McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[Tim.Wright]

Looks like it could be hot oil lines running to the cooler on top of the gearbox

tim

[beelsebob]

Guys, the surface is just a paint job. The thermal is accurate.

While I also believe the thermal is (reasonably) accurate, you shouldn't dismiss how much a paint job can affect heat transmission. Remember – not long ago we were talking about McLaren painting their "octopus" to make it heat resistant enough to cope with ear 1000°C exhausts.

[BreezyRacer]

And about this thermal image thing .. it means NOTHING. Why? Because the car was sitting in the garage. Show me thermal imaging on a moving vehicle and then we'll talk ..

[beelsebob]

And about this thermal image thing .. it means NOTHING. Why? Because the car was sitting in the garage. Show me thermal imaging on a moving vehicle and then we'll talk ..

It doesn't mean nothing at all – it shows which parts of the car are hot 20 seconds after it's been on track – notably, it changed very little from 2 seconds after it was on track (I just didn't get a chance to take a screenshot).

[Richard]

If it is such an accurate representation of the temperatures under the cover, then why is the brightest and hottest part above the word "thermal", even brighter than the exhaust outlet?

The answer is most likely that the insulation varies, the radiance from the systems to the cover will vary, and the distribution of air flowing under the cover will vary.

[beelsebob]

If it is such an accurate representation of the temperatures under the cover, then why is the brightest and hottest part above the word "thermal", even brighter than the exhaust outlet?

The answer is most likely that the insulation varies, the radiance from the systems to the cover will vary, and the distribution of air flowing under the cover will vary.

1) it's not – both are white
2) no one claimed it's super accurate, the claimed it was an interesting picture to look at and find out which areas of the car are hot – this seems to be the case for areas that we know are hot, and areas we know are cold – the only outlier seems to be the bit above the worth thermal – hence me asking if anyone knew what was there.

[kalinka]

Just found this report :
http://www.totalf1.com/full_story/view/ ... _duo_wary/

Lewis says his car has no updates, while Button says his car is updated somewhat...
Hmm... Interesting, I thougth both of them running with new rear wing at least...Any info on that ?

Also interesting quote from Hamilton : "I just saw the Pirelli guy just now and I was saying 'how do my tyres look?' He just said 'you killed it, they're dead!'"

[astracrazy]

Just found this report :
http://www.totalf1.com/full_story/view/ ... _duo_wary/

Lewis says his car has no updates, while Button says his car is updated somewhat...
Hmm... Interesting, I thougth both of them running with new rear wing at least...Any info on that ?

Also interesting quote from Hamilton : "I just saw the Pirelli guy just now and I was saying 'how do my tyres look?' He just said 'you killed it, they're dead!'"

strange because they both have said they both get updates or not at all

perhaps lewis felt no benefit?

[adrianjordan]

Just found this report :
http://www.totalf1.com/full_story/view/ ... _duo_wary/

Lewis says his car has no updates, while Button says his car is updated somewhat...
Hmm... Interesting, I thougth both of them running with new rear wing at least...Any info on that ?

Also interesting quote from Hamilton : "I just saw the Pirelli guy just now and I was saying 'how do my tyres look?' He just said 'you killed it, they're dead!'"

strange because they both have said they both get updates or not at all

perhaps lewis felt no benefit?

I think that's more likely. The policy within McLaren seems to be that they bring updates for both drivers, but if 1 driver doesn't WANT to run it then that doesn't stop the other driver from doing so.

[kalinka]

Do we have a reliable source on what updates actually they bring in Turkey...and which of them ended up on ( Button's ?) car at the end ?

[bot6]

New front wing and rear wing, for starters.

[McG]

There has been nothing to suggest in the past that McLarens paint job has anything to do with fooling or blocking the thermal image. The paint job was expensive enough without incorporating something like that.

The exhaust is a different kettle of octopus!

[raymondu999]

I dont' think the paint would do that tbh - the primary way the outside parts would get heated is through conduction - and that wouldn't be affected by paint colors, like radiation would.

[Richard]

OK, so are you all saying that there is a system above the engine that creates a significant area of white hot on the bodywork image, while the exhaust route has only a small speck of white hot? Also the end the side pod just above the exhaust is relatively cool red? Hence the temperature of that system must be hotter than the exhaust system?

... or perhaps the detail of that thermal image is influenced by the various amounts of insulation both on the systems, and the underside of the bodywork. It will also be influenced by the amount of cool air rushing underneath the pods.

ps McG - I don't think anyone is suggesting that McL have a special paint to fool the thermal image, only that different finishes influence radiance.

[kalinka]

It could be the case if the engine wasn't running. In that case , the thin exhaust pipes+insulation could cool down quite quick, while some other parts with more mass, like fluids ( coolant,oil,engine block ) could retain heat quite long after engine shut down....just speculating...
Was it a picture of running engine?