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[madbrad]

The wheels don't spin at 19000 rpm, the engine does. The most a wheel will get to is maybe 2500 rpm.

I've wondered about wheel covers ever since they had the. It is an obvious help in aerodynamics, so if it's allowed then why does only one team have them? That or wheels with the flat flush face as part of the casting.

[darwin dali]

Yup, of course you're right about the rpm. Did you actually do the math? I wonder what the real number would be at let's say 300km/h, which would be 5km/min. Hm, if we take about 1.5m as the circumference of a wheel (anybody have the exact number?), this would translate into 5000/1.5 rpm = 3333 rpm. This is just a guestimate I'm pulling out of my bottom

[madbrad]

I used 2.5 m of circumference at 300 kph. That gave me 2000 rpm but I made it 2500 for a max in case the wheel is smaller.

[bud]

one thing you both agree on is its moving

[madbrad]

I just wonder why all the teams don't have it.

[LH-fan]

one thing you both agree on is its moving

The question is whether there is an aero (read more downforce or less drag or both) advantage to using them. Ferrari's deliberate obfuscation is that they are there for brake cooling. If the teams can show the aero advantage the FIA would have to disallow them in a clarification and then decide if they disqualify or not. My intuition says there is an advantage and the fact that they are attached to the turning front wheel would make them a Movable Aero Device (MAD). But intuition often fails at the leading edge of development so i will wait to see what the FIA does. If they do nothing and there is an advantage then all teams will be doing it by the end of the season.! But Ferrari will have gained a season changing leg up.

Maca's wing do flex but it does not improve the aero efficiency and this is why its not a major concern. (At least as i understand it) It does not generate an advantage. But as above i think the FIA relies on the other teams to prove advantage before they will act.

My sinister side says Ferrari is pushing the rules, being behind and all, and will muscle it down the FIA's throat. If they do nothing and there is an advantage, then the FIA is guilty of again using selective judgment in its rulings with respect to Ferrari. Would not be the first time.

I still think mass dampers were an amazingly clever solution to using the entire chassis as a MAD. Renault pulled off a beautiful bit of engineering only to be told 2 years later that it was not legal! And all because the other teams could not make it work! go figure.

[darwin dali]

Dug out some numbers:

Maximum complete wheel diameter - dry: 660mm
Maximum complete wheel diameter - wet: 670mm
Maximum speeds up to 350km/h

Making it a 2.072 m circumference (dry) and 5.83km/min, hence about 2800 rpm (talk about splitting the difference! )

[deMuRe]

I just wonder why all the teams don't have it.

Probably because no one part of the car operates in isolation when it comes to aero, they probably had to be designed into the bigger picture.

Perhaps it was a Ferrari innovation.

[bud]

Perhaps it was a Ferrari innovation.

actually the first team i saw to use it was Torro Rosso last year.

and i doubt they will make much of a difference anyway. the tyre/Rim already creates alot of drag which would be the same on every chassis pretty much. so any slight aero upgrade would be a slight advantage.

my question is Ferrari were testing it on the second or third day of tests at France, obviously for the British GP setup but why not for the French GP? maybe they wont even use it at every track

[madbrad]

The Hasslehoff pic is dead on! That does look exactly like the 82 Trans Am wheel cover! Good Spotting!

[certom]

Dug out some numbers:

Maximum complete wheel diameter - dry: 660mm
Maximum complete wheel diameter - wet: 670mm
Maximum speeds up to 350km/h

Making it a 2.072 m circumference (dry) and 5.83km/min, hence about 2800 rpm (talk about splitting the difference! )

but..if the engine works at 19000 rpm, we could imagine the wheels as directly linked to the engine, but the wheels work at 3000 rpm, so....where are the remaining 16000rpm???????

[darwin dali]

Don't forget the transmission - it's not 1:1.

[certom]

yes i know that's not 1:1....but they're all linked together...

and could someone (please DD ) calculate the speed of a car with the tyres at 19000 rpm please? take for example a 15 inches rim...

[darwin dali]

If you run in first gear at 19000rpm, you'll be pretty slow and loud

[certom]

yes i know this !!

but the tyres running at 19000 rpm...well i have never been a genius in math

i'll calculate it...