Wheel vents on WEC cars

[MadMatt]

I must say that I don't really follow sportscars those days, but I was very surprised to see the wheel vents on the Audis at Spa this weekend. Normally these vents are highly limited by the regulations, but as you can see, it seems to be different now !



Could anybody tell me more about the regulation situation for these vents ?

[wesley123]

If I'm correct they just require an fully open area per wheel, how you use that open area is up to you. You could break it up in 10 different holes, make a nice shape of it etc. etc.

[PNSD]

The technical definition is actually big honking hole :p

They are infact there due to regulations, another technical requirement to help reduce the chance of those famous sports car flips we've seen.

[MadMatt]

Ok it is the first time I see a team going the hole route rather than vents !

[Pierce89]

Its the first year the rules have required the completely open area.

[Nando]

How is that aerodynamically compared to let´s say slots or vents whatever you want to call them?

Is air getting sucked out of there or is being pushed? Or both?

[flynfrog]

How is that aerodynamically compared to let´s say slots or vents whatever you want to call them?

Is air getting sucked out of there or is being pushed? Or both?

air is coming out of there. THere is a high pressure area that builds up in wheel wells. not sure how the compare with slots ect but I would guess it has more to do with the required size being better as a large hole.

[Nando]

ok thanks,

ah yea forgot about that, with vents they would have to be even larger.

[MadMatt]

There was an article about this on July 2012 edition of RE (for those interested).

[ds.raikkonen]

Along with avoiding the flips, it also cools the wheels inside the arches. I remember last years' Le Mans where the proximity of the LED power source was causing the front wheels to heat up even more, so cooling was an even bigger issue than it normally is. But what about rear vents behind the wheel arches, do they work on a similar principle?

[MadMatt]

Do you have any values for what you are saying ? I mean, like how many Watts these LEDs produce for example ? It seems a bit too optimistic to say that the heat from the power sources of the LEDs can lead to warm the tires.

I think the rear vents are also to reduce life and maybe optimize the drag around the rear of the car, but for sure some people "in" aero will say something about this.

But that discussion should maybe be moved in the "aero" section of the forum, isn't it ?

[ds.raikkonen]

Do you have any values for what you are saying ? I mean, like how many Watts these LEDs produce for example ? It seems a bit too optimistic to say that the heat from the power sources of the LEDs can lead to warm the tires.

I think the rear vents are also to reduce life and maybe optimize the drag around the rear of the car, but for sure some people "in" aero will say something about this.

But that discussion should maybe be moved in the "aero" section of the forum, isn't it ?

Does it really matter? The issue was that the power source was in 'proximity' of the front tyres (I do not know how many millimeters)and that led to undesirable over heating. I did not say that thing, the Speed TV commentators did last year during the race. Oh I don't know how much power they utilize, but here s an article explaining the relevance of 'why' they used LEDs and its benefits:
http://www.audi.co.uk/audi-innovation/audi-motorsport/motorsport-news/audi-r18-tdi-advantage-through-led-technology.html

[MadMatt]

Sorry but I don't take for granted what journalists say ! The article is interesting, shame they're not going into details but I guess that's better than nothing. Shame I don't have time to go into the wheel vents domain, because I am sure there is a lot to say about that !

[ds.raikkonen]

Yeah, I would love to read about the aero aspects of the thing but sadly I am not working in that environment, so don't have that much time to read and discuss