Nissan LMP1 Discussion

[cokata]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

And when you see how tough it was for a clearly amazing handling Audi to conclusively get by the much faster in a straight line Porsche you might consider that this wouldn't be the most ill-advised strategy!

The reason it was that easy for the Porsches to retake the place on the next straight is that batteries can store a lot more energy than the flywheel, and it seems they are developing at a blistering pace because they usually have poor power density, but this year to Porsche can release more than 400bhp (almost supercap territory).

Long burst of high power and low drag aero config meant that the Audis were unable to defend even though they had a much quicker car. The hybrid system on the Porsche is clearly the best one by a long shot.

[knighty]

Originally Posted by miatanut

Based on this?

It's hard to see a connection between the 2MJ and tire wear.

Does "We were very surprised about how the car looks after its tyres," mean it's surprisingly good or surprisingly bad? Maybe surprisingly good based on how much work the fronts do but still not like the other cars?

Does "Over two stints the car was very consistent, which is quite promising..." mean the tires are toast after two stints, or the behavior over two stints is nice and uniform and they could keep running them longer?

Does "...and there is more to do with Michelin." mean they are way off where they need to be and they need Michelin to save their bacon, or that the job these tires do is unusual compared to the other cars and Michelin is still figuring out what they need to do for such a powerful front wheel drive road racing car?

I think there are a variety of ways to interpret the quotes. From just that, we don't know.

The 2mj is mentioned in the autosport feature....the tyre wear situation is explained by the driver.....im putting 2 and 2 together.....my speculations are normally rather accurate, especially for datsuns kers cock-ups.... but im not always right!

[GasperG]

In the end they will use flywheel for coasting and saving fuel, just like a toy that goes with flywheel without CVT transmission.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

And when you see how tough it was for a clearly amazing handling Audi to conclusively get by the much faster in a straight line Porsche you might consider that this wouldn't be the most ill-advised strategy!

If this was a 15 minute sprint I'd agree, but as long as you have the better lap time, you should alright. There are plenty of chances to get past in a 24 hour race (or a 6 hour race). And I don't just mean having Lotterer drive. You will be out of sync. at some point in the race. Yes, it might be a race winner if you find yourself ahead with no stops left, but you would need the lap time to make sure you are in that position.

But there you go, banging on about Nissan again

[Acid09]

New report from Motorsport Total on Nissan's progress based on what the drivers said in Silverstone:

http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/...-15041401.html

3800 kilometers of testing have been completed, driving has mostly been done by Gene & Pla.

Some very worrying bits in there, such as admittance that just recently they have been able to do more than one stint, haven't practiced any race-preparation stuff such as driver changes yet and Bolwby describes the hybrid system as a "major headache".

The article ends with a quote from a unnamed higher up from one of the three LMP1 manufacturers who dosen't believe they will make it to Le Mans in time.

[Akrapovic]

If the report is true then it's worrying and disappointing, but not at all surprising.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Acid09

New report from Motorsport Total on Nissan's progress based on what the drivers said in Silverstone:

http://www.motorsport-total.com/wec/...-15041401.html

3800 kilometers of testing have been completed, driving has mostly been done by Gene & Pla.

Some very worrying bits in there, such as admittance that just recently they have been able to do more than one stint, haven't practiced any race-preparation stuff such as driver changes yet and Bolwby describes the hybrid system as a "major headache".

The article ends with a quote from a unnamed higher up from one of the three LMP1 manufacturers who dosen't believe they will make it to Le Mans in time.

Similar but shorter story in english: http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/b...ous-challenge/

[Acid09]

I just don't understand how they would have done Silverstone & Spa if they had passed the crash test with the hybrid system still this much in shambles.

Planning to go into a six-hour race against major manufacturer competition with a car that (at that point) had never run longer than one stint in testing?

That would have been a major debacle so in the end, the crash test helped them to safe face at least.

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by Acid09

I just don't understand how they would have done Silverstone & Spa if they had passed the crash test with the hybrid system still this much in shambles.

Planning to go into a six-hour race against major manufacturer competition with a car that (at that point) had never run longer than one stint in testing?

That would have been a major debacle so in the end, the crash test helped them to safe face at least.

I think the two failed crash tests slowed down the earlier development testing quite a bit, otherwise Nissan could already have been at the point where they'll be in about a week or 2/3 (???). They would still have been crushed by the P1 (and probably some/most of the P2) competition at Silverstone and Spa no matter what however.

Hope they'll make it to Le Mans but not convinced. Not convinced at all...

[TF110]

I dont think failing tests set anything back. They already were setback. Not being able to do consecutive stints? Thats just the basics after having the car running. I hope its not an "all show no go" deal.

[Akrapovic]

If they hadn't failed the crash test then they'd have turned up at Silverstone with no working hybrid system and DNF'd behind Kolles.

[TF110]

I noticed the mirrors are relocated closer to the cockpit

https://instagram.com/p/1gVNDfEsev/

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by TF110

I noticed the mirrors are relocated closer to the cockpit

https://instagram.com/p/1gVNDfEsev/

All the better for seeing with.

[hondafan37]

Video Nissan and Zytec in Kentucky
http://www.endurance-info.com/fr/vid...s-le-kentucky/

[PointDSM]

It hurts to say, but they brought in a P2 car as a benchmark for a track that doesn't have data on it....

[hondafan37]

Originally Posted by PointDSM

It hurts to say, but they brought in a P2 car as a benchmark for a track that doesn't have data on it....

yes, and in the video seems that the Zytek is faster than the Nissan

[miatanut]

Originally Posted by hondafan37

yes, and in the video seems that the Zytek is faster than the Nissan

I got 3.3 second from when the Zytek left headlight went past the sign post to the edge of the screen, and 3.9+ for the Nissan over the same distance.

We don't know if the Nissan was all warmed up and on a flying lap, but that doesn't look good.

[Akrapovic]

Maybe we're reading far too much into such a short video, but it's yet another bit of evidence which paints a very grim view of the Nissan project.

[Acid09]

Even if the Nissan was on an out/in lap it should at the very least be as quick as a LMP2 car, not slower.

I really hope they either get this car up to speed or they give Le Mans a miss. I know many people would be massively disappointed but imagine it lapping among the LMP2s...that would just do damage to LMP1 as a whole.

[pirenzo]

I don't agree it would damage LMP1 for Nissan to show up, it would damage LMP1 for manufacturers to sign up and then depart without turning a wheel.

If Nissan get the car running reliably then they should show up, no matter how slow they are. It's better to show people you're serious about being a part of the series and to take the pain of being slow. They'll be testing while racing, and we'll all be able to look on with encouragement if they improve from race-to-race.

[GT3.14]

Listening to yesterday's RLM MWM and Darren Cox said that they are testing with ballast in place of the hybrid system. He claims something about how testing the hybrid on the dyno instead is ideal and that this allows them to focus on set up.

I don't really see the point of testing set ups without the hybrid system as the characteristics of the car will change considerably when hybrid power is being harvested and deployed, especially with front wheel drive.

Cox also said that the car wasn't on track at that exact moment as there was standing water on the track and that they were "between slicks and wets." Shouldn't the unknown performance in those conditions be the best reason for testing? Does the Nissan have no intermediate compound rubber?

To me it seems like they are bench marking the car against the P2 to see how embarrassing showing up at Le Mans could be.

[Deleted]

Said it on the another thread, but I really can't decide whether it would be more embarrasing to not turn up at all after such aggressive PR campaign, or do AMR-One. And that car even had one race under it's belt before LM, sort of.

But I don't think, or can't think the situation is as bad as suggested. Though to be fair, neither do I believe the "Nissan will do 1200HP and make Porsche and the rest look like tortoises at Le Mans" or something along those lines suggested on air by some...

[TF110]

On gtplanet forums, some user was following the webcam feed and jotted down some rough lap time estimates from using a tree as a reference. He mentioned the lmp2 was doing :56 laps and the gtr doing :53's.

Edit- heres a pic of his estimated times

[cokata]

Originally Posted by TF110

On gtplanet forums, some user was following the webcam feed and jotted down some rough lap time estimates from using a tree as a reference. He mentioned the lmp2 was doing :56 laps and the gtr doing :53's.

If both were going at 100%, it's not too bad considering how many issues they are having, and how immature the whole project is right now. By the time they get to Le Mans they may have found a few more seconds, and not be too far away from the 3rd quickest P1 car.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Maybe we're reading far too much into such a short video, but it's yet another bit of evidence which paints a very grim view of the Nissan project.

Yes, I think we are over focusing on a few laps during a private test. We don't know what items they were testing during any given lap, so test times to us are pretty useless.

Originally Posted by GT3.14

Cox also said that the car wasn't on track at that exact moment as there was standing water on the track and that they were "between slicks and wets." Shouldn't the unknown performance in those conditions be the best reason for testing? Does the Nissan have no intermediate compound rubber?

I've always been a fan of testing in the wet, simply because you never know when those data will come in handy. Yet teams frequently will skip a session when the track is damp....