163 replies to this topic

[TSR]

Mike, time will tell... It was the first day it turned a wheel, it's probably going to be just fine.

Michael, I only drove the new Spa on a very sophisticated simulator setup with body motion and it is a great track even in its modified form.

But I still brake way too early with those modern F1 machines...

[MG Brown]

Pardon me if I have missed something... But isn't this a slot car-esque "tripod" design?

[ShootinSparks]

Pardon me if I have missed something.... But isn't this a slot car-esque "tripod" design?

Not sure what you mean. This vehicle has a narrow track up front, but "tripod" is not an accurate description because it has four wheels/tires.

Also, pardon me if I have missed your meaning.

[MSwiss]

In that latest article, (see below), the designer himself refers to the delta-plan-form car as being known as a tricycle gear.

He also makes reference to the car having 3 points.

I guess "tricycle gear" is easier to say, or for people to understand, than trapezoid gear.

“Obviously, the center of gravity has to be between the widely spaced rear tires, otherwise you have a completely unstable device that will fall over. Essentially a delta-plan-form car, otherwise known as a tricycle gear, has to have the weight distribution very carefully observed. There isn't a huge latitude to where you put it. In a conventional rectangular layout, you have the ability to put the center of gravity in a lot of places, and it stays stable. In a delta-wing form you have to observe it very carefully. So you don't want the weight distribution 5 percent further forward, and you don't want it 5 percent further back. You have one spot. In racing, you can control that and end up with a very optimum tire utilization and light weight.”

Bowlby said that there is almost no torsional loading on the chassis, because there is not a pair of axles with their own stiffness.

“Three points makes a plane no matter where you put them. So the result is the chassis is under a very small amount of load. And there isn't a balance effect of different roll stiffness distributions. The car always has an intrinsic balance as a function of its mass, tire capacity and aerodynamic distribution.”

[Larry Mattingly]

It's ugly!

Yes, indeed...

LM

[TSR]

So is a NASCAR brick in my opinion.

[Larry Mattingly]

So is a NASCAR brick in my opinion.

Yep, I knew that...

But, that fact doesn't make that Delta thingie pretty...

LM

[TSR]

Redundant. The only questions here are;
1) Will it perform as hoped by its designers?
2) If so, will it sell 50,000 more tickets for the ACO to get fatter?
3) Would it have revolutionized Indy car racing if selected instead of the Italo-Anglo-Japanese cars driven by Brazilians?

[Duffy]

Wow, you'd hope they could find a PR guy who can convey to us average Joes the subtle difference between three wheels and four.

Not being real knowledgeable about development in the last ~30 years, I still appreciate some of the underlying issues here. --Some. Maybe what's really needed is a breakdown for those of us who still think "Restrictor Plate" has something to do with the Mac-Cheese Special at the corner diner.

Duffy

[TSR]

This is why I order my chicken tacos with no cheese and no taco shell.

And I am still 20 over...

[Alchemist]

It turns!

[Howie Ursaner]

there are mountains of race cars uglier than this. Almost all race cars in this country as a matter of fact.

[Tex]

I'm pulling for it, too. To me, it's an exercise in innovation not unlike what Jim Hall (and Smokey Yunick) did with wings. Try something new; succeed or fail on the track, they've won by exercising their imagination and ingenuity.

[TSR]

there are mountains of race cars uglier than this. Almost all race cars in this country as a matter of fact.

Indeed. Let's encourage innovation since that vehicle promises performance at half the cost. Not like a 5,000 lb car filled with AA batteries that lose their charge within 30 miles, then rely on smoke stacks to recharge.

[TSR]

Nissan gets in the action.

[MG Brown]

Highcroft Racing Delta Wing Launch

Highcroft Racing Delta Wing Video

[Steve Deiters]

Up close and personal pictures of the Delta car at Buttonwillow test.

Attached Images

• 
• 

[Steve Deiters]

One more.

Attached Images

• 

[Gator Bob]

I never knew ugly was so beautiful . . . or is that the other way around?

[TSR]

Does it matter? The car is already cornering at over 2Gs, making total fools of naysayers. It is a new car and a new concept, so nothing is expected to be perfect first time out, but so far there were very few issues. Marino Franchitti loves driving it, and has had no problems adapting to it.
What remains to be seen is that are the computer aerodynamic projections of performance with the 300HP available from the 4-cylinder engine are going to transfer into the goal of the project, lap speeds in between LMP1 and LMP2. Only time will tell if more power is necessary, but an engine such as the little Nissan can be boosted to over 900 HP so it hardly sounds like an issue at this time.
It will be at Sebring this weekend.

[Michael Rigsby]

I hope it does well. I love technical innovation. Smokey Yunick was a master of it in his day. Jim Hall, Bruce McLaren and others followed. This is just a natural progression. I love the looks of the car and can understand the physics and the steering geometry behind it. No reason it shouldn't work well providing they can balance out the horsepower they need to make it perform correctly.

As for ugly, it's no worse than Granatellis turbines that ran in Indy, or several other cars out there. Definitely better looking than some of the F1 cars I've seen of late.

[Gator Bob]

MR...Ditto that.

The beauty of quality road cars are flowing lines, top workmanship and detailed finish, the beauty of race cars is in the form, fit and function

Looks great in the video. I hope it runs fast and makes it to the end.

Are there gyroscopes on board like a segway?

IMO, it looks much nicer then todays F1 cars.

Dokk, wasn't there a tin car/rocket/salt flats looking friction thing from the early sixties when our space program was "taking off" ? I think it was sold as a rocket (IIRC) but it was a friction car.

[flem1959]

I think it`s cool.
Too bad I haven`t seen anything about it on Speed.
Danica should have signed up for this, it would look great in Go Daddy Green.
Then it would have gotten some air time on mainstream media.

[Michael Rigsby]

Bob,

That would have been a toy/friction version of Craig Breedlove's first Spirit of American salt flats record car. It was a tri pod three wheeler that ran the salt flats. It was available as a friction toy and a regular model.

http://www.msichicag...rit-of-america/

[Steve Deiters]

The photos I posted yesterday are from the SPEED website. There were many more, but those are the ones that caught my interest.