Here's some new info on the Lotus engine. Pretty good stuff!!
AUTO RACING - INDYCAR: Lotus IndyCar Engine Making Progress
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Here's some new info on the Lotus engine. Pretty good stuff!!
AUTO RACING - INDYCAR: Lotus IndyCar Engine Making Progress
For many of those who forget a time when we had new cars every year, teething issues are normal. I can't think of any new car that was "perfect" right out fo the box.
The new car is indeed quicker on road courses, quicker on short ovals, and"currently" slower at Indy. Why
The car is a compromise, as it has to run on short and longoval, street and road courses. The old car was designed specifically for ovals, so it has an inherent advantage there to start. The lower shock/dampers in the front, location of the coolers, etc, were all geared for oval racing, and later the car adapted to road racing
With two new engines now running, and another coming in January, what we have here is exactly what we had back in the good ‘ole CART days, when new cars and four engine manufacturers played the game of “show me yours and I’ll show you mine, maybe” in testing. Back then there was a balance of trying to set the time of the day (per the marketing department) and sand bagging (from the engineering department). Now, more than ever with the series monitoring engine performance, there seems to be quite a bit of the latter going on. No one wants to show their hand early.
There are 28-29 solid entries for next year(thanks again for Mr. Bernard) and that is great news for all. There is a TON of time before the first race to get the little bits sorted. Things will be very good for the start of the season.
But.. but... but... the sky is falling. The sky is falling.Quote:
Originally Posted by EagleEye
...big ol' grin...
Gary
I canQuote:
Originally Posted by EagleEye
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...1_Spa_2010.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...cropped%29.jpg
Actually I can go on and on
Actually, you can't go on and on.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyvop
First, none of these are an Indycar/Champcar or car from CART so I did not work on any of these. But, I know some people who did!
Do you think each of these cars went well "right from the start" of testing? If you think so, you're wrong.
The first Audi pictured, had a ton or issues with drive shafts, and balance issues. These issues led to Audi instigating a TON of money in development of future chassis. Where is Audi now? Working on the 2013 car. By the time the 2013 car hits the track for the first time, it would have spent thousands of hours on the chassis and engine dyno. Most the issues crop up then. They also found the back end was very hard to work on, and they eventually went with a modular design, which helped the team work on the car.
The R15, probably was as close to perfect once it hit the track, but again it was due to the many hours of testing on the chassis/engine dyno. The current chassis/engine/transmission dynos put the car through the same motion and forces they will see on the track, and has replaced traditional on track testing in the early stages of development. BTW, the Audi's have always been my favorites!
The Puegout pictured, suffered from cooling issues, weight balance issues which degraded front braking. Again, the car suffered from a lot of reliability issues...in testing. And, while it was quick out the box, it could only manage a minimal amount of laps before having to come in and cool off. Not ideal for endurance racing.
And finally, the last car. Ask Rocky the trials and tribulations they had with this car in testing. Several suspension failures, I believe due to an error in their FEA modeling. The car also had some interesting aero balance issues that needed sorting.
To say each of these were "perfect" right out of the box, is false. The current 2012 Indycar, did not go through a lot of dyno testing or aero testing becuase of the test program that had been put in place, and to reduce costs. Lets see where the car is in March and May, before we cry foul!
ee- good post and good points - while I am disappointed about the problems with the new car, you are right.... I think Anthony was more referring to the "new car every season" thing rather than the "good out of the box" - but I am not sure....
Agreed.....I believe these guys know how to address whatever problems may arise. I'm just sayin', get it done guys!! Make the drivers have to use their talents!!Quote:
Originally Posted by garyshell
Engine situation as of November 17: each manufacturer has four teams under contracts.
Honda: Chip Ganassi Racing, Sam Schmidt Motorsports, A.J. Foyt Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Chevrolet: Team Penske, Andretti Autosport, KV Racing Technology, Panther Racing
Lotus: Bryan Herta Autosport, HVM Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Michael Shank Racing
Other than those, Newman/Haas Racing is rumored with Honda, Dale Coyne Racing with Chevy and Conquest Racing with Lotus.
What about Ed Carpenter Racing, Sarah Fisher Racing and Dragon Racing?
New news from Lotus
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...eams-announced
2012 Lotus Engine Update - YouTube
:)