Quote:
Originally Posted by canaglia
I've read that visit florida drivers complained about the tub lack of stiffness.
If the tub will be the same of last year, well... they simply can't fix this.
Engine isn't the state of art either.... good luck to them.
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The tub can be stiffened without being "changed." Change implies alterations to the tub's overall structure, not for example attaching a reinforcing brace to the outside of the tub(much like when IndyCar added anti-intrusion panels in 2007 - the tubs weren't any different when shipped from Dallara, they just bolted on some extra pieces).
That said, the complaints as I read them were about the chassis overall, not solely the tub. So there are two other possible fixes that I can htink which don't even require that much.
1: While the tub is the biggest part of the chassis on modern LMPs, yes, but it's not the entire thing - the engines are only semi-stressed, not fully stressed, which means there is a dedicated section of chassis framework in the rear. The lack of stiffness could be inherent to this part.
2: Despite the statements, chassis stiffness might not actually be the problem. If the suspension design is poor enough, it make the car FEEL like the chassis isn't stiff enough - which would compound the problems of trying to figure the car out since it would point you in the wrong direction.
Joest is smart enough to be able to figure out if the latter is the case. That they've been focused mainly on suspension tells me that even if there IS a problem with the chassis stiffness, it's not something severe enough to prioritize over problems with the suspension. After all, a chassis that's not quite stiff enough isn't necessarily going to be a great harm to performance. But a bad suspension design is almost guaranteed to be so.