15/02/2016
NEWS STORY
Days after Ferrari teased fans with the first fire-up of its 2016 power unit, Mercedes has followed suit, giving a tantalising glimpse of the twin wastegate at the same time.
The twin wastegate, it is hoped, is the means by which the sound will be increased by as much as 25%.
"The wastegate was causing a sort of silencing of the main exhaust pipe, so by removing it from the main exhaust pipe we have less silencing going on of the main flow," explained Paddy Lower recently.
"In the last two years we have had a situation where the main exhaust goes through one tailpipe, and we have a wastegate to spill out extra pressure from the exhaust. We now have to duct that air separately through an extra tailpipe, and this is intended to make more noise.
"It will work," he promised.
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Article 5.8.2 of the 2016 Technical Regulations states: "Engine exhaust systems must have only a single turbine tailpipe exit and either one or two wastegate tailpipe exits which must all be rearward facing and through which all exhaust gases must pass.
"All and only the turbine exit exhaust gases must pass through the turbine tailpipe and all and only the wastegate exhaust gases must pass through the wastegate tailpipe(s). None of the tailpipes may be contained within any of the other tailpipes."