wesley123 wrote:

Diesel wrote:I don't like the way RB are so fickle with their engines, they just jump on what they think is best without an regard for contracts etc. They used a loophole to dump the Ferrari engines on STR.

If the engines are to be 'equalised' RB would be better off sticking with the Renault engine which they already know rather than using something else and having to redesign a chassis around it.

that is true, but the associated merc engines with it require far less cooling, so even smaller sidepods are possible.

In surface area I'd say the opening on the Red Bull is similiar in size to that of the Brawn. In profile it's very different, but I think that's more to do with the aero concept of low sidepods. Brawn have a different concept with higher sidepods which are heavily undercut with a slot McLaren style opening for cooling.

I would be willing to bet that next year's RB will have a higher tail than this year's car. It'll be better for the diffuser and they will also need some packaging miracles to contain all that fuel. I wouldn't be surprised if the sidepods were further forward as well, in an effort to get weight as far forward as possible in the chassis. It will be a very different car.

It's conceivable that the now empty area above the center splitter area could contain a second fuel tank. Then add a method of selectively controlling the fuel level between tanks to control the balance as fuel loading changes and you presumably have a pretty good setup for controlling car balance thru the race.

Newey originally picked the Renault as it had a low thermal output and needed less cooling. So I don't buy that the Merc needs less cooling capacity.

I thought Newey picked Renault engines originally, due to his preference of the working relationship with Renault going back to his Williams days.

http://f1update.com/full_story/view/191 ... t_engines/

BreezyRacer wrote:I would be willing to bet that next year's RB will have a higher tail than this year's car. It'll be better for the diffuser and they will also need some packaging miracles to contain all that fuel. I wouldn't be surprised if the sidepods were further forward as well, in an effort to get weight as far forward as possible in the chassis. It will be a very different car.

I would suggest that the teams would be looking to move weight back next year due to the relatively dimunitive nature of next year's front tyres.

Keir wrote:

BreezyRacer wrote:I would be willing to bet that next year's RB will have a higher tail than this year's car. It'll be better for the diffuser and they will also need some packaging miracles to contain all that fuel. I wouldn't be surprised if the sidepods were further forward as well, in an effort to get weight as far forward as possible in the chassis. It will be a very different car.

I would suggest that the teams would be looking to move weight back next year due to the relatively dimunitive nature of next year's front tyres.

You could indeed be correct. We'll have to wait and see, but remember that next year they are lugging around twice as much fuel and will need to be able to control the chassis balance on min and max fuel loads. Putting all that at the rear will make for a very unbalanced car as fuel loads change. Also another reason to move sidepods forward can be found here ..
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7580&p=131202#p131202

axle wrote:Newey originally picked the Renault as it had a low thermal output and needed less cooling. So I don't buy that the Merc needs less cooling capacity.

That is true, however ... cast your mind back.

When the decision was made by Red Bull:
* the Renault V8 was coming off the back of a championship winning season with no restrictions on engine development

* it had a low level of heat discharge compared to its nearest rival (at that time the Ferrari V8)

* the 2006 Merc V8 was a bit of a hound

An intentsive winter programme, the freeze on development and the restriction to 19,000 rpm all helped the Merc in relation to the Renault and the Ferrari and at the mandated lower RPM it became significantly more efficent for the heat produced than the Renault or the Ferrari.

axle wrote:Newey originally picked the Renault as it had a low thermal output and needed less cooling. So I don't buy that the Merc needs less cooling capacity.

dount that, i mean, Renaults sidepods are huge, Renault cut the sidepods open way before the rear wheels only to get an large enough hole. all the 3 mclaren teams had small sidepods, mclarens were small, force india was small after the upgrade, and branw gp's sidepods were one of the smallest, im pretty sure the mclaren needs less cooling. The brawn had the smallest after Red Bull but didnt have any heat problems, do you guys remember how the Red Bull airbox was cut open at certain grand prix? never seen that at the other teams, alot of people added question marks to Red Bulls finishability in hot races.

I don't think so.. There was a thread with pictures posted.. the Renault has the smallest side pod openings.



Almost like cat nostrils.

*edit i noticed you said side pod size... Better if you could see the size of the radiator itself.. but I doubt the radiator cooling is insufficient in all the cars today. The efficiency of the engines can't vary that much can they?

The redbull and Reanult have Humongous holes in the back.. This could mean that the sidepods were backing up the air because of the small waist size.. It could be from the exhaust manifolds too.. hmm..It probably isn't right for us to guess about these things...

to go and discuss about the size is actually pretty useless, the shape is completely different. Also the rest of the mechanicals are important for the cooling, i believe also how the exhaust is placed, might be that Newey could plan that better with a Renault engine

Im wondering, could that massive hole thats on the back of the Red Bull been running all season for numbers for a innovation for 2010??? I think that he has been looking at providing a single exaust outlet for both sides of the engoine and that coule be where it is going.

Webber has had development parts on his car since Singapore seemingly.