F1technical.net

After reading this weeks Autosport I have come to a conclusion.....

With STR recently ditching their decals / stickers for paint, could it be that some of Honda's troubles lie with their wonderful Earth livery?

Take a look at page 10 where theres a 1/2 page pic of the 'ears' & you can see gaps between the vinyl, ripples where the decal curves round the chassis & it seems to me the front wing elements are covered in one big sticker with the edges stuck just where the airflow is splitting, this cannot be helping their current situation at all.

Time for a repaint too?

No. That can't cause so much problems. We've seen F1 cars winning or finishing on podium with whole bargeboard or some smaller aero elements missing after collisions.

That is true, I figured it wouldnt be massive difference but I guess STR are taking the every little helps route.

Fan Solo wrote:That is true, I figured it wouldnt be massive difference but I guess STR are taking the every little helps route.

Like if STR had most sponsor decals

or the Bull image counts? I thought it's a paint.

A article from the ITV-f1 website during the Bahrain GP

One small explanation of Honda’s front wing aero crisis emerged on Sunday morning.

It was discovered that the stickers that cover up the front wing pillar bolts on the underneath of the front wing were being peeled back by the front jack when it was pushed under the wing.

These half-peeled stickers then hung down at 90 degrees, fouling the airflow under the car.

Not the sole cause of a bad aero package, but an unnecessary complication in a sensitive area.

It was discovered that the stickers that cover up the front wing pillar bolts on the underneath of the front wing were being peeled back by the front jack when it was pushed under the wing.

Dont fully understand the situation, are these new stickers that they started using recently (2007) to smooth the underside of the wing? Surely a sticker would not be rigid enough to surve the intended purpose? Would they not check the new part (even if it is a sticker) during testing?

I may be totally wrong but: I feel that they are really looking for silly excuses...

Apex, I'm sure m3_lover was having a try on the difficult art called "irony"...

I much as I would love for the stickers to be Honda's only problem, I cant believe that if they are removed all their problems will be solved.

Besides, they tested without stickers or paint pre-season, and they were having the same issues as now.

dumrick wrote:Apex, I'm sure m3_lover was having a try on the difficult art called "irony"...

I just never knew that Honda had stickers since they have no major sponsors and the article is legit...just really weird to hear something like that

But ya it was a try sorry if it was bad

As part of Honda's marketing this year to project a greener attitude, anyone can pledge and have their name (very tiny, pixel sized) on an actual race car.
viewtopic.php?t=4026&highlight=
http://www.myearthdream.com/index.html#root/findOutMore
So the names are printed up on large sticker type panels and attached to the car. This most likely adds unwanted weight, as well making it more difficult to attain a smooth and efficient aero surface.
This probably isn't the main reason for Honda's major problems, but it contributes to the engineer's headaches. If a messy surface subtracts even just one percent aero efficiency, that translates into less downforce and increased drag.

but do rough surfaces work on a racecar - there would be those that say they do - see dimples threads

Dont mean to stray off topic but do the names get replaced every so often? How do they keep the cash flowing?

ss_collins wrote:but do rough surfaces work on a racecar - there would be those that say they do - see dimples threads

Yes they do...


I know for a fact Renault commissioned independant work into vortex generators on (under) the rear wing elements. It worked very well and moved the seperation point back around 15-20% of chord length.


Yet they decided not to use it Perhaps the FIA stepped in and said no-no.

I know one team has tried dimpled driveshafts but again opted against even though they worked

Yeah, I think the dimpled driveshafts should definitely work, especially if they have a fairing attached behind them like Renault.

Are teams waiting to introduce these dimpled parts for some reason? I just don't see why they wouldn't put them on.

In Cycling, you're starting to see dimpling all over any rotating parts.