Mclarens new front wing

[MrT]

Interesting following the recent post. My CFD suggested minimal if any gains.... however they did have an aggressive upper element profile. Sauber tried something similar during testing for their last season, and left it there! Although the profile and element shape in general for the Mclaren seems much more complex.

I guess if its been developed they must predict some substancial gains.... I would tend to agree with scarbs looking at the profile, the central section appears to be to clean up flow, whereas the outer ends may produce some downforce.... I guess testing will show whether its effective or not. If it is I hope it stays, although i expect it to be banned.

MrT

[bhall]

With the huge potential of this wing for substantial flexing, I'm not entirely convinced that this isn't a red herring of sorts.

But if it's not, the development makes some sense as Alonso was complaining about a lack of grip after Bahrain. This should help Alonso and his late turn-in get the most out of the notoriously understeer-prone McLaren.

I wonder how this will affect Hamilton though, who's been doing well thus far.

[ginsu]

I think the reason why it's not attached to the nose cone is because they couldn't alter the angle of attack easily if it was. usually you don't see these bolts going through. i'm thinking they're possibly eccentric bolts that would allow you to adjust the AoA of the upper flap.



If you can adjust the AoA then these are a big step better than what other teams are doing, as they can tune this upper element to whatever conditions they like (i.e. flow conditioner/downforce generator)

[mini696]

I like it, it looks great.

I think the reason its bolted is the same reason I gave for the 4 mirrors thread. McLaren aren't wasting time making a special set of 'one-off' end plates just to test this item, so they modify the existing EP's and see if this works. If it is adopted they will smooth the new wing into the end plates later.

I also think if the FIA allow this to race, McLaren may be asked to provide a vertical support in the middle down to the nose to stop flexing.

[malafunkshun]

Im new here, but have been a big follower of F1 for years now. Anyway, the new front wing of mclaren's kinda ugly. I have also noticed some revisions on the front suspension as mentioned
**“As always all Formula 1 teams see aerodynamic performance as a differentiator, and consequentially I am sure we will see new aero features and aspects of all of the cars when they arrive in Spain, including our own,” Whitmarsh continued. “Whilst that is going on, all the teams are able to secretly develop suspension and mechanicals that are better concealed and consequentially less talked about. We have conducted an analysis of our first three races, we have recognised that in Malaysia we had a strong package. **

[IMG:601:400]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m12/ ... po_106.jpg[/img]
Spain Testing
[IMG:600:400]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m12/ ... po_196.jpg[/img]
Spain Testing
[IMG:596:400]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m12/ ... po_143.jpg[/img]
Sepang Testing

New suspension setup maybe???

[mini696]

Good eyes Malafunkshun. Looks like the front wing and suspension intergrate together.

[bizadfar]

i have a feeling that this is gonna cause the car to understeer in the front which is ...what alonso wants ..... well cool concept .but it Looks bad ...look like a big Mush ...

I dont think so, from the slight angle of attack i think it will give sharper response at the front.

I dont think they would like understeer with this years tyres too.

[mahesh248]

^^^^^^^ dude .. when it grips in the front its called understeer and sharper responce is their thats why i mentioned UNDERSTEER ...

[modbaraban]

^^^^^^^ dude .. when it grips in the front its called understeer and sharper responce is their thats why i mentioned UNDERSTEER ...

Understeer is the LACK of grip in the front. Oversteer is what you meant, right?



PS: I also noticed that there's NO nose camera... maybe they gonna re-position it (again)?

[mahesh248]

Dude what happens when u stiff the suspension in the front and if u stiff suspension in the rear m asking ^^^^^^^^ u ..... as far as i know u increase downforce in the front yeah it over steers ..but want i meant in mechanical grip.... which is understeer ..

[modbaraban]

Nope.

Check this:

understeer
A lack of grip at the front wheels, which makes the car feel to slip away at the front, when cornering.

Oversteer
In cornering, oversteer exists when the rear end of the car tends to make a larger radius turn than the front end. The rear end of the vehicle wants to swing toward the outside of a turn. It is generally a sign that the suspension roll resistance is too hard in the rear or too soft in the front. A rear-engine vehicle has a natural tendency to want to swap ends, or oversteer, unless its suspension is adjusted to counteract it. A handling condition in which the slip angles of the rear tires are greater than the slip angles of the front tires. An oversteering car is sometimes said to be "loose," because its tail tends to swing wide.

Doesn't matter if it's mechanical or aero grip.

[PNSD]

Want a good example of Understeer/Oversteer.

Watch a RA107 lap

[mx_tifoso]

Similar to Mclaren's front wing, but not as extreme. I just noticed it today, so I'm not sure if it is new or not, but its from Barcelona testing.

[bizadfar]

^^^^^^^ dude .. when it grips in the front its called understeer and sharper responce is their thats why i mentioned UNDERSTEER ...

understeer is the fronts sliding. More front wing = less understeer/more oversteer.

This additional wing by logic will provide more downforce at the front giving LESS understeer. GOT IT?

[modbaraban]

Similar to Mclaren's front wing, but not as extreme. I just noticed it today, so I'm not sure if it is new or not, but its from Barcelona testing.

this one first appeared in pre-season testing in Bahrain and been there in every GP... you must have been looking the other way

But in one thing you are very right. McLaren applyied just the same upper layer (or 'cascade' wing as Pat Symonds like to call it) as many teams use but... MP4-22's nose was that low and short that it was probably unefficient to attach the upper layers to it... so why not joining them together above the nose forming a new kind of front wing layer? I think that was the logic.