Quote:
Originally Posted by gwyllion
With all this emphasis of weight saving (for good balance and agility) and slick aerodynamics (for low drag), it seems that Audi expects to be down on power compared to the new 908. Peugeot on the other hand again put most of their effort in their engine by selecting the more logical V8 configuration.
I expect that the design choice of Audi will give then an advantage in the other ILMC races. However in Le Mans Peugeot might have the upper hand, because of the long straights.
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With the new regs (smaller engine, same size air restrictor/same turbo boost, closed car), I believe that even if Audi is down on power, it'll be no where near as bad as it was before, and with reduced drag, any power shortfall won't mean as much. Peugeot have had to rebody their cars for LM, and you can't tell me that they're not facing the pinch brought on by reduced power. And if all Audi have to do to get the R18 in sprint spec is add diveplanes/deck gurney flaps and crank more rear wing in the car and Peugeot have to swap back to their Sebring body kit for Spa and the rest of the ILMC rounds, that means that under the regs, the Pugs "normal" body kit is carrying a fair bit of drag, not to mention the logisitics of two different aero kits.
Look at Red Bull and the supposidly down on power Renault engines. Being down on power hasn't hurt them, even at power tracks like China and Monza.