The plank?

[rhubarb]

So with the potential new regulations next year does that mean we'll see the disaapearance of the wooden plank from under the cars. Can't remember exaclty why it was introduced - was something to do with countering ground effect, or when to that matter?

Having watched a bit of red button action and seeing Mansell and Senna dueling down the straight, sparks flying everywhere which (even though I was a kid at the time) really added to the excitement. Wouldn't it be good to see a few sparks again in F1?

[FourWheelDrift]

rhubarb said:

Can't remember exaclty why it was introduced - was something to do with countering ground effect, or when to that matter?

Long time after ground effects were banned (end of 1982) the plank was introduced in 1994 following Ayrton Senna's accident to keep the cars ride height up and prevent the bottoming out when tyre pressures drop off that is believed to have been a contributory factor to the crash. By raising the ride height it also reduced downforce and cornering speeds. Made from Jabroc, a beechwood composite.

Not heard about it's removal though, they'd still need to keep ride heights up so might as well keep it.

[squirrel2007]

I hope they decide to add some metal skid blocks, just for the showers of sparks!!

[IpsoFacto]

rhubarb said:

Having watched a bit of red button action and seeing Mansell and Senna dueling down the straight, sparks flying everywhere which (even though I was a kid at the time) really added to the excitement. Wouldn't it be good to see a few sparks again in F1?

Toally agree - just added so much to the visual spectacle and made the cars look so dramatic. Seems a shame that visual impact is gone.

Was watching the build-up to qualifying, and the Beeb showed the Mansell / Senna overtake (I was reminiscing about an exciting Sunday lunchtime around 18 years ago...) - my five-year old daughter asks "Daddy, why do those cars have fire under them?" - pure magic.
Ipso

[rhubarb]

Oh hadn't realised it was for that reason - seems fair enough then and as you say keep it simple, even so great spectacle

Quick flick through flickr comes up with these (courtesy of Carlos Knopfel..cher's)

[Sixpackpert]

The Mansell/Senna sparks are from the endplates/skids of the front wing IIRC. Maybe they could get the teams to put skid plates on the front wings for that added spark!

Edited by Sixpackpert on Monday 11th May 16:23

[stuttgartmetal]

Those were Titanium skidblocks.

The plank was still on the cars yesterday, you could see a load of it flying off one of the cars at some point. It looks like a cloud of yellow dust atomise-ing around the rear of the car.

[Scuffers]

Gazboy said:

I'm fairly certain it was one of the aero guys for Force India who said the easiest way to get overtaking back in F1 was to lose the plank.

like to understand the thinking behind that?

[Holst]

Scuffers said:

Gazboy said:

I'm fairly certain it was one of the aero guys for Force India who said the easiest way to get overtaking back in F1 was to lose the plank.

like to understand the thinking behind that?

At a guess, if the cars are running lower to the track then there will be less air flowing under the car, so there will be less turbulent air messing with the front wing of a following car.

[Scuffers]

Holst said:

Scuffers said:

Gazboy said:

I'm fairly certain it was one of the aero guys for Force India who said the easiest way to get overtaking back in F1 was to lose the plank.

like to understand the thinking behind that?

At a guess, if the cars are running lower to the track then there will be less air flowing under the car, so there will be less turbulent air messing with the front wing of a following car.

can;t be that, turbulence is cause by the rear wing etc, not air under the car...

[miniman]

rhubarb said:

And there you have it: everything that is wrong with modern F1 summarised in one easy picture.

[Mr_Thyroid]

Scuffers said:

Gazboy said:

I'm fairly certain it was one of the aero guys for Force India who said the easiest way to get overtaking back in F1 was to lose the plank.

like to understand the thinking behind that?

A flat bottomed car running close to the ground generates downforce. A mild version of the ground effect from the 80's.

[FNG]

Scuffers said:

Holst said:

Scuffers said:

Gazboy said:

I'm fairly certain it was one of the aero guys for Force India who said the easiest way to get overtaking back in F1 was to lose the plank.

like to understand the thinking behind that?

At a guess, if the cars are running lower to the track then there will be less air flowing under the car, so there will be less turbulent air messing with the front wing of a following car.

can;t be that, turbulence is cause by the rear wing etc, not air under the car...

Turbulence from the diffuser as well as from the rear wing would disrupt the airflow over the front wing of the car following, but also low pressure air behind the diffuser would affect the efficiency of the diffuser on the pursuing car, making it harder to follow closely.