Are Hypercar Engines Better Than Formula 1? - 24 Hours of Le Mans 

Anything from NA V8's to twin turbo hybrid V6's. The amount of variation in that class is amazing

When they switch from the electric motor to internal combustion, it is amazing! That brutal sound! The hypercars sound like they were made by skynet.

Awesome to bump into you mate glad we had a chance for a quick baguette selfie!

*Worth noting!* This video is specific to the 24 Hours of Le Mans race (and more specifically, Cadillac's LMDh build), and doesn't dive into the differences between LMDh & LMH, WEC & IMSA, and the differences between the cars used in each (for example, LMH cars can have 200kW of electric power). As an introductory video on the subject, I didn't want to constantly have to clarify between different acronyms. Something I think Formula 1 does really well are their educational pieces surrounding technical aspects of the sport - would be great to see the same out of WEC/IMSA!

I have to say that the 24 hours of Le Mans was actually more fun to watch then the last few f1 races.

Correction: Hybrid activation threshold for AWD cars is NOT 120 km/h as claimed in the video. It depends on tire width and it's 190 km/h for both Toyota & Ferrari and it's 150 km/h for Peugeot!

I’ve been a huge LeMans fan since that year Audi had the brilliant idea to make the entire rear section of the car a replaceable element, cutting a gearbox change from most of an hour to 5 minutes. ACO changed the rules after that but it still gave an example of both the level of innovation possible, and the fact that the engineers and mechanics remain an active part of the team until 4:00 on Sunday. This year did not disappoint. After 23-1/2 hours, the two leading cars were still on the same lap. And hearts stopped when the leading Ferrari had trouble restarting after their last fuel stop. It’s simply brilliant.

Since there is so much equalization, seems Cadilac is going for the "keep it simple and make it to the end of the race" strategy. BTW great video had no idea there were so many detailed rules and regulations.

So happy you share some light onto the WEC. I get that from an engineering perspective it may not seem as interesting, but despite mandated downforce and drag figures the manufacturers came up with some interesting aero details to gain hidden advantages. I would love to see more videos on the technical details of both LMH and LMDh as those were both thrown in the mix in this video.

I've always enjoyed how much more analogous to road cars endurance cars are. you know, headlights, space for 2 people, have to withstand abuse for long periods of time. I find the tech so cool, and more likely to make its way to my honda civic in the future

A video showing the difference in design of cross vs flat plane crank would be good. Most ppl have never even seen a crank.

Maybe not technically but I love the variation with the prototypes and those V8's just sound better than F1 V6's anyway.

MCM !! Wooo. Nice to see Marty and Moog making an appearance.

Could you do a video on the differences between the LMH and LMDh cars? Because a couple of things you said are specific to one ruleset. Mostly the Hybrid stuff, because LMDh uses a spec part whereas LMH is a lot more open.

10:03 remember that the time penalty for hybrids also means that they just don't have to rush the refueling process, which is a small advantage, but still an advantage.

I just love the variety of cars, in terms of sights and sounds, for both WEC and IMSA. I've only been to a few IMSA races in person, but every time is an amazing experience hearing the how each car flys by or downshifts into a corner. The Cadillacs always leave me astonished as they roar by accelerating and upshifting, but also when they're downshifting. It is quite addicting, I must say!

Having watched this years race, I personally believe we are seeing a return to the golden era of Group C, possibly even better. What would be awesome is if in the same manner as the IMSA prototypes competed at LeMans for the first time in decades, the WEC cars come fight it out at Daytona (the prototypes are visibly and significantly faster compared to anything racing there in the past 30 years).

Just a heads up, there's the 24 hours of Spa coming up this weekend.

Considering the balance of performance thing Toyota’s dominance is pretty incredible. This year’s Le Mans was a ton of fun to watch.

This year's Le Mans was incredible. Very fun race to watch. Great video.

Very nice video! One more thing to note regarding the BoP in my opinion is that is also helps to motivate manufacturers to invest in their brands' motorsport sections. If no BoP would be present, I think way less teams would even start to challenge the Toyota's recent rule over the endurance racing. By having some security in the fact that the rules will help you balance out the head start other team might already have, I think the beancounters are then more willing to allow their brand to take part in the sport.

Great work Jason, excellent way of explaining some of the complexities of our sport.

Jason''s videos are always entertaining and packed with information. He is obviously well caffeinated and enthusiastic about whatever topic he is exploring. This quality can be enhanced by playing his videos at twice normal speed.

Thanks for this excellent, interesting video about one of my favorite motorsports!

They are indeed amazing pieces of engineering. I've been looking forward to these rules changes from ACO for a while. It was an absolutely epic race this year!

Loved seeing the picture with you and the mighty car mods guys

You "gotta" read the book "How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Formula 1 Designer" by Adrian Newey for even more history and insight into the topics you bring up at the end of your usual great video.

Each of your episodes seems more interesting than the previous one... I'm wondering if it's due to the efficiency of the powertrain or you're now sporting a TT you're dialling in...? Much respect from BC, Canada.

Restrictions lead to really interesting changes for engines. A great example is the new gt3 mustang being 5.4 L . It has a 94mm bore and 97mm stroke. Typically you'd see an over square design like you do on the base 5.0 (93x92.7) but rules limit intake size so the torque for rpm tradoff is worth it.

Thank you very much for your video, Wish more people know about these cool cars and races

Very well explained like always thanks a lot I understand now hypercar interest. Great strategy

Very, very good! Short and sweet.

Wish I’d known you were at Le Mans, would have said hello! Absolutely loved the sound of the Cadillacs. They were second only to the Cup Car.

so cool to see you hang out with MCM. i saw that pic in one of their videos and it reminded me i hadn't seen any of your videos pop up in awhile

Lovely to see you touch on the hypercar/lmdh tech! Shook your hand when you were standing in the fanzone at Le Mans! Was really nice to just say hi. Was so nervous I forgot to introduce myself but you kindly asked my name! 😁 Hope you had a great weekend!

Great video, please do more racing related stuff!

Great vid as always. I really love endurance racing, always something going on, and so many variables. Combining 3-4 classes in one race always makes for interesting situations. Plus all 3 classes just look so cool, haha

2:35 I think a 500KW power limit is a giant rule, jason

I think the engineering to come out of endurance racing is way better than what comes from F1. Endurance cars are built to not just run high power, but to keep doing it for an extended period of time. That type of engineering has more real world applications than an engine that only produces power for a couple of hours a day.

Thank you for years of informative videos. How about a discussion on the physical/chemical/functional properties required for automotive fluids other than gasoline and motor oil. Why does brake fluid have to be so hygroscopic? Why can't engine oil serve as clutch/transmission fluid? - it does in my motorcycles. How does ATF fluid differ from transmission oil, and why? Do the additives in the more expensive radiator fluids really make a difference. (You could probably skip discussion of windshield washer fluid...). Thanks again for these great engineering videos.

This is the problem with modern racing leagues, many of them have over regulated and led to a complete lack of interesting technological competition.

great video as always!!!!!!!!

Great video

I love the picture of you with Emilia Hartford! My two favorite YT channels together.

I love that you caught a selfie with Mighty Car Mods! You and they are kind of the polar opposite approaches to the same subject matter, in the best of ways. 😂

Hello Jason, thanks for this video, it was nice to watch. Did you see my comment on your Vision EQXX video yet?

I have never been to the 24hr but the Petite was rather fun the few times I went. I'd love to wat h the 24 in person. The TDi's first year was impressive!

This was entertaining to watch 😁

WEC rules say that the engine shall not make more than 670hp. However, the thing about normal engines, when they say they have 670hp, it has a MAXIMUM of 670hp at a specific rpm, and most of the time it doesn't. so it makes sense to make an engine that has more than the 670hp, and then restrict it thru mapping to increase the rev range that max power is developed. And of course, the other way is to fill in the power difference with the electric motors.

As a long time Formula 1 fan, who's only recently taken interest in WEC, I found this very interesting. Thank you, Jason.

This Cadi is simply SUPERB The engine is the best sounding on the grid and the chassis is another masterpiece by Dallara 😍😍😍

LMP1 and LMP2 are my favorites. With the right modifications they can be as fast or faster than modern F1 cars, since the only real engine regs were that you needed a 1.9 liter turbo V6 and had to use race gas (4 liter V8 for LMP2). The exhaust recovery systems and MGU were much more powerful, they had AWD, and there was more room on the body to put dive planes for ground effect downforce (though there were limits on how much ground effect you could make). Porsche broke the Nurburgring lap record by modifying a 919 LMP1 car, a record previously held by a modern F1 car, with just a 10 percent increase in downforce.

haha that pic with Mighty Car Mods. Very cool!

That was cool, thanks! So, Cadillac is in endurance racing (just) for the entertainment value it provides? It would be interesting to hear Barra give her thoughts on GM's racing viz a viz where GM sees the transportation market and how GM approaches racing.

Another excellent video. I learned so much. Would be interesting to find out how often, as a percentage of the race, is the car actually running at the peak horsepower. All that work to keep it at peak horsepower, and if you're only running it at that peak for 20% of the race, is it worth all that?

Interessant

I personally would like to have everyone satisfied: the teams (and their engineers) and the fans I think that toppling over the technical work just for the sake of "entertainment" isn't the way to go: it kinda disrespects one very crucial and characteristic aspect of the sport...and isn't fair in the end (to me at least). Anyway, great video!

I love that nerd recognises nerd and the premier engineering teams of the world also love your channel and get you out to review stuff. It's so cool to see! 😂❤

Really cool to see you there, still amazed that I got to talk to you

Lemans is a blast! Went a few years ago.

Epic picture with MCM folks!

I “love” this guy!!

One edit you should make is that the boost numbers are set by the BOP from IMSA/FIA/ACO, usually a week or more before the race. Something interesting is that the 5.5L V8 DPI Cadillacs in IMSA were the most fuel efficient cars in the category even though they were racing against a Nissan 3.8L TT V6, an Acura 3.5L TT V6, and a Mazda 2.0L TT I4. Another interesting thing is that GM invested a lot of money making their pushrod V8's breath more easily in the 1990's (at one point the LS V8 was the most efficiently breathing engine on Earth). They did this for several reasons: 1) it was cheaper to do this than develop a new engine family from scratch 2) to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions 3) a pushrod engine is more compact than overhead cam design (the last generation of Chevy Impala had an option for a FWD longitudinally mounted LS V8, and also google LS swapped Volkswagen from some crazy stuff).

I love endurance racing the BOP has been a real drag especially when there is a clear sweat heart like when ford brought back the GT…. They sand bagged and had a more then friendly BOP just so the fair tail ending would happen like wrestling match

I'd prefer fewer rules... Great video!

The biggest problem I have wit BOP is that there is the chance that you simply have to be lucky to have the best package without actually having the best package because the officials messed up the BOP. For example this year a Ferrari won the N24H the first time. The 296GT3 is a new car so officials have little data for it and when I watched the race I immidiately saw how fast the car was compared to the others on the long straight. They were pretty much given the victory on the silver plate. It's simply not fair. And at Le Mans Toyota, although I'm no Toyota fan got hit by BOP before the weekend more than any other car.

Shoutout to the mad lads at Mighty Car Mods 0:21

MATE, I was just doing some programming (IN RUST BTW ;) ) which is what cool/popular people do, while waiting for the austrian grand prix qualifying session...and was wanting pretty much this exact video. Ahhh, engineering explained is a legend, ABSOLUTE ANIMAL.

I wish F1 would bring back the 1989 engine regulations. Back then you could do whatever engine layout you wanted up to 12 cylinders, and a maximum displacement of 3.5 liters. It would be interesting to see what the engine manufacturers would make to compete.

I've just watched a video from Toyota about hybrid systems. They have these things called MG1 and MG2. I hope you explain them in the future. Thanks!

Requesting EE stickers/decals (for my toolbox) from the merch department !! Rock on Jason ! Cheers from Wisconsin !!

@RealEngineering do a Video on the titan submersible

Would like to see greater novelty in car construction. Here is one race series we came up with: 1) each grid (the set of cars that show up for the race) is ranked higher (ie. closer to pole position for the race start) for grid positions as the size of their engine shrinks. So a 2-cylinder engine has a qualifying advantage to a 4- or 6-cylinder engine 2) absolutely no limits to the engine construction. 2-stroke, or 4-stroke, or diesel, or rotary, or some novel design - only requirement is the engine must run on no greater than 93 octane pump gas (mixed with 2-stroke oil for a 2-stroke motor) or pump-grade diesel. Limit of 1 liter max. 3) each car is ranked higher up the grid as the team budgets shrink. So a team that spends $100k is ranked higher on the grid than a team that spends $500k 4) absolute limit of $1 million for the team budget 5) there must be 5 cameras on each car: cockpit, front-facing, rear-facing, and one facing outward from each side So the race will consist of 1- or 2-cylinder engines, and really cheap cars. This will get rid of the 'throw money at the problem' people who basically ruined F1. It will shift emphasis back to HUMAN CLEVERNESS in engineering. F1 and Indy car had much more freedom for car design in the past (remember the turbine cars from Lotus and Granetelli at the Indy 500?) Colin Chapman's ground effects and so many other design novelties would never be allowed - all designs are set and heavily influenced by Mercedes, et al. *_FORMULA ONE has become as exciting as WATCHING A GUY PLAY MINIATURE GOLF FOR 2 HOURS_* They forgot that racing is a SPECTATOR sport. NOVELTY is why people will pay for tickets. Not sameness. SAMENESS lacks the appeal of novelty. You want to see some real racing? Watch the Isle of Man TT. Or the Megavalanche bike downhill, the winter version .

3:28 is a rotary a 4stroke engine? Great video, I love lemans!!!!!!

5:45 Glickenhaus and ByKolles(Vanwall) arent using hybrids not necessarily because they don't want to, it's just that they can't afford it

So. As always a great explanation. However I must say that the cosworth DFV, many Indy, and of course 24h of Le Mans engines had a flat plane V8 layout. Vibrations aren't an issue in that terms in an Endurance race. But, anyway, that Cadillac powerplant sounds insane

In person F1 is very impressive I find it pretty boring watching on screen but gt and le mans series cars are far more interesting rules wise and to watch and even the type of race events on the calendar are just better 👌

this comment is about the pic of Marty and Moog from Mighty Car Mods and you and it goes something like this: seeing this made me so happy!

Seeing Jason alongside Marty and Moog really caught me off guard there as an Aussie. What were those two doing up at Le Mans, it's like the furthest thing from their wheelhouse.

The "vanwall" also runs a high revving NA V8 ;)

MCM was there too... cool!

Surprise MCM cameo too, had to scrub back: "Wait was that Moog?"

Are Hypercar engines cooler than F1? After LeMans, I think Ferrari would say "SÌ".

You witnessed of the best endurance races ever

Glad to see the amazing sport of endurance racing get more publicity.

Watched this past 24hr of le mans and was actually enjoying it. I was surprised how cool it was. Never was interested in it before.

Hahaha MCM moog and marty did a cameo!!! I guess you both shared similar cars of choice.

On the topic of rotaries and endurance racing... 787b engine in detail, please ;)

Nice, I was the 6 Hours of Glen and man the Cadillac sounds like a weapon on track. It's unbelievable

Brilliant

Different applications for both series. One maximize performance. Another tried to get performance, reliability, and efficiency in one package

BRUH!! You Got A Selfie with MIGHTY CAR MODS?!? Been following those guys for well over 10 years!

When at pit the chraging speed of battery is outstanding.

A very entertaining appopso

Love the pic with the MCM boys 😂

Love the video, super detailed. Would love to see more road racing content.

Cool to see cadillac returns to le mans

Can you make a video about seamless gearbox, please!!!

This is a little off subject of this video and will probably lead to multiple videos to respond to. I figured you might be the best person to ask. Can you research the different engine emission limiting technology these car manufacturers are using in each specific engine?Some examples are start stop, continuously variable valve duration, cylinder deactivation, direct injection, variable displacement, Atkinson cycle, etc.

Will you ever do a video on Oil Filters?