McLaren - Heikki's Barcelona Crash

[married2speed]

Hi Guys
Just got this piece of information from msn today. Would apprecaite if someone could shed some more light on the "bold" part.

A meticulous joint investigation into the cause of Heikki Kovalainen's Barcelona crash has finally got to the bottom of why the McLaren driver was pitched into the barriers during the Spanish grand prix.

It was originally speculated that the Finn's accident was caused by a sudden, catastrophic, structural failing of the left-front wheel rim.

McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh later added that, based on initial trackside evidence and speculation, stones or debris coming into contact with the wheel could have triggered the structural damage.

At the same time, an exhaustive investigation, in collaboration with wheel supplier Enkei and the FIA technical team, was launched.

"The investigation not only involved thorough scrutiny of the telemetry data and a microscopic analysis of the surviving components, but also a simulated reconstruction of the event back at the McLaren Technology Centre," Whitmarsh said at the Silverstone test this week.

He explained that the investigation showed that a central area of the rim had been left unmasked before being sprayed with lacquer -- a common practice to improve the efficiency and longevity of components.

The resulting lacquered surface significantly reduced lock-hold on the wheel rim.

This meant that the wheel and axle on Kovalainen's MP4-23 began to move apart under high cornering loads, leading to rubbing against the brake drum, fatigue, and a failure of the rim's inner lip.

"We now thoroughly understand how the failure occurred; not, as was originally reported, as a result of a wheel failure but by the incorrect application of a lacquering process which was beyond the control of our wheel supplier, Enkei, with whom we have enjoyed a fantastic relationship for more than 10 years," Whitmarsh added.

He said procedures have been put in place to ensure the incident cannot repeat.

Does this also apply to normal indian cars?
Would appreciate the info.
Cheers!
M2S

P.S. : Mods, please move to relevant forum if this may not be it.

[cyneverdie]

Tight , nice catch - reading up on it soon.
Cheers man

[Shan2nu]

I don't think this is possible on indian cars.

1. F1 cars corner at 3-4Gs. Our cars can at the most manage around 1G on track and prob 0.3-0.5Gs when we drive normally.

2. F1 cars use a single central nut, where as our cars use 4-5 nuts.

As long as your wheel nuts are tightened properly, you shouldn't face any probs.

Shan2nu

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

As long as your wheel nuts are tightened properly, you shouldn't face any probs.

Shan2nu

My friend theMag can testify to this

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by ajmat

My friend theMag can testify to this

And his friend McLaren too.

[jalsa777]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

I don't think this is possible on indian cars.

1. F1 cars corner at 3-4Gs. Our cars can at the most manage around 1G on track and prob 0.3-0.5Gs when we drive normally.

Shan2nu

1G is achieved only by super-cars.
A normal road car will usually do only around a max. of 0.6Gs with high-performance tyres

[Shan2nu]

1G is achieved only by super-cars.
A normal road car will usually do only around a max. of 0.6Gs with high-performance tyres

Nope, when OD tested the Indian cars on track, the RS and Baleno were cornering at 1G. This was tested using Racelogic Vbox II.

Shan2nu

[bharanidharang]

i have a feeling that mclaren are being looked at with a microscopic eye on whatever they do.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by jalsa777

1G is achieved only by super-cars.
A normal road car will usually do only around a max. of 0.6Gs with high-performance tyres

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

Nope, when OD tested the Indian cars on track, the RS and Baleno were cornering at 1G. This was tested using Racelogic Vbox II.

Shan2nu

Well this really depends on whether you are talking about instantaneous (peak) lateral acceleration OR sustained lateral acceleration.

Shan2nu is talking about instantaneous - which means the cars did manage a lateral force equivalent to 1G, but momentarily, probably for a fraction of a second.

Jalsa is talking about sustained - (which is a more realistic test of handling, adhesion, suspension etc and would correspond to a skidpad / most other G stats) - basically it means the car has to continue to pull that amount of Gs for a specific amount of time (1second? 3 seconds? 1lap around a 200ft radius circular track? i dont know what the standard is...). The lowest lateral acceleration during that period is the sustained Gs that the car is capable of. There may even be a peak G rating in that sample timeperiod that is much higher.

cya
R

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by ajmat

My friend theMag can testify to this

I testify, I testify !

[Shan2nu]

Shan2nu is talking about instantaneous - which means the cars did manage a lateral force equivalent to 1G, but momentarily, probably for a fraction of a second.

Ofcourse, i never said Indian cars can hold 1G of "Lat Acc" but they are definately capable of producing 1G, even if it lasts for a fraction of a sec.

Come to think of it, i doubt even an F1 car can pull 3-4Gs on a 200ft skidpad. It would never be able to reach the speeds required to produce enough downforce.

Shan2nu