Mechanical designs of a car

[raymondu999]

Hey all.

I know nowadays that it seems most teams are just focusing on aero aero aero. But then we sometimes forget that mechanical is also very important. What I wanted to know is, we know that aero can't really work as "bolt ons" and they have to be used entirely as a whole package.

Does mechanical have to be designed in conjuction with the aero as well? I'm asking this because I'm quite surprised at how McLaren seem to have better aero than last year (obviously) but have mechanical that is lacking compared to the car of last year?

Couldn't they kind of "plug in" the mechanical into the car? Or have they got the same mechanical, just that everyone else has leapfrogged them there?

[Jersey Tom]

I'm asking this because I'm quite surprised at how McLaren seem to have better aero than last year (obviously) but have mechanical that is lacking compared to the car of last year?

Says who?

[Belatti]

I'm asking this because I'm quite surprised at how McLaren seem to have better aero than last year

If they had better aero they would turn Turkey T8 at full throttle.

[raymondu999]

I meant, the MP4-25 has better aero than the MP4-24. The -25 probably demolishes the old 24 through Turn 8. Please note that this is purely speculation

[Paul]

One easy way to prove it would be to compare McLaren's fortunes in Barcelona and Monaco this and last season.

[mep]

Why do you think they have "bad mechanical"?
And what do you even mean when talking about "mechanical"?
Thats not a specified term.

[Paul]

In terms of F1 I understand it as everything non-aerodynamic.

[mep]

In terms of F1 I understand it as everything non-aerodynamic.

So a driver is!
Well I would say a driver is biological, but anyways...

[Caito]

In terms of F1 I understand it as everything non-aerodynamic.

So a driver is!
Well I would say a driver is biological, but anyways...

What? Haven't you noticed Kubica's nose? That's the key to Renault's F-Duct( N-duct better called)


Bye!


PS Sry..

[Tim.Wright]

I assume he is talking about what people refer to as mechanical grip and aero grip. Whereas the first is the grip given by the quality of the suspension design and the latter is the grip coming from aerodyniamics

The short answer is yes, they have to be considered together. Infact you cant deisign any system on a race car in isolation.

Long answer... Probably the main (certainly not the only) output of these two systems when added together is the vertical load on the 4 tyres. These vertical loads are probably the first most important part of your cornering speed.

For a given set of tyres, you will have a "working range" of the balance of vertical load front to rear. The aerodynamics and the suspension working together must keep the vertical loads in this range.

I.e. there is no point in making a super rear wing which can put a ton of downforce at the back if you cant balance it with more vertical force at the front.

Tim

[DaveKillens]

Aero development is relatively easy to observe since almost all alterations are external. But most mechanical changes are not easily seen, and often overlooked. But just like aero, every component of the car is scrutinized for achieving higher levels of performance.

If a wishbone is shortened by just two millimeters, that won't be easily noticed, but may have a huge impact on suspension performance.

Mechanical grip is important, and trust me, each and every team is working very hard on that. It's just that it isn't easily observed by observers.

For example, the track in Montreal is unique in various aspects. Almost every corner is very slow, and leads to a straight. If you don't get a good drive (derived from the mechanical setup) off all these corners, it will definitely have a negative imnpact on performance. Just watch the Montreal race and at the corners you will see some cars being able to handle the right-left transition and having to accelerate over the curbs. Some will appear quite uneasy in these areas, while others will make it look easy. At these low speeds it's all about mechanical grip, and it is very important.

[riff_raff]

I agree with DaveKillens. Aero development is not more critical than mechanical performance of the chassis. How the suspension system and chassis structure performs with respect to stiffness and dynamics is extremely important to handling and traction.

It would be interesting to see how advanced the structural dynamic simulations are in F1. Even with current FEA codes and powerful processing, modelling an entire chassis and suspension is probably still too complex a task.