true, though, why didn't the BMW LMR's sound as bloody marvelous as the F1 GTR's?

[Splatz the Cow]

The LMR had a full rear diffuser so, my guess is only that they re-routed the pipes for better positioning of the hot exhaust gases, so they work with and not against the diffuser. Also I suspect the whole mounting of the engine is different - lower, and that many modifications were made, after all its not a McLaren LMR.. but BMW..

Anyway this is only my intuitive guesswork and we need one of the 'Tech boffins' to help out here.

They say a lot can be learned in F1 from monitoring the exaust note..

I can't say I learnt anything coz I'm crying with frustration coz Montoya can't get through the first lap!

[Splatz the Cow]

And thanks for hunting that info for us SL!

I'll see what else I have.

Oh, does anyone know what spec the LMR engine was? S70/3 GTR (1996), or S70/2 GTR(1997). The S70/2 made 630bhp for the BMW motorsports team at LeMans in 1997, with all the LM regulations. It then ran in 1998 with two teams at LM, but I don't know if the restrictors were the same as in 1997.


I got this from some where, probably from Mulsanne Mike:

1999 - 2000 BMW LMR Specifications
Engine: V12, normally aspirated, 4 valves per cylinder.
Displacement: 5990 cc
Horsepower: 590+ bhp
Torque: 500+ lbft
Power transmission: Rear-wheel drive
Gearbox: X-Trac sequential 6-speed gearbox
Steering: Rack and pinion
Brakes: Hitco carbon discs, Front: 380 mm/ 15.0 in., Rear: 355 mm/14.0 in.
Tires: Michelin Radial, Front: 33/65-18, Rear: 36/71-18
Length: 4650 mm
Width: 2000 mm
Height: 1020 mm
Wheelbase: 2790mm
Front overhang: 970 mm
Rear overhang: 890 mm
Track Front: 1641 mm
Track Rear: 1596 mm
Weight: Ballasted to 900 kgs.
Tank capacity: 90 liters

[Es Nes]

the lmr ran the long tails engine because the short tail used a 6.1L v12

[Splatz the Cow]

Thanks Es Nes!

So its the S70/2 GTR. The long tail 1997 GTR ran at LeMans with 35.2 millimetre restrictors (1 or 2 I don't know.) Paul Rosche the BMW V12 McLaren engine designer says:

"Here we're drawing on 630 brake horsepower at 7000rpm - that borders on elegance. If the machine had been designed without any restrictions, we'd probably be reaching nearer 850bhp, but in a completely different rev range: that would be tantamount to a culture shock."

You gotta love it!

Es Nes, can you point me in the direction of more info on the LMR or McLaren F1 GTR? Much appreciated.

[Es Nes]

i wish i could, specially since the long tail mclaren got me interested in sportscars. but, any sites i had has disapeared

searching doesnt find much other than various images or model shops

[Big Stu]

There's little bit's and pieces, but nothing very interesting at www.mclarencars.com.......

[SL]

From the 98 year book
BMW LMR Limited to 8000 and was derived from the McLaren unit. And that is just about the ONLY mention of RPM in the whole book !

SL