bhallg2k wrote:I haven't necessarily seen an increase in rake on the F2012. Then again, rake is by no means the end-all, be-all factor to performance; it's but one component therein.
That the new exhaust seems to be working well isn't really a reason to assume rake can even be increased at this point. One of the problems of the original Acer ducts, aside from baking the rear tires, was inconsistent performance. Given the razor thin performance margins this year, I think targeting exhaust consistency is more reasonable than targeting outright exhaust capability, which has been severely limited by the rules.
Put another way, consistently getting 25% performance is better than sometimes getting 35-40% performance, even if getting only 25% doesn't allow for other potentially beneficial changes. I think the new rear suspension will likely reflect that reality, as it will allow for softer settings - for better traction - without necessitating a big change to ride height.
The pictures on the previous page of this thread seem to show some rake being run. My point was not necessarily that rake in and of itself is the be all and end all for performance, but that it is something they were trying to run on the car in Jerez testing with the original exhaust design. If, with this new exhaust design that is being touted as a development of the original concept, they are able to increase rake, it may point towards Ferrari being able to realise its original design philosophy.
EDIT
They talk about rake here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_JwtOxk ... r#t=15m00s
Not something we don't know, but since we're talking about setup here and, if this is how the car was intended to be setup, it may contribute significantly to performance to be able to realise that.