Triple 8 Splitter Eligibility - Still Going.. (Merged x2)

[Geewizz]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

I wonder if Mr Dane shall have some spotters looking at a variety of Tasman cars, or pics thereof, to see what might be questionable on their machines? Their luck would probably go that if the bit comes off the car, it would go faster... certainly it couldnt go any slower

Not yet he won't. I think he's probably laughing, it wasn't illegal, it wasn't making the cars any faster, he's still got them all beat, and his orders for the special part have probably trebled....$$
As noted by someone else, I agree his cars are just tuned better, chassis and fuel wise.
Maybe if/when Tasman become a threat to his drivers and teams points he might look at their sleds.....2012 maybe?

[St00ge]

Originally Posted by petebendon

seems fpr reckon hogsters bumpers are illegal -- edwards suggests ride height can be lower........doesnt that mean better center of gravity???? parity aside from t8s cars is pretty equal

I don't know how a bumper mount can adjust the ride hight of a car... must be some pretty trick bolts

[Chris - Melb]

Originally Posted by St00ge

I don't know how a bumper mount can adjust the ride hight of a car... must be some pretty trick bolts

By having flexible mounts, the splitter will not take as much weight off the front wheels when it hits a bump under braking, therefore making the wheels less likely to lock up, so therefore the ride height can be marginally lowered.

I imagine on some circuits that flexible mounts would make virtually no difference, and maybe more of a difference on other circuits. But in a sport where teams spend top dollar to gain a fraction of a second, teams would want to use them if it is legal.

I'm not sure why Roland Dane is getting his knickers in a knot about this issue. All the teams are asking for is a clarification of the rule so that everyone can use the mounts, or otherwise. Seems fair to me.

Storm in a teacup indeed…

[peckstar]

great so what you are saying is that flexible mountings will create more downforce, even though the thing is shaking around like crazy and cracks are appearing in places they shouldnt be etc,

sounds like bad science to me

[simon wills]

I might be stirring here, but could Tasman have been put up to this by a higher force in the series, so they themselves would not be recognised as the driving force? Bit of a conspiracy theory, but it smells a bit like this to me... I just wonder if so, what Tasman may of got out of it. (Just some fun really).

[billy bigtime]

If it looks, smells and tastes like ****, it's come from HRT.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by simon wills

I might be stirring here, but could Tasman have been put up to this by a higher force in the series, so they themselves would not be recognised as the driving force? Bit of a conspiracy theory, but it smells a bit like this to me... I just wonder if so, what Tasman may of got out of it. (Just some fun really).

Perhaps it was from one of the 888 customer teams, anxious to see what is really in a pukka 888 front end

Methinks Mr Dane doth protest too much... what else could be going on here?

[simon wills]

I don't think there is much in the whole saga really. Just been made into a big deal when other things that happen in the series like this are handled differently.

[Forda]

Why would a homogolated front splitter become such a big deal: when a chopped-VE chassis has become the norm (for Holden Teams)?

[STEALTHY]

Originally Posted by billy bigtime

If it looks, smells and tastes like ****, it's come from HRT.

Oh thank god. Thought something bad had happened to you!

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by Forda

when a chopped-VE chassis has become the norm (for Holden Teams)?

And so are the FG's now.

[sizzle]

Originally Posted by Forda

Why would a homogolated front splitter become such a big deal: when a chopped-VE chassis has become the norm (for Holden Teams)?

Originally Posted by Big_Trev

And so are the FG's now.

Funny thing Project Blueprint isn't it Trev.

[TSR]

After watching x8extra today, can someone please tell me how that Tasman found out about the splitter, without either someone form Triple 8 telling them or them spying on Triple 8.
The reason I ask is that the shock asorber piece was not that sightable from the eye without the spoiler being removed. So who/ and how did they find out???

[DJJ]

Originally Posted by TSR

After watching x8extra today, can someone please tell me how that Tasman found out about the splitter, without either someone form Triple 8 telling them or them spying on Triple 8.
The reason I ask is that the shock asorber piece was not that sightable from the eye without the spoiler being removed. So who/ and how did they find out???

At Hamilton you could here every car nose scrape under braking into turn 1 bar the 888 ones. Maybe that set it off? but it was strange.

[TSR]

Originally Posted by DJJ

At Hamilton you could here every car nose scrape under braking into turn 1 bar the 888 ones. Maybe that set it off? but it was strange.

Ok if that happen- why was nothing said after the race and before Winton.

[dougcharli]

my tip - Will Davison - DJR with 888 last year now red - painfully obvious!!

[TSR]

Originally Posted by dougcharli

my tip - Will Davison - DJR with 888 last year now red - painfully obvious!!

Yeh, but it was Mr Greech ( cry baby ) who 1st complained.

[Pro Racer]

Originally Posted by TSR

Yeh, but it was Mr Greech ( cry baby ) who 1st complained.

who's to say they wern't tipped off by a higher force as to make this higher force not look like the bad guys.

[GTRMagic]

If there was nothing to it, why is it now illegal?? Here

[peckstar]

because it was in grey area and now the area is no longer grey, for better or worse

[NewsStalker]

And a cynic would ask if the parts will soon become a 'supplied, control component' coming from a business with ties to the controlling body (to ensure consistency of course!)

[bluesport]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

If there was nothing to it, why is it now illegal?? Here

Probably because they are simply too successful and the controlling body hopes this may slow them down a little or make them more fragile.

[STEALTHY]

Originally Posted by bluesport

Probably because they are simply too successful and the controlling body hopes this may slow them down a little or make them more fragile.

Anything to stop one team dominating, no different to project BLUEprint

[Winston05]

STELTHY and Big_Trev, glad to see that you guys are here too! :-)

My initial thoughts on the 888 splitter mounts: Initially I was rather "meh", thinking it was the typical "Why are they winning?" witch hunt. But then Dane said way too much, and I started to think "Why would he bother stating the obvious?" But the clincher for me was the press release from V8SA (as in the "Contraversial parts set to go" release). It starts very strong, stating "V8 Supercars Australia (VESA) is set to clamp down on rules regarding the way body parts are fixed to the rest of a V8 Supercar." Ok, sounds good, they're going to clarify the situation. Then they discuss the conclusion: "The outcome is that a recommendation will go to the technical board to clarify the regulations for the rigid mounting of front splitters and rear wing, and that a minimum weight of these components should be introduced". This raises two questions. One: Is there really any cost saving from the system that 888 have run, and two: Why would a minimum weight need to be specified if one or more teams were currently using low weight components? So from this point I'm starting to become suspicious. Next significant statement: "The intensive inspection was routine and did not come about from the Triple Eight splitter mount issue." I immediately ponder why they would feel the need to make such a statement if it was part of the normal course of a V8 round? This only furthers my intrigue. V8SA then add "Lowndes’ #888 Falcon was made available in exactly the same condition as the condition it finished the Sunday race in." I'm sorry, but the more you try to prove the "obvious" the more I start to wonder if the obvious is actually factual! And so they continue to blah about how the transporter is sealed etc, blah blah. But these are the clinchers for me: "a great deal of confusion amongst media and other V8 Supercar teams, this post-race scrutineering procedure was not prompted by any pre-race scrutineering activities", "Car #888 was selected for the intensive inspection as a normal part of the season-long scrutineering process, the same one that a number of cars and teams will be subject to throughout the season.", "This is an identical process to the one carried out on Triple Eight Race Engineering cars many times over the last five seasons and is a perfectly normal consequence of on-track success." And yet this "issue" hasn't been "noticed" by the V8SA investigators? Are you seriously telling me that nobody has said to 888 "Hey, your splitter system is pretty smart", or "Nobody else does that"? The question now is how do you wrap up a sensitive issue? The answer is: By blaming the competitors! See?: "There was a time at the beginning of 2007 when these leading Holden teams seemed almost unbeatable ... This was a big motivator for us; we worked on every aspect of our game to take our performance to the next level ... That is the nature of competition. In this sport, we compete on a level playing field, and we do so with integrity."

Seriously, V8SA may release this press release under the "BigPond Sport" banner, but I smell generations of rats here, not just one!

Here's my take on the issue: If the 888 Fords don't have enough downforce at the front, they can hit a few kerbs and gain some more. And they've been allowed to do it for four years, so it's nothing new. Finally other teams have caught on to what 888 have been doing, rather than spending time and money researching and developing the technology they've decided to have a whinge and protest it. That's what good teams do, when they're down they try to kick the most successful opposition where it'll hurt them the most. As for 888, they've done what they're known for, that being awesome engineering solutions. And despite heaps of scutineering checks they've been ruled as legal.

Long story short: 888 had an advantage that they deserved by being smarter than the opposition. Other teams found out and complained. 888 have been smart and complied with the rules and instructions provided to them at all times, and have continued to do so as the tides have turned against them. That, in my opinion, makes a true champion team. One that extracts 100% out of the regulations, and then continues to get 100% out of the regulations when the rules change.

Well done 888 for outsmarting the opposition! :-)

[Geewizz]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

If there was nothing to it, why is it now illegal?? Here

GTR, nowhere in that article does it state that it is / was illegal.

It states that the rule needs to be clarified, and new guidelines will be enforced. It doesn't say when they will be bought into effect either.

To me if it was illegal, they would have been penalised / fined / endorsed. They haven't, so by definition they were'nt cheating.

I have to agree with Winston, 888 outsmarted everyone - including VESA.

This thread should be renamed '888's brilliant splitter mounts'.