McLaren MCL39

[ispano6]

MCL39's "mermaid tails"

[Vanja #66]

[f1rules]

Minimal fw change?, they completely redesigned maybe the most crtical area of the fw nowadays,

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GtWcSMvW0AE ... name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GtWcSNNW0AA ... name=large

[mwillems]

Front suspension an attempt to resolve the numb feeling at the front of the car. Pics from the race.



https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/land ... ren-issue/

[Vanja #66]

Minimal fw change?, they completely redesigned maybe the most crtical area of the fw nowadays,

Updates to endplate VGs are very low yield now, well under 1 tenth. Bigger impact is poor flap angle by several clicks, let alone flap and wing designs by themselves

[mwillems]

Front suspension an attempt to resolve the numb feeling at the front of the car. Pics from the race.

https://www.the-race.com/content/images ... canada.jpg

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/land ... ren-issue/

What is the significance that on one of the shrouds, the telescopic layers have been removed to leave what appears to be now a normal shroud that won't stretch or shrink?

Am I reading too much into this, or was something happening that was preventing forces reaching the car and possibly stopping horizontal forces from disturbing the tyres contact with the road, that has now been removed, or at least move elsewhere out of sight?

[Farnborough]

Front suspension an attempt to resolve the numb feeling at the front of the car. Pics from the race.

https://www.the-race.com/content/images ... canada.jpg

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/land ... ren-issue/

What is the significance that on one of the shrouds, the telescopic layers have been removed to leave what appears to be now a normal shroud that won't stretch or shrink?

Am I reading too much into this, or was something happening that was preventing forces reaching the car and possibly stopping horizontal forces from disturbing the tyres contact with the road, that has now been removed, or at least move elsewhere out of sight?

If I understand from your description correctly .... the two differ there because one has the "aero" skin moved out of the way to facilitate adjustment (it's the active pull rod ) in which they alter the length, hence ride height, by exchange of shim stack in that link to facilitate setup. Usually in operation it will have that cover/sheath in place such that the adjustment point is not visible.

You can also see on lowest link in image that there's vertical separation/joint in the sheath to make telescopic movement possible as that's the steering arm which needs to change in length for turning the wheel upright when lock is applied via steering wheel. Effectively they call this "track rod" in general description.

[mwillems]

Front suspension an attempt to resolve the numb feeling at the front of the car. Pics from the race.

https://www.the-race.com/content/images ... canada.jpg

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/land ... ren-issue/

What is the significance that on one of the shrouds, the telescopic layers have been removed to leave what appears to be now a normal shroud that won't stretch or shrink?

Am I reading too much into this, or was something happening that was preventing forces reaching the car and possibly stopping horizontal forces from disturbing the tyres contact with the road, that has now been removed, or at least move elsewhere out of sight?

If I understand from your description correctly .... the two differ there because one has the "aero" skin moved out of the way to facilitate adjustment (it's the active pull rod ) in which they alter the length, hence ride height, by exchange of shim stack in that link to facilitate setup. Usually in operation it will have that cover/sheath in place such that the adjustment point is not visible.

You can also see on lowest link in image that there's vertical separation/joint in the sheath to make telescopic movement possible as that's the steering arm which needs to change in length for turning the wheel upright when lock is applied via steering wheel. Effectively they call this "track rod" in general description.

Ahh OK, so the picture on the left is an outlier in that normally you would not see that telescopic sheath and this is not suggesting they are doing anything differently here?

[Farnborough]

Yes, correct.

Completely routine to see it as that left image during setup as they will be putting in place the desired starting dimension to their specification, or making adjustment if needed between sessions. This to alter the static ride height on demand.

[f1rules]

But changes in this area has probably all to do with optimization downstream, floor seeling etc. and almost nothing to do fw characteristics, but must be amazing that you can quantify so precisely

Minimal fw change?, they completely redesigned maybe the most crtical area of the fw nowadays,

Updates to endplate VGs are very low yield now, well under 1 tenth. Bigger impact is poor flap angle by several clicks, let alone flap and wing designs by themselves

[f1rules]

Are the race dead serious, they show an old picture where the carbon cover has been removed, pushed down for they can adjust It doesnt look like that all the time lol, these so called journalists, some times

[mwillems]

Are the race dead serious, they show an old picture where the carbon cover has been removed, pushed down for they can adjust It doesnt look like that all the time lol, these so called journalists, some times

https://www.the-race.com/content/images ... mage1.jpeg

Well yeah, to an amateur like me I assumed like for like and thought there was something in it!

But I got to learn something about track rods and their setup thanks to Farnborough

[chrisc90]

Interesting thread from Scarbs on X/Twitter about the McLaren wishbone/upright setup - which Lando gave us the privilege of seeing in Canada

[venkyhere]

Thank you, Scarb's post kind of verifies the hunch I had in March itself :

https://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewt ... 3#p1273143

I am inclined to think that McLaren have found a clever 'additional component/geometry' (the silver bullet) across their load bearing wishbones, roll bar and the front track rod ; in such a way, that the difference in camber across the front wheels ( that will depend on : lateral load (speed carried), longitudinal load (braking/acceleration) & curvature (slip angle) of a corner ) is "optimized" to ensure the best possible contact patch, for all possible camber and air pressure settings that are track specific. The innovation is not aero or front wings, but purely mechanical. Perhaps the 'weird' front suspension geometry with it's peculiar track rod positioning, is ostensibly for aero-wash benefits, but actually for something clever like this, and the aero-benefit is a corollary.

Of course, this is blind conjecture and I am not formally trained as a mechanical engineer.