That's the problem with your reasoning. Your understading of how this work is incredibly poor and naive and would make me think you're a layman, albeit I know you're not.beelsebob wrote:Of note, my original comparison was not with a 2003 car, or a 2008 car, it was was with a 1990 car. The idea that a modern car can set very similar lap times to a 1990 car with significantly less power and skinnier tyres, but at the same time not have more downforce is frankly moronic. It's clear simply from the fact that lap times are basically the same, but straight line speeds are lower that the car must be faster in the corners, and therefore must be generating more downforce.
As far as 2003 goes, I'd bet on a 2013 car having more downforce than a 2003 one, but it would probably be pretty damn close. The reason I'd bet on this is simple – in 2003 radilon and blanchimont were corners that would regularly chuck drivers into the barriers because they did not have sufficient downforce to make the corner. That is not true any more, despite speeds being roughly the same. I suspect in 2014 that we'll be back to 2003 style lifting through there.
What makes a car quicker in a corner is grip, and only grip. Downforce increase grip but it's not the only thing. Tyre compounds produces huge differences in grip and I see you obviously are not much aware of the evolution of tyre compounds over the years.
If you look into Senna qualifying lap from Suzuka in 1991(it was a P2 time that was 0,4s slower than team mate Berger on sector 1, so the limits of the car were even higher than those I'm gonna mention), the speed on the Esses are a match for Suzuka's 2012 qualifying laps of Alonso and Vettel(directly from speedmeter). At the hairpin(sector 2, just 2 back then, Senna was 0,2s faster than Berger so likely at the limit here), and despite wider qualifying tyres, Senna corners with just 85% of the Red Bull's speed.(Senna's min speed is 66kmh, Vettel's 71. During the cornering Senna's average speed is around 70kmh, while Vettel's over 80kmh)
So, the tyres give recent cars more grip, not the downforce. And the tyres compensates and even surpass the downforce deficit in many cases.
Plus, another wrong issue that you posted is regarding early 90's cars's powers. In 1990, the engine figures were this:
Renault : 660HP
Ferrari : 680HP
Honda : 690HP
And because they had fat tyres, it gave a lot more drag which implies that their's straight line speeds were lower, not greater, contrary to what you said
The "radilon and blanchimont" mention one is also not a good argument. Nobody needed to lift in any of these corners, or Eau Rouge.
Martin Brundle said on ITV, during Suzuka 2003 qualifying, that Allan Mcnich(Toyota's test driver back then)told him Toyota was achieving 5Gs on the Esses(using grooved tyres)
At the same corners, 2011-2013 cars reach no more than 3.9Gs
Firstly, thanks very much for the linkiotar__ wrote: You'd lose. P. Symonds in Amus interview said that current era cars (-2013) downforce levels exceed the ones from 2008 and Marussia has more downforce than 2003 Renault and would be winning championships back then (he saw some numbers too ). Sentiment to "good old times" is one thing - technical development reality - something different.
http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... 36558.html
I think it's pretty likely the 2013 cars had more downforce than 2008s. The diffusers from either year are very small compared to the diffusers of 95-2004, and even more to the 1994 one. Ride height also is the same so from 95 onwards, nobody gains time on that. In 2005-2008, the RW had more width but were run shallower because the FW gave relative poor downforce being so high. Despite the 2009-2013 RWs being narrower, they have bigger span than the 1995-2008 ones.
Also, with the exhaust blown diffuser, you can run more rake and seal the side of diffuser, effectively increasing it's size a bit. Diffuser-wise, 2011-2013(EBD generation)cars had advantage over 2008. The RW is 0,75m wide versus the previous 1m, but they didn't lose 75% of RW downforce because it's run higher now and with bigger span(taking some surface area back). FW-wise, 2011-2013 cars had way more downforce than 2008 ones. Despite the neutral central zone, it was 1,8m wide, low(which improves downforce by a very big margin. For instance, depending on the case, a 10mm lower ride height can improve downforce by upwards of 50%) and with very steep angles.
When they started the 2009 season, they were around 85% of the 2008 downforce levels. With development of 5 years and the implement of devices such as EBD, it's no surprise they surpass the 2008 downforce values.
The rake and EBD might take them equal to 2003 diffuser levels and as FW gave more df last year, I believe Red Bull, Mercedes could surpass Renault 2003. Marussia seems a bit of a stretch and Symmonds have done such things before.
Did you realize he doens't mention the 1993 cars, only the 2003 and 1983 ones?
Yes, you understand it.turbof1 wrote:I doubt that. Much of the performance deficit is masked behind the grooved tyres.
I think many people don't make the difference between more downforce and more advanced downforce. The way the RB9 creates downforce is of course much more complex and technology behind it a lot more advanced, but in 1998 they had more means for "mass-downforce creation": bigger diffusers, bigger bargeboards, bigger rear wings, lower front wings. All in all they also were much more efficient.
Wind tunnel and CFD technology advanced quite a lot and as a consequence, aerodynamicists can develop their car's shapes much quicker and precisely.
There is no doubt that they "squeeze" way more downforce out the regulations now than they did back in 94. But because there was much more freedom back then, they still had more downforce.
With the values of a contemporary tyre that I have seen and the downforce of a 94 car, they would be able to corner at 7G. And if you gave 1994 aero regulations to Adrian Newey, for instance, today, he could improve that downforce considerably and we could see potentianly +8G
PS: Of course, this is all saying the max force cars would theoretically get with that combination. In reality, they couldn't reach that because at 6G, the F1 cars are already not far from rolling over/flipping