McLaren MP4/24 aero-mech development in 2009

[bar555]

Any MP4/24 tech update will be placed here .

[quote]
GP AUSTRALIA

1.New front wing
2.New rear wing
3.New front wheel rim shields
4.Small sidepod panels were added
5.Sidepods - Exhaust area
6.Rear floor


EDIT

[vet4snak]

Thanks bar555!!!

what an excellent goldmine of info!!! i spend almost 2-3hours in that website!

[Zack]

ENGINE




Type: Mercedes-Benz FO 108W
Capacity: 2.4 litres
Cylinders: 8
Bank angle: 90°
Number of valves: 32
Maximum rpm: 18,000 (FIA regulatory limit for 2009)
Piston bore maximum; 98mm (FIA regulation)
Weight: 95kg (minimum FIA regulation weight)
Fuel: Mobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel)
Lubricants: Mobil 1 – for higher performance, lower friction and better wear resistance






KERS


1.Large battery , used to store electric energy generated by an electric motor . It is placed as lower as possible ‘
2.KERS radiator
3.Electronics


The MP4-24’s KERS device has been developed in collaboration with McLaren and Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, which has been developing and refining the system for almost two years. The device enables the car to recover energy under braking, store the energy for a lap and release it when the driver presses a button on the steering wheel.
With a fully optimised KERS device’s output capped at 400kJ (discharging 80bhp boost for 6.7s per lap), the development team’s primary focus has already shifted to further improving the unit’s integration within the chassis in order to minimise performance loss elsewhere within the package.
An optimised KERS package can be expected to deliver a 0.3-0.5s gain per lap.



NOSE CONE END HOLE


The hole at the tip of the nose returned for the Aussie GP . Mc Laren preferred not to use it during cold winter conditions

RADIATORS INLETS




MP4/24 is designed with really reduced radiators inlets instead of whole open ones . The inlet’s bottom is completely closed offering a drag and turbulence cut immediately in front of the sidepod, aiding the car's top-end performance .
Moreover there is an extra small hole on the right side only , just below the large inlet , used to cool sidepod electronics



SIDEPOD PANELS


Small panels were added for Australia .



ENGINE COVER


The engine cover features a very thin extension with a V pointed end



LAPTOP CONNECTION - DATA TRANSFER


Via a socket at the left front side of the chassis


STEERING WHEEL

NOSE CONE WINGLETS - CAMERA


The winglets on both sides of the nose cone direct the airflow impacting against them to the sidepods . ?hey may have a camera fitted inside them .





BARGEBOARDS


Like all teams in 2009 Mc Laren took also advantage of a regulation loophole and attached a small bargeboard to the main body of the car .
Bargeboards supposed to be banned from 2009 due to new regulations .
The MP4/24 had completely different bargeboards for Australia . They were more curvy and had a different upper design to better guide the airflow .




UNDER NOSE FLOOR


On both and front sides of the floor there are vertical extensions which create a small channel under the nose . The airflow is guided via this channel and with the help of the small bargeboards around the bottom sculpted sidepods . This solution offers less drag and reduces air turbulences in front of the sidepod inlets improving the quality of the airflow into the radiators .

[megasyxx]

many thanks for the pics.....

very interesting to see the evolution/upgrades on the cars. but for the mp4-24, bah...i doubt whether they could get a win this season (or even pole).

[bar555]

many thanks for the pics.....

very interesting to see the evolution/upgrades on the cars. but for the mp4-24, bah...i doubt whether they could get a win this season (or even pole).

There are also similar topics for Brawn GP and RBR tech upgrades if you are interested in

[megasyxx]

many thanks for them too, bar555.......maybe you could also put some pics of the progress of the diffusers, kinda interested with that one.

[bar555]

many thanks for them too, bar555.......maybe you could also put some pics of the progress of the diffusers, kinda interested with that one.

That's easy . Diffuser updates for each team are already included in the aero-mech development topics but i can gather them together if you want .

[megasyxx]

thanks again for the links you gave me bar555.....

[bar555]

GP GERMANY , Nürburgring

Mc Laren had massive updates for Germany in order to reduce the speed gap . Unfortunately for the team the free practices and qualifying were promising but the things turned disastrous for race .

Undergone changes from Silverstone
1.Flow visualization paint was extensively used during free practices
2.New front wing for both cars combined with higher located nose cone camera winglets
3.Kovalainen during free practices tested the old front wing version combined with the higher located on the nose camera winglets
4.Front wheel fairing
4a.Old style fairing used for Nurburgring
4b.Large fairings similar to the ones used at Silverstone were tested by Kovalainen but not used
5.Engine cover was modified only for Hamitlon
6.Exhaust outlets were heavily modified only for Hamilton . Kovalainen tested asymmetric exhaust outlets similar to the ones used at Silverstone .
7.Rear suspension geometry and wishbones attachment on chassis were changed only for Hamilton .
8.Diffuser was heavily modified only for Hamilton
9.KERS was again used after being dropped for Silverstone

[bar555]

AERO TESTING - GERMANY


Flow visualization paint was extensively used during free practices to compare and measure the differences between the new and old upgrade packages . Due to test banning free practices are now very important as any upgrade come directly from the factory without any real testing on track apart from aero tunnel modeling and CFD testing .



CHASSIS USAGE IN GERMANY

Hamilton used the chassis No 4
Kovalainen used the chassis No 3




KERS USAGE IN GERMANY
Even though KERS was dropped for Silverstone the team decided to reuse it again for Nurburgring

[megasyxx]

many thanks for these bar555

[Ferrariman60]

There has definitely been a lap time improvement for the McLaren using the new aero package. We really didn't get to see its true pace though due to Hamilton's misfortunes at the first corner. Hungary might be good for the McLarens due to the lack of fast corners, as I think rear end stability is still a major issue for them. However, I have to wonder when they'll pull the plug on development for this year. They aren't going to realistically challenge for wins, and the championship is long gone, so if I were in control, I would seriously start working on next year's car. I think that just like last year, the teams that are running at the back this year are going to have an advantage next year due to their ability to focus on next year's car now rather than focus on battling for the championship this year, just like Brawn and Red Bull were able to do for 2009.

[megasyxx]

well, the best answer could be the uncertainty for next year. or maybe the updates that were introduced recently will be last for this year, with only minor ones up on the pipeline for the remainder of the season. probably mclaren's last gasp for a race win on a truly miserable year.

[JoostLamers]

Lovely to see the development this way, thanks!

[Ferrariman60]

well, the best answer could be the uncertainty for next year. or maybe the updates that were introduced recently will be last for this year, with only minor ones up on the pipeline for the remainder of the season. probably mclaren's last gasp for a race win on a truly miserable year.

I'd agree. This is probably McLaren's last ditch effort to salvage anything halfway respectable for this season. I do think that the uncertainty of the new regs did catch most teams out, as we saw in the diffuser scandal at the start of this season. However, Brawn, Toyota, and Williams pushed the envelope with the regs, and they were found to be correct in doing so. All of the other teams had that opportunity as well, and they chose to go in another direction. The one exception to this was the Red Bull, which was a fast car from the word go, and now with the addition of a new diffuser and some new aero bits, it's quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.