Third spring/damper

[Belatti]

To answer mx_tifosi, the 3rd damper is very common in suspension configuration in high aero load cars.

http://scarbsf1.com/JAG/JAG_third.html

The 3rd damper/spring/packer is connected to a ball-and-socket like joint in one side and a "T" on the other side. This "T" is conected on the other side to the "commonly used" 2 spring/damper/packers. The 3rd damper works when the 2 wheels are loaded equaly ( like in aero load). With this you can use a "softer commonly used 2 spring" setup in order to have more mechanical grip and you have the 3rd to maintain ride height when high aero loads are applied.
Without this you would have to use stiffer/harder suspension to prevent the car touching the asphalt at high speed.

In other terms, its a passive suspension configuration that "works a little" like an active suspension with no 3rd spring.

NOTE: this was a very very raw explanation, excuse that! Now I dont wanna see 3000 posts commenting how many mistakes I have made. Unless it is adding something

[kimi]

thanx bro..but i hav a question.
is it the 3rd spring as u said that affects the mechanical grip??

if yes then y is ferrari struggling with their mechanical grip??

[zac510]

3rd springs affects both aero and mechanical grip.

You can't suggest that ferrari are struggling with mechanical grip just because of a different 3rd spring. There are far far too many issues affecting it.

[mini696]

Ferrari have better mechanical grip than every other team. Its their aero grip that is lacking.

McLaren are the opposite they have great aero and not so good mechanical.

[RacingManiac]

Ferrari have better mechanical grip than every other team. Its their aero grip that is lacking.

McLaren are the opposite they have great aero and not so good mechanical.

thats the opposite of what most are saying(and opposite of their performance this season). Seeing as they struggled in most low speed/curb heavy/traction challenged, circuits(Monaco, Hungary, Montreal, Monza), while excels in highspeed cornering tracks(Spa, Magny Cours, Silverstone), I think it is quite obvious that they are better on aero track than mechanical tracks. McLaren have exhibited an excellent wheel control over bumps and curbs the whole season, which constitude their advantage in mechanical grip...

at any rate though, the pic seems inconclusive, as the first 2 are the same pic, with the extra thing under the main spring/damper thing possibly being an external reservoir for the damper, while the third pic depicts the other side of possibly the same damper, which would explain why it "looks" different than the first 2 shots...ofcourse the damper could've changed, perhaps in makes or more likely just the internal configuration...

[Ciro Pabón]

They're not the same picture. They're similar.

UWA SAE team ran a car in 2005 with a kinetic system, to allow them to have a stiff "roll" and a soft "bump". Maybe F1 noticied?

I don't think Ferrari is adjusting the suspension during the race. It's forbidden.

10.2 Suspension geometry:
...
10.2.2 Any powered device which is capable of altering the configuration or affecting the performance of any part of the suspension system is forbidden.
10.2.3 No adjustment may be made to the suspension system while the car is in motion.

This is the Sachs damper Ferrari used in 2006.



I find it similar to the thingie ahead of the third damper. What's this thing for?



Question: is Ferrari the only team using a rotational magnetorheological damper? Here is an abstract pdf by FIAT scientists that I posted a year ago, just in case. http://actuator.de/contents/pdf/program ... etti_s.pdf