Ferrari F2012

[bhall]

Hey, listen. There's an echo.

Does anyone have any idea what the Ferrari floor is made from?

I don't think it's carbon fiber, else it wouldn't be so thin. I think a razor-thin CF floor would have very little effect other than to shift weight higher, which is something conventional wisdom dictates you try to avoid as much as possible. (Or am I missing something?)

Silicon carbide perhaps? An aluminum silicon carbide matrix? Both are effective heatsinks.

And what if the floor is the KERS battery?

[Chuckjr]

And what if the floor is the KERS battery?

Now THAT idea could have real merritt. The KERS is already under the tank which puts it right there with the floor. Loading the floor with a large but paper thin battery for cooling makes a ton of sense. It also distributes the weight as low as possible. This also ties into the idea of the hollow, dual layer floor mentioned here a number of times. Maybe Ferrari's floor has been so thin because the second layer (containing such a battery) has not been in place yet. Maybe this is why FA has been so positive knowing something like that could bring real balance and speed potential...just conjecture sure but I think that's a great idea.

[Mr.G]

Good idea, but that battery should by qeuite risky, as too much bent can crack / short the battry.

[bhall]

I don't see why the floor would have to be any thicker in such a scenario. I'd think its large area would make up for the lack of thickness.

I don't even know that the entire floor would need to have battery capability, either. It could be everything away from the plank - and thus away from the hot engine and gearbox and away from most of the jarring due to impacts with the track and curbs. And it may not require any cooling other than the outside air passing above and below.

Granted, it's very far-fetched. But, it's not at all implausible.

[604gtir]

Maybe carbon nanotubes??

Hey, listen. There's an echo.

Does anyone have any idea what the Ferrari floor is made from?

I don't think it's carbon fiber, else it wouldn't be so thin. I think a razor-thin CF floor would have very little effect other than to shift weight higher, which is something conventional wisdom dictates you try to avoid as much as possible. (Or am I missing something?)

Silicon carbide perhaps? An aluminum silicon carbide matrix? Both are effective heatsinks.

And what if the floor is the KERS battery?

[hardingfv32]

The rules say no gap between chassis bottom and the plank.

End of discussion or are you specifying something that works around this?

Brian

[bhall]

What gap? The floor is the KERS battery, and everything else is normal.

[Hush]

Ferrari's KERS Hybrid road car already has the batteries running the length of the under carriage either side of the cars centre line. The weight is at its lowest possible point and is spread over length of the car.

Should give a nice benefit if this could be incorporated on the F2012.

[Hail22]

What gap? The floor is the KERS battery, and everything else is normal.

It could be a double bonus, KERS Battery lined floor with an under hoop curve to give more DF the air from under the floor being sucked to the rear diffuser/Starter engine hole

[hardingfv32]

What gap? The floor is the KERS battery, and everything else is normal.

But the floor is insulated by the plank which is a specified wood like material.

Brian

[bhall]

Ferrari's KERS Hybrid road car already has the batteries running the length of the under carriage either side of the cars centre line. The weight is at its lowest possible point and is spread over length of the car.

KERS batteries are already installed in a very low and central part of the car. I think the primary benefit of a battery floor is that it would delete some of the cooling requirements from the sidepods and elsewhere, which eliminates some drag when they can be made smaller.

But the floor is insulated by the plank which is a specified wood like material.

So?

I know you're going to try every angle you can to try to poke holes in this idea, and that's fine. But, you're not getting it. The floor IS the battery. That's the only way in which its construction would differ from any other car.

[Hush]

Ferrari's KERS Hybrid road car already has the batteries running the length of the under carriage either side of the cars centre line. The weight is at its lowest possible point and is spread over length of the car.

KERS batteries are already installed in a very low and central part of the car. I think the primary benefit of a battery floor is that it would delete some of the cooling requirements from the sidepods and elsewhere, which eliminates some drag when they can be made smaller.

But the floor is insulated by the plank which is a specified wood like material.

So?

I know you're going to try every angle you can to try to poke holes in this idea, and that's fine. But, you're not getting it. The floor IS the battery. That's the only way in which its construction would differ from any other car.

I understand that it is already mounted low down but the weight is not spread evenly across the floor as it would be if the batteries were flat and either side of the plank.

[bhall]

You don't want to spread the weight around the floor. You achieve optimal vehicle dynamics with weight being placed as low and as centrally as possible.

That part makes this idea a compromise if the battery floor is significantly heavier than a standard CF floor.

[aral]

And what if the floor is the KERS battery?

Surely we do not need more 'mercury suspension' type speculation? As most cars are blowing the floor, it would be utter madness to place KERS batteries in the floor.
As far as I am aware, there is no technology at present that would allow the creation of a razor thin battery pack. You might as well suggest that the KERS batteries are used as wheels.

[Hail22]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Byrne

Read that carefully, he has a background of Chemistry, he has an intimate knowledge of the rules and regulations of the FIA, we will most likely see something innovative this year from Ferrari.