FIA to limit use of wind tunnel

Sir Stiggington

Sir Stiggington

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FIA to limit use of wind tunnel
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2007/12/07/fia-to-limit-use-of-wind-tunnel/

The FIA has announced that there will be more aerodynamic testing restrictions from 2008. Teams will no longer be allowed to use more than one wind tunnel for example, nor are they allowed to run the wind tunnel with full-scale models.

The FIA came up with the following restrictions for F1 teams in 2008:
- Teams to use no more than one wind tunnel.
- Test fluid to be air at atmospheric pressure.
- Maximum test section wind speed 50m/sec.
- Maximum model scale 60%.
- No more than one model to be tested during a run.
- Maximum usage to be equivalent to 15 runs per 8 hour day on 5 days per week for team F1 purposes. Tunnel may be contracted out at other times.
- Aerodynamic testing may only take place in wind tunnels if at reduced scale or at FIA approved test tracks if full scale. Full size testing to be subject to the F1 testing agreement.
- Full scale specific aerodynamic testing is to be reduced to 5 days/year.
- Restrictions will be imposed to stop shift of resource from wind tunnel testing to CFD.
- The number of people involved in CFD development will be limited to a number to be agreed.
- CFD computer systems will be characterised in order to set hardware performance limits but growth will be allowed year-on-year to allow for hardware / software development.
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I cannot believe this. Forst they freeze engine development to make teams improve in other areas, and now they prevent them from doing it like this...they have lost their mind :( :mad::mad::mad:
 
I thought that F1 should be the pinnacle of technical achievement with some general restrictions like car weight - now it is not.
 
They have to be careful not to limit the teams to much! It's a good thing to get the costs down, but hell, it's F1. It's not supposed to be for everyone, it's supposed to be the fastest series out there! You don't want one of the American series to overtake it, do you Mosley?

F1 needs new management.. :p
 
I can see where they are coming from. They want to reduce aero, so the best way to do that is to stop teams using windtunnels all the time to make extra 1/10th gains etc.
 
Makes it cheaper for new teams to get in too I assume.
 
What makes F1 exciting is the constant shifting of advantage between teams as they try to out develop each other.

What this is going to mean, is that once one team gets ahead it will stay ahead for a lot longer. No more gradual shifting of performance two or three times per season as we've seen last year.
 
HondaF1 said:
I can see where they are coming from. They want to reduce aero, so the best way to do that is to stop teams using windtunnels all the time to make extra 1/10th gains etc.
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From what I've heard they want to encourage aero development cause it won;t upset the greenies. But now they are basically saying that they should use the same F1 cars for the next ten years. They are preventing the very reason for F1: Development. :(
 
Good idea. Best idea they have had for a while.

1. Wind Tunnels are massively enormously expensive.

2. They are massive energy uses, this move alone makes F1 a greener sport.

3. The use of F1 is development, so future ideas can be used in road cars. It has given us electronic aids, semi-automatic gearboxes, active suspension and carbon brakes among many other things. Aero has sweet fuck all to do with road cars and their development, getting rid of it is a great idea.

Don't get me wrong, F1 needs Aero. Downforce allows the car to reach the enormous cornering speeds which are a part of F1 and make it so exciting. But these wind tunnels are running around the clock to refine all those stupid looking fins and vents that gain 0.000000001 of a sec on a course. It is these that create so much aero turbulence so cars can't follow one another as well and make the cars look shit.

Well done FIA, finally a good decision.
 
Necx0 said:
Good idea. Best idea they have had for a while.
Aero has sweet fuck all to do with road cars and their development, getting rid of it is a great idea.
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Umm, the idea of every car is to be as aerodynamic as possible to make the work easier for the engine, in doing this its actually worse for the enviroment in the long run (which I could give less of Fuck about then Lindsey Lohan)
 
It seems Necx0 has lost his mind. And I completely agree with cdbob...yes, I'm referring to the environment comment.
 
What's up next? Engineers must design everything with a blindfold?
This is stupid, just stupid.
 
Necx0 said:
Good idea. Best idea they have had for a while.
Aero has sweet fuck all to do with road cars and their development, getting rid of it is a great idea.
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Oh dear....

The simple fact is that the teams will switch from heavy tunnel testing to use of CFD with the tunnel tests just for validation. Therefore it will become the team with the best CFD resources rather than the best wind tunnel.

It won't get cheaper and it won't really stop development. Not to mention that the FIA appears not to have an aerodynamicist among them, so they have no idea how many ways there are of getting round the rule.

For example what's to stop them having 3rd parties who just happen to be researching the areas they're interested in? Is the FIA expecting to be allowed access to the labs of every company or research operation that goes near F1? That's thousands of wind tunnels all over the world, not to mention those organisations would suggest they kindly f**k off and mind their own business.
 
I don't think it's all that bad, they still get to do a fair bit of wind tunnel testing under these new rules.
 
cdbob said:
Umm, the idea of every car is to be as aerodynamic as possible to make the work easier for the engine, in doing this its actually worse for the enviroment in the long run (which I could give less of Fuck about then Lindsey Lohan)
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Oh please. While of course every car wants to be as aerodynamic as possible, you think car makers actually give a crap about it?? Do you think more than 5% of the knowledge aero wise gets transferred? Maybe Ferrari uses some data to gain more downforce on models like the Enzo and Scuderia. But teams like Renault and Toyota have two wind tunnels running around the clock to gain thousands of a second on the track, not to make the next Megane or Corolla slide through the air properly.

While I concede that in typical FIA fashion the restrictions are a tad draconian and no doubt the teams will kick up a fuss, it is at least a step in the right direction. My only concern is the jobs that will be lost from stopping the wind tunnel operations.
 
Who was the team with the huge CFD investment a few years back? Gave them the most powerful CFD setup in Europe or some such. Bet that looks really good right now too investors and sponsors....

All and all I don't like this move. Greenies be damned, F1 is not ever going to be green. I watch F1 too see not only great driving, but great engineering. This takes away some part of the latter...
 
Cheap. Looks like F1 is becoming more like NASCAR what with all the car development/technology restrictions...:cry: (shakes fist at FIA)
 
Man I'm really starting to miss the insane V10 era.
 
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