Tech. regs. changes for 2008 (summary)

[zac510]

Second that, how to make a gearbox last 4 races if you have to change ratios sometimes from session to session.

Maybe gearbox structure is what has to last 4 races, not counting gears

Sounds more like it!

[HKS]

Gearbox to last for 4 races

Surely Kimi's won't last for 4 races

[Saribro]

Surely Kimi's won't last for 4 races :lol: :twisted:

I'd be more worried about Red Bull really, they barely managed 1 race per gearbox this season.

[mx_tifoso]

What mechanical changes have to be done to the car due to the removal of TC Or will setup and drivers style changes suffice?

I wonder how many teams will change their wheelbase and/or weight distribution for next seasons car.

[Conceptual]

What mechanical changes have to be done to the car due to the removal of TC Or will setup and drivers style changes suffice?

I wonder how many teams will change their wheelbase and/or weight distribution for next seasons car.

I think ALOT will have to do with weight distribution and wheelbase. MS was very critical about how the F2007 drove with no TC compared to the F2000.

I know alot of that had to do with the torque delivery of the V10 compared to the V8, but maybe a return to the F2000 philosophy of mechanical grip generation coupled with the new aero updates may just be the path Ferrari should take.

Does keel layout have any effect on the mechanical grip characteristics? That would be very interesting to investigate!

[MrT]

Zero keel does affect the grip charecteristics. It is mainly used due to the aerodynamic gains it produces. IMO I think it limits the amount of dynamic camber change they can achive (look how parrallel the wishbones are, and almost equal length), and thats why you see many of the teams running a large amount of static camber. This disadvantage is not large however, as the roll angle of the suspension is very small and most movement comes from the tyres.

[Conceptual]

Would a twin keel handle better or worse than the zero keel with no TC? Does it truly make any diference? I think that if the teams have to "soften up" the suspension, they may have to revert to a non-zero keel. And possibly have to redesign the rear suspension package as well.

This is where McLaren/Ferrari/Renault(Benneton) will hold the advantage. They can just walk over to their museum and take apart the last car they built for no TC, and apply everything that they have learned since then to continuing that direction.

2008 is gonna be a stunning year for actual RACING! And the competitiveness of this years mid-pack should also increase.

When is Australia 2008 exactly???

[modbaraban]

I wonder if Renault will abandon their V-keel for zero-keel. Aerodynamically the V-keel is said to be almost as good as the zreo-keel but with all advantages of the single keel. But it seems that Renault may reconsider things for R28 since their failure to make the most of the Bridgestones in 2007. Also I wonder which direction will be chosen for RB4 (RB3 has twin-keel suspension).

[kimi]

I guess tyre construction will also be a major factor while designing the suspension.But if i have to guess then Ferrari might go for their 1 keel suspension for better flexibility while setting up the car and good mechanical grip.where as Renault might keep their V-keel suspension for the 2008 season.But it will depend on the strength of the bridgestone tyres also.

[HKS]

I guess tyre construction will also be a major factor while designing the suspension.

It definitely has.

The only thing Renault might be missing is their mass dampers

[modbaraban]

Second that, how to make a gearbox last 4 races if you have to change ratios sometimes from session to session.

Maybe gearbox structure is what has to last 4 races, not counting gears

Sounds more like it!

Hmmmm, so are they going to race with the same ratios in Canada as in Monaco?

And for 2008
In 2008, the Federation is pursuing its cost-cutting measures and will oblige the teams to use the same transmission for four consecutive races. In case of an unforeseen change the driver whose car had been worked on will go back five positions on the grid. To ensure that the regulations are respected the gearboxes will be sealed by the FIA. Only the gears can be changed and the replacement parts must be identical. In addition, the teams will have to prove that these have been damaged to be able to put in new ones. It is a question of refining reliability without penalising gearchange speeds. Enstone is getting down to this challenge this winter.

New gearbox challenge in 2008

[Belatti]

So it will be a matter of adjusting gear ratios in order to, for example, achieve with the same gearbox:

Monaco top speed reached in 6th gear
Canada top speed reached in 7th gear

Engineers will have to take account 19000 RPM limit, qualy and race differences, apart from others details you can read here: http://www.f1technical.net/articles/66

Mar 16 - Melbourne, Australia
Mar 23 - Sepang, Malaysia
Apr 6 - Sakhir, Bahrain
Apr 27 - Barcelona, Spain
There shouldn´t be problems here, as they are similar top speed tracks

May 11 - Istanbul Park, Turkey
May 25 - Monte Carlo, Monaco
June 8 - Montreal, Canada
June 22 - Magny-Cours, France
Here the main problem should be Monaco It will be a matter of adjusting 5th or 6th gear for top speed in Monaco and 7th for top speed in the other tracks (Maybe in Magny-Cours the car will reach only 18000 rpm while in Montreal it reaches 19000)

July 6 - Silverstone, Great Britain
July 20 - Hockenheim, Germany
Aug 3 - Hungaroring, Hungary
Aug 24 - Valencia, Europe
Here again, hungaroring (and maybe Valencia, don´t know the layout exactly) will be the issue to overcome

Sep 7 - Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Sep 14 - Monza, Italy
Sep 28 - Singapore*
Oct 12 - Fuji, Japan
Here Monza will have definitely the longer 7th gear in all calendar so cars will run in Spa, Singapore and Fuji with just 6 (and maybe 5 in singapore)

Oct 19 - Shanghai, China
Nov 2 - Interlagos, Brazil

I will setup the GP4 car gearbox and make a test in Monaco and Canada to see if my theory works out.
If my memory is right, in Canada you can reach 325kph and in Monaco arround 280kph so maybe I will need 2 gears in between those speeds or just 1 without max RPMs in Monaco (this would be for ex: 17000RPM)

Now engine departments have the challenge to increase powerband baceuse of this gearbox thing.

Hope some of you understood all I wrote!

EDIT: Tomba maybe this should be moved to engine forum, as most major 2008 rule changes are in this sector, but I leave it to your criteria

[timbo]

What "only gears can be changed" means? Counting wheels? So they can change gear ratios, then.

[allan]

So it will be a matter of adjusting gear ratios in order to, for example, achieve with the same gearbox:

Monaco top speed reached in 6th gear
Canada top speed reached in 7th gear

It's not only a matter of the top gear. The high downforce setup and the short straights in monaco require much shorter gear ratios, so the whole set has to be changed before canada

[kimi]

yeah.They certainly need to change the whole gear set before Canada.And I guess in Monaco the engineers will go for a shorter power band as compared to Canada,due to the top speed range in the two tracks vary a lot.