Power Unit Wear Explained (REPOST)

Based off an older guide i created for F1 2020

Power Unit Wear

Foreword: Once in a while you will be faced by a gearbox reaching 90% or the ICE acting up. In this guide i will explain you the components of the power unit, the consequences of wear on the component (underlined), and how to prevent further wear to the component (Marked in bold). Also note, that the game will tell your power unit is starting to receive minor wear at 55%, even though you may think that you will need to start doing this once you reach 55%, you actually don't have to do that and can do these preventions at the very start of the game. Please note the images were from F1 2020.

ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) - Loss of power - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. Excessive revving or being in top speed (200 MPH to 230 MPH - depending on upgrades and Car setup) or anything that would stress the engine will wear the ICE. To prevent this, use DRS (Drag Reduction System) ONLY IN QUALIFYING or in the race, using DRS increases your top speed which only stresses your engine even more (After playing for more than usual) you can also set your engine fuel mode to Lean Fuel Mix to prevent this from happening as well.



Heres a screenshot of my car smoking due to excessive wear to the ICE



The best way to tell if your going to fast for the engine to handle is by looking at the transmission bar,5 are green, 5 are red, and 5 are purple, if the circles fill all the way to the purple and it is flashing, your going to fast and are in the danger zone like shown below.





TC (Turbocharger) - Loss of power - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. Wear is based on distance covered, So keep distance to a minimum unless if its absolutely necessary.



CE (Control Electronics) - Increased wear on all parts including gearbox - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. Running over anything off the basic road surface (This includes curbs) will wear the CE, keep in mind that preventing wear on this component IS CRITICAL (Especially if its your first season) as CE wear will only escalate wear rate on all other components.



MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic) - Slower battery recharge - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. Using the higher modes on the energy store (Overtake mode for example) will only escalate the issue, Since (in my opinion) the Energy store is more important (and also because the MGU-K has 3, the ES only has 2) i deplete the energy store as my number one priority.



ES (Energy Store) - Smaller battery capacity - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. Overcharging the energy store (Keeping the ES at 0 ,No charge) all the time will only escalate the issue so turning ERS Assist off (It's not really hard to switch ERS Modes) and using higher modes to deplete the energy store will prevent this from happening



MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit-Heat) - Car overheats quick - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. Overheating the engine (For example keeping it above 230-240 degrees Fahrenheit) will only escalate this issue. Using Lean Fuel maps on In laps and Out Laps and when the engine temperature goes above 220 is the best way to counter this issue.



Gearbox - Potential to be stuck in gears or have slower time to change - Once it reaches 90% (This is when the game warns you you need to change regardless of what power unit it is) the part will billow out smoke warning you that you need to change the part, once it reaches 100% the car will break down,retiring from the session. The game will tell you that your missing a gear at 75% (Implying your gearbox is giving up on you) i suggest changing it when this happens. I really dont know how this unit wears, either from switching the gears too many times or going top speed for too long (Which also stresses the ICE)