McLaren MP4 concept_enclosed cockpit

[herr_oberst]

Quite beautiful to my eye from the side view. It would have to be almost perfectly fail-safe to be approved, I'm sure.

[VincentVega]

perfectly fail-safe

that's a tall order but it does look cool. The area behind the front wheels looks a bit odd to me though, I assume its so high for protection.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

that's a tall order but it does look cool. The area behind the front wheels looks a bit odd to me though, I assume its so high for protection.

That's just the way they do it these days, it's all about airflow. This is last year's car.

[sammyg2]

Modern F1 cars have the driver's legs stuck into padded tunnels with the pedals at the end, and their feet are actually about chin-level when driving.
All in the name of aerodynamics.

[nota]

a Mc-honda will still be SLOW no matter if it has a top hat or not

a bigger problem on faster F-1 cars
is the tyres blowing up
and is eazyer to fix

[VincentVega]

This is last year's car.

Maybe with the longer wheelbase, or is it just a shorter nose?, throws it off? Maybe its the curve or the flat piece along the ground (like my technical terms?) but it doesnt quite look right to me.

Looks like an anteater compared to this

[tadd]

Can anyone tell me why the aspect ratio of the tires is so large when every other tire (even off road) has moved towards rubber bands?

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by nota

a Mc-honda will still be SLOW no matter if it has a top hat or not

a bigger problem on faster F-1 cars
is the tyres blowing up
and is eazyer to fix

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by tadd

Can anyone tell me why the aspect ratio of the tires is so large when every other tire (even off road) has moved towards rubber bands?

Rubber band tires are only good for spiky-haired wanna-be ricky racer posers who think 10 degrees negative camber is a good idea!

high aspect tires, when properly constructed, work much better than thin tires.

The F1 tires act as part of the suspension reducing unsprung weight and allowing for much stiffer suspension.

[VincentVega]

tires act as part of the suspension

also because the wheel sizes are fixed. Interesting stuff, they could change gear ratio's if they had less sidewall but the impact to the suspension would be huge. I would think smaller tires would be preferred since I imagine there is more control w/ shocks/springs than with a sidewall.

Rubber band tires are only good for spiky-haired wanna-be ricky racer posers who think 10 degrees negative camber is a good idea!

thats funny

[GH85Carrera]

The enclosed cockpit car might be OK in cool climate races but how will the drivers survive the greenhouse effect and no wind blowing on them in hot races?

They will have to air condition the cockpit. The giant greenhouse window will roast the drivers and the electronics. Maybe all the races will be run at night?

[sammyg2]

Higher aspect tires can also conform better to the road surface, increasing contact patch and total grip.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The enclosed cockpit car might be OK in cool climate races but how will the drivers survive the greenhouse effect and no wind blowing on them in hot races?

They will have to air condition the cockpit. The giant greenhouse window will roast the drivers and the electronics. Maybe all the races will be run at night?

And what will they do when it rains? I know I am in the minority here but I think it is plain stupid to race open cockpit cars in the rain. That aside, how would you fit wipers to that? And as GH85 says the drivers would roast in that green house.

Having said all that... it does look very nice IMHO.

I asked the tire question a looong time ago, I agree with the above statements that the wheel sizes are spec and the sidewalls add to suspension... at that time I was also told the larger sidewalls help dissipate heat.

[sammyg2]

LMP1 cars are closed cockpit and have air conditioning...

[nota]

wheel size rule is to limit the size of the brakes
as brakes by rule must be inside the wheels

yes sammy you do act like a chimp

I still think the blown tyres are a bigger problem
they need a tyre that can run a lap after a puncture

btw covers have been tryed long ago even before they added wings
and drivers hated them

[nota]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

LMP1 cars are closed cockpit and have air conditioning...

cooling suits not a/c

and your vision lines are way off
the center bit of the ''hood'' is much lower then the fender tops
allowing much lower ahead viewing of the track

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

LMP1 cars are closed cockpit and have air conditioning...

Yep, and they have windshield wipers. I am sure wipers can somehow be adapted to fit the F1 cars but that will be a LOT of weight up high and a challenge to do.

[scottmandue]

Also note that the way the F1 guys bounce off the bumps/curbs if they had low aspect tires I imagine the wheel failures would be catastrophic.

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

It would have to be almost perfectly fail-safe to be approved, I'm sure.

I'm sure something that offers a big improvement, without achieving perfection, would be looked at seriously. I just don't understand what the hold up is at this point... LMP1 cars have cockpits w/ fire suppression, A/C etc.

In fact, I'd be surprised if there have been more dangerous fire + unconscious driver scenarios than head strikes over the past 5 years.

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by nota

wheel size rule is to limit the size of the brakes
as brakes by rule must be inside the wheels

This is correct... the aspect ratio is simply the result of a wheel size rule, for the reasons above. The suspension of the car is built with tyre construction in mind, but could certainly be changed.