McLaren MP4-31 Honda

[PlatinumZealot]

In the Hamilton days, Mclaren used to run Rock hard front suspension. It was very noticeably on TV. You could see the front wing vibrating so much you would think it would break off at any moment. They used to run really low rideheight from front to rear too. Barely any rake. It worked well at most tracks but I remember there were tracks that the cars set up window was too narrow because the driver's could find a balance between feel and traction into the corner (The car was bouncing and would give inconsistent down-force). It was widely commented on actually. I think it was when the MP4-27(?) came out when Mclaren started to adopt the high rake and softer front suspension. I suspect they found a way to distribute the aero-load more evenly over the car and remove the dependence on the front wing. That is how I remember it at least.

[Sevach]

[Thunder]

The Brake Ducts still show some FlowViz from Barcelona.

Edit: more Pictures by AMuS

Yay, Monkey Seat on a Race Weekend...




FW with the old Cascades

[Sevach]

[Jef Patat]

Your point being what? That's the MP-30 vs MP-31

[f1rules]

this is a f1 tech forum, the person is posting a picture showing the difference between last years layout and this years layout, and you ask the purpose??

[Marco Alves]

The Brake Ducts still show some FlowViz from Barcelona.

Well caught, if Ron sees it will roll heads in Woking...

[Jef Patat]

I must be mistaken, I thought we already discussed that different placement of components that allows the bigger undercut during testing.

[turbof1]

I must be mistaken, I thought we already discussed that different placement of components that allows the bigger undercut during testing.

I must have missed that, as I haven't seen that comparison. Even if it's a repeated item, I don't see an issue. Just as long it does not show up every weekend .

A very nice comparison. Not only of the highlighted pieces, but everything looks to have been packed more compact.

[mrluke]

In the Hamilton days, Mclaren used to run Rock hard front suspension. It was very noticeably on TV. You could see the front wing vibrating so much you would think it would break off at any moment. They used to run really low rideheight from front to rear too. Barely any rake. It worked well at most tracks but I remember there were tracks that the cars set up window was too narrow because the driver's could find a balance between feel and traction into the corner (The car was bouncing and would give inconsistent down-force). It was widely commented on actually. I think it was when the MP4-27(?) came out when Mclaren started to adopt the high rake and softer front suspension. I suspect they found a way to distribute the aero-load more evenly over the car and remove the dependence on the front wing. That is how I remember it at least.

I read an article IIRC from Racecar Engineering that stated the Mclaren was so stiff because the team were targeting a peak downforce level which had a very narrow operating window. Therefore the car was as stiff as possible to try and stay within this window.

Post Hamilton they tried to move away from this, targeting a car with slightly less peak downforce but more consistent delivery. The result was a car that was easy to drive for Button but ultimately slow. Through the season you could see them starting to stiffen the car back up to try and claw back some lap time resulting in the infamous purpoising that we saw at one of the season openers (cant remember if it was the first Honda season or the one before that).

As previously mentioned Mclaren had fairly large correlation problems going back to 2011/12. Taken with several dramatic "fresh canvas" approaches to each years car, the team appears to be somewhat lost at sea.

For my part I dont doubt that the Honda PU has lower overall performance than Mercedes but I feel for Honda who have been made a scapegoat for Mclaren to avoid airing the above issues in public.

[Sevach]

I must be mistaken, I thought we already discussed that different placement of components that allows the bigger undercut during testing.

The interesting thing to me is how the ratio between intercooler vs radiator changed.

[DiogoBrand]

Is there an article somewhere that talks about brake cooling airflow? I was always interested in understanding what exactly that cool CF casing does. Also, what is that little 'disc' thing that goes all around over the actual brake discs? It almost looks as if the brake pads cover the entire disc instead of being only under the caliper.

Sorry for my ignorance, but I joined this forum just last year and brakes aren't a subject that comes up that often.

[Chuckjr]

Sorry for my ignorance, but I joined this forum just last year and brakes aren't a subject that comes up that often.

Don't apologize. Many others i'm sure, including myself, wonder the same question. I'm betting Brian has a PhD in the subject... [-o<

[mclaren111]

Nice Comparison

[Thunder]

Thursday Pictures by AMuS:

FW with the new Cascades



Nice Floor Pic


FW Comparsion https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/710258964361977860 https://twitter.com/ScarbsTech/status/7 ... 1392889856 https://twitter.com/ScarbsTech/status/7 ... 9417205760