Innehållsförteckning för October 2018 från Racecar Engineering

Were one the archetypal Daily Telegraph reader one would be fulminating in the letters column about another insidious proposal on tyres for Formula 1. That’s the ban on tyre warmers, but before I get to that, let’s talk a little about the new tyre rules in general. The proposal for 2021 is to have rim sizes growing to 18in diameter against the current 13in (for more detail on this turn to page 16 - Ed). The 13in diameter was brought in some time ago to reduce braking capacity, all part of attempting to give overtaking opportunities to following cars, a recognised problem and one still with us, made worse by the difficulty of generating balanced downforce on the following racecars. Specific rim As it turned out, brakes have improved so…

Force India VJM11 Chassis: Carbon fibre composite monocoque with Zylon side anti-intrusion panels. Power unit: Mercedes AMG HPP M09, V6 turbo 1.6-litre with ERS. Transmission: Mercedes AMG F1 8-speed, semi-automatic seamless shift, composite outer casing, metallic inner cassette. Suspension: Aluminium alloy uprights with carbon fibre composite double wishbones all-round. Pushrod actuated torsion bars with anti roll bar and inerter at the front, pullrod actuated hydro-mechanical system at the rear. Wheels: BBS. Brake system: 920E calipers with Carbon Industrie friction material. Tyres: Pirelli.…

The introduction of fuel flow meters caused further headaches for Audi. The way the regulations were written meant that the maximum fuel flow rate during one lap restricted the engine output while the integration of this flow during one lap restricted the amount of fuel energy. Therefore, two fuel flow meters, a supply and return, were fitted within the fuel supply line to the engine to achieve better comparability, where the device measuring the highest value became the benchmark. So any drifting values or offsets were easily identified and could then be changed during a pit stop, if necessary. One of the differences between a diesel and gasoline engine is that a large proportion of the diesel that flows into the engine, including the amount required for cooling and lubrication…

Evolution Measurement has launched a new pressure scanner platform which is unique in enabling users to make critical measurements in previously inaccessible areas. Pressure scanners are essential in aerodynamic testing of a wide range of items from wind turbine blades and aircraft wings to Formula 1 cars. In consultation with many customers in motorsport, the need was identified for a scanner that could measure pressures accurately and quickly in a very confined space, that is also often subjected to high temperatures and much vibration. Evolution Measurement developed a rugged scanner that could operate in such arduous conditions. Weighing in at less than 15g and fully encapsulated in carbon fibre, with a single communications and power lead, the EvoScann P8 is ideal for a wide range of applications, often being inserted…

If you were to ask IndyCar team owner Bobby Rahal when the top level US single seater series was at its very best he’ll say: ‘I think around 2001, and into 2002, that was the height.’ And Rahal should know, as he’s been around the scene in its many guises – through CART then ChampCar – for close on 40 years; as a driver (with an Indy 500 victory to his name plus three championships), as interim president of CART, and as a team boss since 1992. He is now the ‘Rahal’ in the triumvirate that owns Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), partnering with David Letterman and Mike Lanigan. But just because he can remember a better time, this does not mean Rahal is unhappy with the current state of…

Former F1 team boss and racecar constructor, and respected IndyCar race engineer, team owner and technical director, Morris (Mo) Nunn, has died at the age of 79. Nunn started his motorsport career as a driver and drove for the works Lotus team in F3 in 1969, briefly graduating to a Formula 5000 Lola in 1970. This drive then fell through, which led to his decision to set up shop as a constructor. His first product was an F3 car called an Ensign – as were all the cars that followed – in 1971. This car enjoyed some success and Ensign then made the huge jump up to F1 for 1973, with backing from wealthy driver Rikky von Opel. Ensign was in Formula 1 until the end of 1982 ,running well-known…

Has Porsche produced the fastest-ever ‘racing car’ in the 919 Evo? Having set stunning record lap times at Spa (quicker than Lewis Hamilton’s fastest-ever Formula 1 pole lap last year in the Mercedes) and around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, I have little doubt that, with a trimmed-out and correctly-set up version of this special Porsche LMP missile, even IndyCar super-speedway records would succumb. This is somewhat academic, of course, but fascinating nonetheless. Anyone who has watched the onboard footage of Timo Bernhard around the ‘Ring cannot fail to be blown away by the sheer velocity displayed when over 1150 of usable bhp is deployed. The old axiom of the camera having seemingly been speeded-up is close to the truth. Just a shade under 229mph could be seen on the screen readout…

Integral Powertrain (IP) was formed in 1998. At the time, IP was a young and very active company using Dassault Systemes CATIA V4 software. As an experienced user, it was approached by the company to become a development site for its new parametric design software, CATIA V5. Integral Powertrain put the new software to work immediately and helped Dassault with feedback on performance, early teething problems and ways it could make it an even better product. IP’s enthusiastic use of V5 spurred Dassault on to offer it the opportunity to sell and support its software in the UK, and so Intrinsys was formed. Integral Powertrain has continued to grow, supported by Intrinsys. It is now a globally-known and respected powertrain specialist that undertakes key design and development projects supporting OEMs…

QUESTION Referring back to the discussion on snap oversteer and the Lagonda (V28N9 and others), recently I came across a copy of the 1957 Proceedings of the Automobile Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers which included a copy of a James Clayton lecture presented at the March 1957 General Meeting of the Automobile Division by D Giacosa, director of vehicle engineering at Fiat, entitled Some Important Problems Concerning the Small Utility Car. The car in question was the Fiat 600 which had a problem with oversteer during development. To overcome the oversteer problem, Fiat raised the front roll centre as far as possible along with moving the rear swing arm pivots as close to the car centreline as possible, and increased the roll stiffness of the front axle (using…

Now fully retired from motorsport, the Mazda 787B’s designer Nigel Stroud spoke to Racecar (the day after competing at the other end of the speed spectrum, in a ploughing contest!) about the aerodynamic development of the 1991 Le Mans winner. ‘We did lots of wind tunnel testing on a quarter scale model at MIRA [the scale model tunnel is now defunct] and we validated the forces and tyre deflections by logging ride heights on track with a Pi Research data acquisition system,’ he says. ‘We saw [the scale equivalent of ] 4739lb of downforce at 943lb of drag at 200mph in one particular wind tunnel run before the race [equivalent to 5283N and 1051N at 100mph, -L/D = 5.03]. This was with the wing at 4.5 degrees and with a…

Lawrence Stroll has led a successful bid to buy Force India, after it went into administration at the end of July. Stroll headed up a consortium comprising Canadian entrepreneur Andre Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman of Monaco Sports and Management, John Idol, John McCaw Jr, Michael de Picciotto, and Silas Chou. As a group they have now taken over the ownership of the team from Vijay Mallya and Orange India Holdings Sarl. McLaren has said that it has hired Toro Rosso technical director James Key to fill the same position at Woking. However, at the time of writing it was not clear when Key would be able to start at McLaren as Toro Rosso owner Red Bull insists he is still under contract until 2020. Key started his career at Jordan in…

Strangely, the holiday period has been an extremely busy one for myself and the MIA. We are very active on several fronts – some to save our industry and some to grow it. Yes, Vnuk is back with us and getting more dangerous by the minute. The European Commission decided to ignore the many thousands of responses given to its last ‘review’ and its pressing ahead by recommending its proposal to the EU Council of Member States and to the EU Parliament itself, without any amendments. Unless through the concerted efforts of everyone across Europe in motorsport, then make no mistake, this current proposal spells the end for our industry and sport. It insists on there being extensive insurance provided for all kinds of motorsport at all levels, from junior…

• Tyre stiffness should vary monotonically with working range. In addition tyres with the highest compound stiffness should also have the highest working temperature range and the tyre temperature working range should reduce as the tyre compound stiffness reduces. The variation in working range between the compounds should not be excessive. Suggested values are shown below where ‘working range’ is defined as the temperatures above and below optimum at which grip is reduced by five per cent on typical micro and macro roughness tracks and sliding velocities. • For 2021 the ratio of cornering stiffness of the tyres should be compatible with a rearward shift of the longitudinal centre of gravity position of three per cent from current values. Furthermore the change in cornering stiffness ratio must remain a constant…

QUESTION I came across a post on the internet that tried to relate coilover mounting height to load transfer characteristics. I was wondering what your take is on this? It’s called ‘coilover location’. ‘Rear coilover should be mounted at an angle between three and six degrees,’ it said. ‘If you can measure the max body roll, mount the shock so they are pushing straight up and down at this point. Coilovers can affect weight transfer if they are not mounted properly. [If ] the top of the coilovers (this applies to springs as well) are mounted too high on the chassis they will hinder weight transfer. ‘The top of the coilover should be mounted as close as possible or below the centre of gravity height (rear CGH ball park 10in…

Downforce balance shifted forwards with each flap angle decrease This month we start our new project on Tyrrell 012-5, a Formula 1 car from 1983, the first year after the FIA’s ban on the ground effect sidepods; the fitting of which had seen cornering forces increase to what were deemed to be unacceptable levels. Like the Brabham BT52 and one or two others on the grid in 1983, the Tyrrell’s design basically abandoned sidepods altogether. It was as though the designers considered that it was now only worth using wings to generate downforce. Yet, as we shall see later in this new mini-series, even the small amount of floor at the rear of this car did make a downforce contribution, albeit a modest one. And as subsequent history shows, flat…

Strain gauges measure downforce loads. The primary use is to get the balance of the racecar set up correctly for each given race circuit and to understand the changes that are made to the car in practice sessions, with regards to changes in ride height and wing configurations. To achieve the accuracy required, First Sensors has designed and developed its own strain gauge system called Thermalock, which uses patented strain gauges which make use of a special temperature sensor built into the strain gauge. Thermalock is a digital system that actively compensates the strain gauge’s auto temperatures as high as 250degC. This is achieved in combination with a miniature strain gauge amplifier that gives analogue or CAN based output . First Sensors makes a large range of infrared sensors for…

Brian France, the chairman and CEO of NASCAR, has stepped down from his position at the head of America’s most powerful motorsport organisation and is to take an ‘indefinite’ leave of absence after he was arrested for drink driving in August. France, who has now been replaced by his uncle Jim France – who was previously NASCAR’s vice chairman – has been the chief executive officer (CEO) at NASCAR since 2003. Brian France was arrested in New York for alleged ‘aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance,’ according to a press release from the New York Police Department. A NASCAR statement said: ‘Brian France has taken an indefinite leave of absence from NASCAR as chairman and chief executive officer. Effective immediately, NASCAR vice chairman and executive…

While motor racing went through its shutdown in August, there were still emails flying around, questions being asked, and one of those was: what is the point of Stephane Ratel’s new plan for GT2? The GT2 format was originally introduced as N-GT back in 2001 to bolster grid numbers in the FIA GT Championship and it was supported by first Porsche and then by Ferrari with its 430. The category evolved to become GT2, and further evolved into GTE in Europe, or GTLM as it is known in the US today. Ratel focussed on GT1 until the cars became too expensive, he had lost GT2 as described, and so then concentrated on GT3 before introducing the concept of International GT4 racing. The new generation GT2 concept is to have powerful…