McLaren cooling?

[ISLAMATRON]

If McLaren dont run the shark gills like Ferrari and most other teams do, see 1st pic in the link below.

http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2008/10/8561.html

How do they exhaust the air through the radiators in the side pod? The Ferrari solution seems very elegant and easily modular for ambient temperature changes. What sidepod exhausts does McLaren employ? And what are its pros & cons versus the Ferrari "shark gills"? Please post some pics if you got em.

[myurr]

Well the widely held belief is that the Mercedes engine has lower thermal output than the Ferrari unit allowing for a more enclosed cooling system. I have no idea aerodynamically which is better, but presuming that Ferrari are forced to push more air through their side pods, whereas McLaren have the option of running either solution then it would be logical to suggest that McLaren at least believe their solution is the more aerodynamically efficient.

[roost89]

I was watching qualifying today and I noticed a very large amount of heat coming out of the chimneys on the McLaren. It was a head-on shot at the end when Hamilton was coming back in to the pits.

I suppose the air could be directed in a fashion that it exits the chimneys at a higher rate than it enters. SO cooling the car at the same rate as the gills on the Ferrari.

Benefits, I suppose are just a cleaner shape and therefore airflow.

[ISLAMATRON]

I was watching qualifying today and I noticed a very large amount of heat coming out of the chimneys on the McLaren. It was a head-on shot at the end when Hamilton was coming back in to the pits.

I suppose the air could be directed in a fashion that it exits the chimneys at a higher rate than it enters. SO cooling the car at the same rate as the gills on the Ferrari.

Benefits, I suppose are just a cleaner shape and therefore airflow.

Could the chimneys actually be effiecient enough? In the McLaren thread we see pic of the MP-23 running with nearly entirely closed chimneys, could tht truely be the main exhaust exit for the sidepods? Does anyone know if they exhaust the sidepod in the hole for the engine exhaust as well? Or are there any ezhaust areas under the top cover? I eally baffles how they could be runnin so much less sidepod exhaust area the the entire field. Everyone has "shark gills" at every race except for McLaren. How can this be so?

[myurr]

Could the chimneys actually be effiecient enough? In the McLaren thread we see pic of the MP-23 running with nearly entirely closed chimneys, could tht truely be the main exhaust exit for the sidepods? Does anyone know if they exhaust the sidepod in the hole for the engine exhaust as well? Or are there any ezhaust areas under the top cover? I eally baffles how they could be runnin so much less sidepod exhaust area the the entire field. Everyone has "shark gills" at every race except for McLaren. How can this be so?

Isn't it a combination of air exiting straight out the back, through the chimneys, and past the exhausts? Kinda the traditional approach to F1 cooling before Ferrari introduced the gills.

[wesley123]

The mclarens dont have any shark grills, it is more efficient because the airflow doesnt get interrupted by 'holes' in the bodywork instead of that they have a bigger opening in the chimneys and at the exhaust there is a small hole too. The mclaren is to believed to need less cooling, probably the least of the field, this allows them to build the sidepods compact wich allows better airflow. I thought they also had 2 small radiators in each side pod, one on the upper half and one on the lower half, wich allows them to make the intake smaller because the radiators could be put flatter then you can with onelarge radiator.

[ISLAMATRON]

advantage McLaren

man I'd love to inspect every nook and cranny of these cars.

[wesley123]

advantage McLaren

man I'd love to inspect every nook and cranny of these cars.

Its impossible, they wont show anything, ither teams can use those techinques and then it wouldnt make difference

[ESPImperium]

From a couple of pics ive seen Mclaren ar using open Chimneys this weekend.

[mike]

i think this is because Mclaren is running a bigger inlet than most teams
if u compare the inlet of MP4-23 to STR3 running a ferrari engine u can clear see that not only does the Mclaren need a bigger hole in the inlet, the inlet is also guided by the pod-vanes of the car
all that extra turbulence in the middle of the car may be why they have smaller outlets
ferrari inlets however is smooth which provides a drag advantage, hence the high speeds,and the fins provide extra cooling for the car and improve the flow rate of the air below the rear wing, compared to Mclaren's smooth engine cover, which may provide a faster flow, but the rate is not as much as to the ferrari's
extra flow= more pressure difference=more down force
faster flow= more pressure difference=more down force
Mclaren may sacrifice their top speed for a better flow, while ferrari takes advantage of the extra flow and build on their top speed
this could all come from the engine characteristics of the 2 cars, ferrari has bigger power, needs more cooling, so they build on the higher top speed, and Mclaren needs less cooling, but wants more downforce to corner the car

i think most teams use the fins, becaue it provide extra aero efficiency, by reducing drag, rather than increase downforce

[wesley123]

McLarens inlets arent bigger compared to others, and they can even close it further.
The Mercedes Benz engine needs less amount of cooling thus allowing smaller sidepods and cooling holes

[PlatinumZealot]

You guys talking about the Shark fin or the "Gills" above the exhaust headers?

[mike]

Mclaren closed their inlet on the gear box side no the engine side
inlet of Mclaren

inlet of F2008


see how the edges of the inlet on the right of the picture is in different distance from the edge of the tyres
this 2 shots are from almost the same angle and also the top the the inlets where the vodafone sign is, are in different height than the F2008
the edge of the inlet on the right is with in the view of the tyre for the F2008 while the MP4-23 are blocked by the tyre, and if u look at the left of the side of both cars u can see that MP4-23 is on a slightly greater angle, which should reveal more of the inlet on the left. hence from these images i think that the Mclaren has bigger inlets

im not good with uploadin pictures so if u can find different 1s and compare them that would be great

[mike]

oh yea and 1 more
if u are still not convinced, if u measure the size of the helmets of kimi and pedro and compare them to their cars, kimi's helmet are about the same size of the inlet, and pedro's helmets in much smaller than the inlet of his car.
unless kimi has an unusually bigger helmet for his bigger head??