Audi LMP1 Discussion

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by TF110

"In anger"? What was these rumors of 1:41's at Sebring then? That must have been a leisurely cruise

They'll have done what everyone else does at Sebring - pound around doing as many laps as possible trying to break the car.

[chernaudi]

Originally Posted by J Jay

Terribly late to the party as usual, but here are some thoughts and numbers from Reinke about the progress made with the 2015 R18 (S365).



Points of note:

- The flywheel now stores 700kJ of energy, up 17% from last year (600kJ)
- Both Audis were running sprint aero and they will do so at Silverstone
- At least one car will be expected to run LM aero at Spa
- More than 2500km of testing were completed at the prologue
- The prologue was the first time the 2015 R18 was run "in anger"

I thought that I had read that Audi intended to run all three of their cars at Spa with the LM aero kit. But then again, where I read that was released a while ago.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

I thought that I had read that Audi intended to run all three of their cars at Spa with the LM aero kit. But then again, where I read that was released a while ago.

Well here's the direct text:

Originally Posted by Sportscar365

Both cars will run in high downforce spec for next weekend’s season-opening Six Hours of Silverstone, while its three-car entry for Spa is expected to see a variety of bodywork configurations in preparation for Le Mans.

Now I've assumed that implies Audi will run both sprint and Le Mans specification aero across all three cars. However it could be the case that Audi are developing multiple (distinct) variants of its LM bodywork and will run all of them at Spa. I'm not sure about that myself as it seems a bit late to be making such major decisions but the possibility is there.

[chernaudi]

I can't find the article, but back last month I remember mentions of plans for Audi to run all their cars with the LM aero kit at Spa, because it's likely that Toyota and Porsche will run some iteration of them and Audi didn't have the top-end speed of Toyota and Porsche at Spa last year because of their sprint package vs the Toyota and Porsche LM kits.

[MyNameIsNigel]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

R18 front tuning vanes:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nansev...-rm4c9Y-rCw64x

Further interesting details about the turning vanes on the Mulsanne's Corner FB Group.

It appears that the complex turning vanes, which were previously attached to the brake ducts, are now attached by two elongated members to the rear part of the front wheel wells.

[Hiro]

Some info

Audi seems to have more space behind the front tyre than competitors.

[chernaudi]

According to this article, Ben says that the difficulties that Audi had last year at Silverstone were due to the bumps around the track. He also says that hopefully that has been fixed for this year due to the improvements with mechanical and aero grip:

http://www.endurance-info.com/en/ben...p-for-fia-wec/

[TF110]

They were really bouncing around at Paul Ricard. Hope they dont have issues, a 3-way battle would be great.

[seanyb505]

That's not what I would expect considering all the miles they've done at Sebring.

[MyNameIsNigel]

Originally Posted by TF110

They were really bouncing around at Paul Ricard. Hope they dont have issues, a 3-way battle would be great.

Audi have actually been playing with various FRIC suspension settings during the Prologue. That explains why the Audi could be seen bouncing at times. Audi are however perfectly satisfied with the car behavior.

[TF110]

Im sure. People pointed out the Toyota a couple seasons back when it was bouncing over the bumps, but it didnt seem to make much difference in lap time. I only spoke about the Audi over the bumps because that was an area of complaint from the team.

[MyNameIsNigel]

Any idea as to the purpose/function of this extension that attaches to the turning vane and sits in front of the suspension and driveshaft at the front ?

(source: racer.com)

Some sensor assemby to measure or monitor temperature or suspension movement ?

[chernaudi]

I don't know what that thing is, but it looks like part of the tuning vane attaches to it.

I'm more impressed with how thick the brake rotors and pads are. That and the size of the disc make it seem like Audi are still running the same basic brake package as if they weren't running a hybrid system.

[ger80]

I wouldnt go for smaller brakes on the front either. What would you do if the drive shaft or hybrid fails?

[chernaudi]

A good HQ shot of the R18's front diffuser camber from the Audi Sport facebook page:

[Bandicoot17]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

That and the size of the disc make it seem like Audi are still running the same basic brake package as if they weren't running a hybrid system.

That's because apparently most of the time it breaks!

[MyNameIsNigel]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

A good HQ shot of the R18's front diffuser camber from the Audi Sport facebook page:

This shot also highlights that the brackets that attach to the adjustable front wing element are now located right behind the rearmost pair of vertical supports under the nose cone.

[J Jay]

The way the 919 strolled past must surely be a concern going to Le Mans and the Tilkedromes, but it looked like a great overall performance, especially from the #7.

Did anyone get any readings for what speed the R18s were pulling through Copse-Maggots-Becketts?

[MyNameIsNigel]

Well done to the Audi guys. The performance was there at Silverstone. A nice reward for all the hard work over the winter and a welcomed comeback after a frustrating end of the 2014 season.

Audi is back !

[chernaudi]

Any word on what the #8's garage visit was for? I know that they worked on the left front it seemed. And Jarvis' first stint was pretty fraught until they changed tires after he sideswiped that Corvette.

The car was fine after that full service stop, so I'm wondering if he had a bad set of tires or something got knocked off kilter after that contact, because the car had no issues and was as fast as the #7 after that stop.

[Creep89]

Yes, via Audi Sport Twitter:

@Audi__Sport: #8 lost about five minutes in the pits, the nose fixation was broken, #AudiSport #WEC #6hSilverstone #welcomechallenges

[chernaudi]

#8 then had problems with contact--clipped a car early, apparently did when they had to fix the nose and the left front fender pontoon (I assume that's what was damaged/came loose), and then sideswiped that Corvette and to round it off, clipped a curb and Jarvis spun himself out.

The car was fast after it's final full service stop, but it would've been higher up if not for all those niggling problems. At least it was all bodywork/contact related and not a mechanical issue.

[ederss7]

Does anyone know how was the contact between di Grassi and the #88? Quite big damage.

[tomazy]

A great first race for the car, now the next big step is the low drag aero. Judging by the previous years, they will test it at Monza in the next few weeks.

2014 video upload on 27th of April: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYLmEadKmCw

2013 on 23th of April https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKIc1BcWDlM

2012 on 21th of April https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnTc7yio1bU

Can't wait what they will come up with this year.

[Artur]

Originally Posted by J Jay

Did anyone get any readings for what speed the R18s were pulling through Copse-Maggots-Becketts?

On a fast race lap, R18 does 240kmh at Copse, 220kmh at Maggots, 170kmh at Chapel and 180kmh on Stowe. This is exactly the same as Mercedes/RedBull/Ferrari were doing last year(variation is less than 5kmh among them), on a fast practice or qualifying lap(these corners were dry during Q2/Q3). R18 is a bit faster on T1, doing it between 260-265kmh(fast race lap) while F1s(on qualifying mode) do it around 255-260kmh

LMP1 are 250kg heavier, though, and this shows how much superior these cars are. When F1s are on full tanks(from 700kg to 800), they are already massively slower than that.

This video is from the re-start(after fixing the barrier) and, at the very end, Alonso is on clean air and using all the kerbing at Copse and still his speed drops to 213kmh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdAE9y8odlA