Lotus E20 Renault

[beelsebob]

There are rumors going around that Mclaren and Lotus will have heavily redesign sidepods area in Germany!

SOURCE https://twitter.com/ScarbsF1

Wow, tunnels all the way from the front is Scarbs' guess... Sounds crazy, but plausable.

[PlatinumZealot]

I think they are going to add the Helmholtz chambers.

What benefit the Helmholtz chambers give? Smoother differences between on/off throttle for the the teams that actively seal the diffuser?

More power throughout the band.

[Huntresa]

Would it be legal to make a tunnel all the way on the floor next to the sidepod ? Or is it legal to lead air thru the sidepod somehow down via a tunnel to the rear end?

[beelsebob]

Would it be legal to make a tunnel all the way on the floor next to the sidepod ? Or is it legal to lead air thru the sidepod somehow down via a tunnel to the rear end?

It would be absolutely legal, as long as said tunnel never made a hole in the floor, i.e. as long as it exited on top of the floor, or pointing at the starter motor hole.

[Huntresa]

Hmm just thought of Toro Rossos sidepod it closing in on itself at the floor, i guess instead of closing in on it self it could create the U-tunnel that scarbs talked about.

[Huntresa]

Would it be legal to make a tunnel all the way on the floor next to the sidepod ? Or is it legal to lead air thru the sidepod somehow down via a tunnel to the rear end?

It would be absolutely legal, as long as said tunnel never made a hole in the floor, i.e. as long as it exited on top of the floor, or pointing at the starter motor hole.

Would it be legal to put bodywork as a wall per say on the outside of the sidepod so the wall closes the cutout area of the sidepod ? Since the sidepod area above the cutout is further out then the cutout i would assume its legal to continue bodywork downwards from that point of the sidepod just above the cutout?

On the mclaren this would mean you could get a pretty big tunnel if you make a wall from the start of the sidepod all the way down to the exhaust, the airflow would then flow proper without any disturbance all the way to the back and misses the exhaust plume.

[beelsebob]

Would it be legal to make a tunnel all the way on the floor next to the sidepod ? Or is it legal to lead air thru the sidepod somehow down via a tunnel to the rear end?

It would be absolutely legal, as long as said tunnel never made a hole in the floor, i.e. as long as it exited on top of the floor, or pointing at the starter motor hole.

Would it be legal to put bodywork as a wall per say on the outside of the sidepod so the wall closes the cutout area of the sidepod ? Since the sidepod area above the cutout is further out then the cutout i would assume its legal to continue bodywork downwards from that point of the sidepod just above the cutout?

On the mclaren this would mean you could get a pretty big tunnel if you make a wall from the start of the sidepod all the way down to the exhaust, the airflow would then flow proper without any disturbance all the way to the back and misses the exhaust plume.

It would, but I believe doing that would have a negative effect, not a positive. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the current side pod design is aimed at pulling air flowing past the side of the car inwards, and under the beam wing, this would negate the effect.

[bhall]

But, it would also largely eliminate the detrimental effects of rear-wheel tire squirt on rear-end downforce. Teams have gone to great lengths to do just that with wheel fairings and complex brake duct fins. The possibility even exists to catch and stabilize front-wheel wake to make downforce at the back of the car.

If true, it's exciting stuff.

[Huntresa]

Would it be legal to put bodywork as a wall per say on the outside of the sidepod so the wall closes the cutout area of the sidepod ? Since the sidepod area above the cutout is further out then the cutout i would assume its legal to continue bodywork downwards from that point of the sidepod just above the cutout?

On the mclaren this would mean you could get a pretty big tunnel if you make a wall from the start of the sidepod all the way down to the exhaust, the airflow would then flow proper without any disturbance all the way to the back and misses the exhaust plume.

It would, but I believe doing that would have a negative effect, not a positive. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the current side pod design is aimed at pulling air flowing past the side of the car inwards, and under the beam wing, this would negate the effect.

But wouldnt the air in my idea exit under and on the inside of the exhaust of the mclaren car or any car with the huge cutout under its mcalren style exhaust, like FI has aswell, or do you mean that the air doesnt get any motion to the side and just goes stright thru the tunnel ? And if so, couldnt you add the Red Bull duct under the exhaust where my idea of bodywork would end, so the tunnel leads air straight into a Red Bull Duct, but a stronger air then they are getting with an open sidepod/floor esign, or is this not possible?

[Gui59]

This is indeed interesting, I asked Eric Boulier last year before the Belgium GP in an email if they would use the place left empty by the exhausts to make a tunnel and it can be very true that this is what they are about to do.

[N12ck]

Lotus at Hockenheim

[TomAsh]

new air intakes...

[Coefficient]

new air intakes...

Yeah, either side of the airbox. Maybe their ducting the starter motor hole from there or perhaps its an intake for an alternative DDRS?

[TomAsh]

new air intakes...

Yeah, either side of the airbox. Maybe their ducting the starter motor hole from there or perhaps its an intake for an alternative DDRS?

Or simply for cooling their KERS and naughty alternator...

[Owen.C93]

They had the weird extra radiator in the sidepod so they've probably moved it to above the gearbox like Ferrari and last years McLaren.