Longer Wheelbase vs Narrower Tires

[Paul Kirk]

with my rudimentary logic I fail to understand why the sidewall stiffness should be a mayor factor in determining the static weight distribution.
I was under the impression sidewall stiffness was largely a downforce issue.
and in fact why only brawn is complaining here.
can anyone shed some light on this?

It is very difficult to work out what is going on marcush.
Nico is right up there so the car cannot be that bad.
Looking into the lap times, which is the bottom line after all, I get the feeling and it is only a feeling, that Michael is good (close to Nico), over about five laps and then slower. Could be weight distribution or set up, or Michaels fitness.
If it is the later, they are not going to admit it.
Anyway, I hope if it is Michael manages to get over it.

Yeah, I'm also hoping MS is able to get on top of his problems! We know from the past MS liked a setup that provided good front response, ie turn-in, (some of his t/mates strugled with it), MS said "Give me a good front end and I'll look after the rear". Watching MS lately, he does seem to be strugling with lack of front grip, but we've also seen his car oversteering sometimes, so this would hint at lack of overall grip, not just front. But of course he might have been inducing o/steer to counter the u/steer, who knows? And we have to remember all the other drivers have had 2 seasons to adjust to lack of traction control & MS only 4 races. I'm inclined to agree that he may need more forward weight than, say, Nico, to achieve his best times, but I hope it doesn't come at the expense of rear traction. I'm not actually his biggest fan, but I do want him to have some good races, & I think with his analizing & setup capabilities combined with his comunication skills with Ross Brawn, he will climb forward.
PK.

[Paul Kirk]

forward weight bais will increase the preassure on the front tyres increasing their grip.
allthough an extreme forward weight bais would cause understeer.

also by shifting the weight more forward less weight is on the rear tyres shifting the balance from understeer towards oversteer.

you have this backwards. all else being equal, simply moving mass from the rear to the front will make the car understeer more (or oversteer less). while increasing the pressure on the front tires will increase the absolute lateral force they can produce, it will not match the relative amount of mass that the front tires must laterally accelerate. thus, adding mass to the front will make it "grip" less.

Try telling that to the Karting boys and you might be surprised what they say!
PK.

[Paul Kirk]

forward weight bais will increase the preassure on the front tyres increasing their grip.
allthough an extreme forward weight bais would cause understeer.

also by shifting the weight more forward less weight is on the rear tyres shifting the balance from understeer towards oversteer.

you have this backwards. all else being equal, simply moving mass from the rear to the front will make the car understeer more (or oversteer less). while increasing the pressure on the front tires will increase the absolute lateral force they can produce, it will not match the relative amount of mass that the front tires must laterally accelerate. thus, adding mass to the front will make it "grip" less.

Try telling that to the Karting boys and you might be surprised what they say!
PK.

Btw my coment is aimed at Sundevil. "You have this backwards" statement.
PK.