V nose, V sidepods

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One
One
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Joined: 19 Aug 2008, 13:30

V nose, V sidepods

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BMW 2009 had it peculiar upward looking side pods. RBR5 had the one on its nose. It is as if this 'V' concept reflecting what is underneath, the rounded bottom of the nose, with the deep under cut of the side pods, where a high air velocity can be found. What is the advantage of these shapes? I am curious especially these side pods, which was not successful on BW but now adopted by Ferrari...

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PlatinumZealot
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Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 03:45

Re: V nose, V sidepods

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It was successful on the BMW.. it's just that the side pods were not the weakpoint on the BMW; remember they kept that feature right up until the end of the season when the BMW became a top car.

I think the V shape is just to help channel air, in a certain way, onto the parts behind it.
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DaveKillens
DaveKillens
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Joined: 20 Jan 2005, 04:02

Re: V nose, V sidepods

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Welcome to the forum, One.

I just put out my theory on why sidepods are shaped the way they are at; viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7880

If the bottom of the nose is shaped like a "V", then it is doing at least two purposes. The air flowing past the wing and into contact with the bottom of the nose would be channeled left or right. Secondly, it would hinder the easy flow of air from the side. It would make the front of the car more easily influenced by sidewinds, but if the car is balanced properly, it may not be a problem.
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BreezyRacer
BreezyRacer
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Joined: 04 Nov 2006, 00:31

Re: V nose, V sidepods

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A pic would go a long way towards the questions you are asking but I'm interpreting that you are talking about, as in the case of the Red Bull nose to chassis section of the "troth" created by the high bulges along the side of the nose. If that's your question (still not sure) it's simply a method to keep high pressure from spilling off the top and down along the sides of the nose section. You gain downforce (probably not too much but anything is good), you control the airflow leading back to the face of the sidepods, and you create/extend the high pressure area at the top of the nose and chassis. BTW, often times this part of the body has a low pressure area, so turning it into a high pressure area is a distinct advantage.

As for the BWM sidepods, it's again to control/guide airflow but in this case it doesn't get too much chance to create a high pressure area since the sidepods taper down. But it does control the airflow into a critical part of the bodywork, towards the rear wings.

Again, I'm not sure I completely understand your question but at least we've started a conversation.

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Pandamasque
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Joined: 09 Nov 2009, 17:28
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

Re: V nose, V sidepods

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Here's a very good explanation
http://scarbsf1.com/2010/vnoses.html

BreezyRacer
BreezyRacer
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Joined: 04 Nov 2006, 00:31

Re: V nose, V sidepods

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Pandamasque wrote:Here's a very good explanation
http://scarbsf1.com/2010/vnoses.html
Interesting paper, but the dimensions you describe are minimums only and many teams heavily sculpt the under nose section for air flow control without the V nose design already.

Do the outside edges of the footbox also have to meet the min dimension, rather than just the center of the foot box? If so you should also provide some dims out there in your cross section diagram to emphasize that. Otherwise your explanation is not supported by the drawing.

BTW is Pandamasque another user name for Scarbs?

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Pandamasque
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Joined: 09 Nov 2009, 17:28
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

Re: V nose, V sidepods

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BreezyRacer wrote:BTW is Pandamasque another user name for Scarbs?
Not at all.