2009 Winter & Mid-season testing (Results and Pictures)

[phil1993]

It'll be coming in December

And Comes it online on this site ???

Maybe, but the best thing is to buy it.

[Kanst]

Does anyone know the date of the car releases?

[Arrows_F1]

BMW Sauber (F1.09): 13th January
Toyota (TF-109): 16th January
All other teams haven't announced their release date yet

[Fergie1]

All the top teams are likely to do them in January and the likes of Force India are usually closer to the first race.

[Zack]

F2008K:
Badoer tested at Fiorano yesterday. The barge boards were taken off, so were the wheel covers and winglets. Aerodynamically the F2008K was set up in such a way that the downforce levels of next year were simulated. Parts of KERS were tested, but the actual system wasn't in use. Only next week at Barcelona it will be fully operational. The test was merely a shake down I think, I'm not sure about the number of laps Badoer did, laptimes in any case were not important at all.

The unit that charges and releases the energy weighs in between 5 and 7 kg but is to weigh below 5 kg at the start of the season.

The electronic unit that controls the system is made by Magneti Marelli and is placed in between the body and the engine in a space where usually the fueltank is situated. It has the shape of a shoe box and weighs 3,8 kg.

The motor generator weighs 5,3 kg but is to weigh below 5 kg eventually. New materials derived from spatial technology has been implemented in the device.

The lithium batteries (which have the capacity of a 10 litre jerry can) are placed behind the driver. This is close to the centre of gravity and doesn't require too many cable leads. However, it does require sophisticated cooling. It is water cooled, just like the rest of the system.

The engineers have tried to locate most of the parts of the system at the lowest point possible in the longitudenal middle of the body. This not only good for the centre of gravity but also allowes the torsional rigidity of the F2008 to be retained.

Overall the system (which size is contained) should weigh around 30 kg. Many things will still be modified.

[blizzard]

Thx a lot for the update Zack!

One thing appears strange to me: How can they simulate 2009 downforce levels, simply by removing the bardge boards, wheel covers and winglets? I thought these parts were mainly to increase the airflow round the car and not primarely to generate downforce. I think the biggest difference will come from the newly designe wings, especially the rear wing.

edit: I can still see at least 3 winglets on the car! the huge one in front of the mirror, the one with the italian flag on it and the one with "Fiat" on it.

[JoostLamers]

Go Giedo
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/11/ ... enault-f1/

[Zack]

Thx a lot for the update Zack!

One thing appears strange to me: How can they simulate 2009 downforce levels, simply by removing the bardge boards, wheel covers and winglets? I thought these parts were mainly to increase the airflow round the car and not primarely to generate downforce. I think the biggest difference will come from the newly designe wings, especially the rear wing.

edit: I can still see at least 3 winglets on the car! the huge one in front of the mirror, the one with the italian flag on it and the one with "Fiat" on it.

Aero Guys feel they will be able to get 80% downforce of the current level which is shocking considering Fia wanted 50% of 2006 downforce(In 2006 we had less downforce than we this year).Many engineers believe 'don't expect radical change'

Regarding F2008K test, the main aim was to integrate KERS.It is expected to be in working condition in next test Barcelona. Mclaren, Williams & BMW have already tested their KERS so we are bit lagging!
F2009 is getting ready in Dallara's new wind tunnel i.e. Ferrari & Dallara's engineers are working together.The Wind Tunnel has 60% model capacity and its advance than the one Ferrari owns(outdated!) but other Team have more sophisticated than this. You can find more info : http://www.dallara.it/

[f1anatic]

Cars look a little better. Rear wing is ugly but had it been matched to a narrower front wing it would have been better. Or the rear wing should have stayed the same width and only grow in height. I suspect the front wing will be redesigned for 2010.

[blizzard]

One question: Doesn´t the new aero setup make the cars oversteer a lot? The front wing gets wider and lower to the ground, so more downforce and the rear wing gets a lot narrower, so less downforce. In theory this should move the grip level to the front, right?

[Zack]

Personally i m very weak in setups!..always was dependent on others.

Sam Michael and Hamashima...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72024

i m myself confuse about this

[blizzard]

"Looking at the tyres, there is more front grip available than rear because they have filled the grooves in, so the balance is going to tell you that you need to move the weight forward as there is more front grip available."

Sam Michael



So does that mean they will race slicks at the front and grooved tyres at the rear? weird

[Zack]

No he adds in the article after that line ... "But it is a slick tyre.It works differently to a grooved tyre, and will work differently in different temperatures, so no one knows 100 percent until you get to running it. And it will continually move. There is no such thing as an optimum weight distribution, it can change from one track to another and change very significantly with track temperature".

I feel it will have understeery tendency as KERS is believe to be about 30-40kg.At least in PC Games when i shift weight towards back car become understeery.

Common setup guide :whistle:

Code: Select all

Component			Reduce Under-steer	Reduce Over-steer
Weight distribution		center of gravity towards rear	center of gravity towards front
Front shock absorber		softer				stiffer
Rear shock absorber 		stiffer				softer
Front sway bar 	        	softer				stiffer
Rear sway bar 			stiffer 			softer
Front tire selection1 		larger contact area²	 	smaller contact area
Rear tire selection 	     	smaller contact area 		larger contact area²
Front wheel rim width 		larger² 			smaller
Rear wheel rim width  		smaller 			larger²
Front tire pressure        	higher pressure	 		lower pressure
Rear tire pressure    		lower pressure 			higher pressure
Front wheel camber 		increase negative camber 	reduce negative camber
Rear wheel camber 		reduce negative camber 		increase negative camber
Rear spoiler 			smaller				larger
Front height 		 	lower front end 		raise front end
Rear height 			raise rear end 			lower rear end
Front toe in 			decrease 			increase
Rear toe in 			decrease 			increase

1) tire contact area can be increased by using wider tires, or tires with fewer grooves in the tread pattern. Of course fewer grooves has the opposite effect in wet weather or other poor road conditions.
2) These also improve road holding, under most conditions.

[AzShadow]

Turun Sanomat has gathered information about the current situation with KERS.

At this point, only BMW Sauber and Williams will definitely use KERS at the opening race of the season.

Ferrari is developing its KERS with Magneti Marelli, but it's unlikely that they'd get the system working for the opening races. Toro Rosso, which will get their KERS from Ferrari, has been informed that the system wouldn't be available until in Turkish GP which is the seventh race of the season.

Renault is pretty much at the same level as Ferrari right now. Since Red Bull is working with them, it would mean that both of the teams wouldn't get their KERS until sometime around the early summer.

Toyota has confessed publicly that they are having great difficulties with KERS. They've said that they will use the KERS at the second half of the season or possibly not at all.

McLaren and Honda are trying to get their KERS ready for the season opening, but they admit that their systems might be delayed and get ready only at the third race of the season in China.

With KERS the engine should get 80 additional horsepower for 6.67 seconds each lap in theory. 10 horsepower gives you approximately 0.1 seconds per lap so the advantage should be immense. Of course in reality things might be different.

[shailf1]

where did williams get their KERS, dont they have a toyota engine?
I dont think they made their own KERS..