So in general how much clearance is in between the engine and the monocoque?

FW17 wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 17:07

So in general how much clearance is in between the engine and the monocoque?

ZERO. The ICE is bolted to the monocoque.


Have you not seen images ...

diffuser wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 17:19

FW17 wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 17:07

So in general how much clearance is in between the engine and the monocoque?

ZERO. The ICE is bolted to the monocoque.


Have you not seen images ...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAduQeWXkAA ... name=large

That does not mean the engine front face is on the back of the monocoque

I think the (almost?) non existent space between the engine and the orange battery there is an issue too. It doesn't seem well insulated from ICE vibrations.

By shortening the battery, the entire battery is brought closer to the ICE. The MGU-K is also now alongside the battery where it was previously alongside the ICE. All of these packaging changes could cause more vibrations to reach to the battery.

Honda has only one team to serve. How on earth can they have a spare part problem?

They probably expected a battery pack to last for a very long time and then shook several of them to pieces...

FW17 wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 17:40

diffuser wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 17:19

FW17 wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 17:07

So in general how much clearance is in between the engine and the monocoque?

ZERO. The ICE is bolted to the monocoque.


Have you not seen images ...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HAduQeWXkAA ... name=large

That does not mean the engine front face is on the back of the monocoque

Maybe we're not understanding each other. That yellow highlighted thing screws into the monocoque, also called the driver’s survival cell or carbon tub. The regs require the batteries be inside the survival cell.

I think one of Honda's problem is they are too proud to say "no we can't do that". They have been through a baptism of fire with Podromu and McLaren now Newey and AM. I don't know who the BAR designer was. I think Honda would be better with their own chassis and engine, which would be so cool. I love Honda white. Championship White I think it's called?

It´s better forget this year, excellent article (if true) from Autosport JP, taken from Reddit/autosport forum

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comme ... honda_are/

Bill wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 15:26

AR3-GP wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 14:59

Bill wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 14:28

merc on the other hand had 2 pu failers on latest spec but you wont know that reading new

Compression ratio was the far bigger story about Merc.

It was the story before testing but after testing the are lot of stories to report to rather nonstop honda smear campaign. Compression ratio trick give an estimate of 10 to 15 hp so it's not game changer that we were lead to believe , so why believe media now

15 horsepower and running around 1.5% less fuel, with a better spooling turbo might add up to around .2 to .3 seconds a lap. Not a huge difference, but over a 60 lap race that is a full pit stop ahead. I am glad they moved the testing up to June 1st to curtail this potential advantage quicker.

If a detuned engine/PU can keep up with the Ferrari, according to the GPS data, then it shows that the hardware must be good. It is very likely, that the battery is also good by itself. But if there is a harmonic resonance catastrophe, the entire picture is skewed. Add some thermic shock to the recipe, just for a bit of umami. And we only get distorted informations based on morsels of leaked infos without the proper context. If the cohesion and the balance gets established between the components, suddenly we are gonna see the truth.

Bence wrote: ↑

03 Mar 2026, 23:47

If a detuned engine/PU can keep up with the Ferrari, according to the GPS data, then it shows that the hardware must be good. It is very likely, that the battery is also good by itself. But if there is a harmonic resonance catastrophe, the entire picture is skewed. Add some thermic shock to the recipe, just for a bit of umami. And we only get distorted informations based on morsels of leaked infos without the proper context. If the cohesion and the balance gets established between the components, suddenly we are gonna see the truth.

We will see exactly what Aston and Honda managed to do over the past week to try and fix some of the vibrations issues. The engine can clearly rev to 13000 rpm +, but can it do it without shaking the battery and other pieces apart? How much is the transmission or double stacking of the battery pack influencing these harmonics? I don't think the engine is more than 25 horsepower off the Audi or Ferrari engines based on the limited running the team did at anywhere close to full power. Only a few days left before we will see if they can turn this motor up at all, or are we going to have to wait until China or even later to see what this package can actually do. Finishing behind Cadillac was not on my bingo card for this team in 2026 for sure...

OTTOMH, vibration sources, types, exacerbators:
ICE - cam train, reciprocating parts, crankshaft, now higher engine speeds (?), hydraulic pump, HP fuel pump
TC - surely not, it would be in pieces
MGUK - humming, whine, rotor imbalance, odd HF interactions btwn stator/rotor/applied fields(?)
MGUK transmission - large on this Honda PU, connects to MGUK within monocoque, cantilevered or mounted at both ends?
ES, control units - humming, whine
Chassis - resonance of a hollow structure, extended engine mounts
PU - Interactions of some or all the above

The ICE general dimensions are identical, so I’d have expected no surprises there. Perhaps solid state electronics can get into runaway/resonant vibration states in these high power density arrangements. New chassis (as in any year) seems to be the elephant in the room.

Engine mounts mentioned earlier in the thread. RBR did have non-integral metallic standoff engine mounts in recent seasons. Potentially source of deflection along with the chassis walls themselves. AMR looks to have the most experimental chassis. Pylon mounted rear suspension, low forward chassis height. What else might they be trying?

The engine power train monocoque package is so tightly pack that any major change in engine PU shape and layout will potentially require a complete redesign of the back end including suspension layout. The only hope I see is for Honda to find a solution to solve the vibration issue. If that is not possible, then 2026 will be a write-off for AMR.