Small Pod Beneath RB5 Nose

[Mclaren11]

There is a small black pod beneath the nose of the new RB5:

http://www.redbullracing.com/Car/Galler ... RB5-GETTY/

I thought that it could be an on-board camera, but even the standard roll-hoop mounted camera doesnt have a lens in this shot, so I can't validate it either way.

Any ideas as to what it is?

[mx_tifoso]

Welcome to F1T,

Just so you know, this can be discussed in the RB5 thread. It has already been asked and answered in that respective thread.

[ISLAMATRON]

I think it is ballast because I swear I have seen it in race prepped cars, but other seem to think it is test pod for data acqusition.

[i70q7m7ghw]

It's for measuring ride hight etc. theres no reason it can't be used during a race, I doubt it would be though - maybe in practice for perfecting the setup.

[modbaraban]

Toyota TF108 At GP Belgium

F2008

[PNSD]

Mclaren, and Honda also used this last season... I believe they are ballast chambers. At least in the case of Ferrari...

[timbo]

Mclaren, and Honda also used this last season... I believe they are ballast chambers. At least in the case of Ferrari...

This was discussed a lot, scarbs said that it is ride-hight, yaw, ground speed sensor.

[ISLAMATRON]

It's for measuring ride hight etc. theres no reason it can't be used during a race, I doubt it would be though - maybe in practice for perfecting the setup.

No reason it cant be but plenty reasons why it shouldnt. Why disrupt the airflow to check the ride hight which really cant be changed during the race? This thing is right where the keel used to be and now disrupting the airflow just to check something you cant change during the race?

Now we know the teams have been trying to move the weight bias forward for a couple years now and this is when they started popping up. It is as forward as you can get without going onto the nose and it being suspended lowers the Cg.

I'm not saying it isnt what some claim to be but I just dont see the evidence.

[Conceptual]

It's for measuring ride hight etc. theres no reason it can't be used during a race, I doubt it would be though - maybe in practice for perfecting the setup.

No reason it cant be but plenty reasons why it shouldnt. Why disrupt the airflow to check the ride hight which really cant be changed during the race? This thing is right where the keel used to be and now disrupting the airflow just to check something you cant change during the race?

Now we know the teams have been trying to move the weight bias forward for a couple years now and this is when they started popping up. It is as forward as you can get without going onto the nose and it being suspended lowers the Cg.

I'm not saying it isnt what some claim to be but I just dont see the evidence.

Ask Scarbs, he is rather more in touch with these things than anyone else that posts here...

[Roland Ehnström]

Hmm, if that thing is filled with led or ever tungsten, it would not be allowed for safety reasons I think. Imagine that lump (weighing several kilograms) coming off a car at 300+ kph, nothing would stop it...

[megz]

It's for measuring ride hight etc. theres no reason it can't be used during a race, I doubt it would be though - maybe in practice for perfecting the setup.

No reason it cant be but plenty reasons why it shouldnt. Why disrupt the airflow to check the ride hight which really cant be changed during the race? This thing is right where the keel used to be and now disrupting the airflow just to check something you cant change during the race?

Now we know the teams have been trying to move the weight bias forward for a couple years now and this is when they started popping up. It is as forward as you can get without going onto the nose and it being suspended lowers the Cg.

I'm not saying it isnt what some claim to be but I just dont see the evidence.

Except Scarbs has confirmed it as a Yaw/Ride Height/Speed sensor through talking with chief designers and engineers being a reporter for Autosport and all... actually what am I saying.... Someone whose talking to the lead men must be wrong!

[xpensive]

In the Mclaren case above, it is clearly a camera, no doubt intended to spy on the competititors' diffusers.
Ciro, is that legal?

[ESPImperium]

They are for data recovery. Not ballast. And from my definition, they are not allowed in Quali or a Race, only Friday practice i think.

They data they aquire is:

Ride Hight
G force between wheels
Yaw
Vibration sensitivity
Pitch
Air speed & pressure between wheels/under nose

The one that Renault uses has a Laser on it as well for ride height monotoring i belive.

[scarbs]

It is a sensor.... No doubt the teams might choose to pack a bit of ballast around it, But I can't confirm that. It may well need a minimum height from the ground to work, hence the pod for making it closer to the ground.

http://www.optimess.cn/english/product.asp?prono=15

Due to the Increasing importance of aerodynamics for motor sport and the associated demand for a constantly optimum distance of vehicle to road, laser sensors are now being used more and more in other racing classes, such as DTM, apart from Formula 1 in which they have already been used for a longtime. In addition to merely measuring the distance and shock absorber travel for optimum chassis balance, these sensors also allow the active regulation of a chassis in a further step. Extreme demands are made with regard to shock resistance and miniaturization due to the restricted space available in motor sport.

[modbaraban]