Twin vs Single Keel in F1

[TheArchitect]

Can anyone explain this to me? as i remember there been quite a change a good few years back but i cannot for the life of me remember the difference!

[zac510]

The difference is only whether the lower forward front wishbones meet/mount at a common point on the chassis or at separate points (ie edge of the nose tub section).

[TheArchitect]

zac510 said:

The difference is only whether the lower forward front wishbones meet/mount at a common point on the chassis or at separate points (ie edge of the nose tub section).

so pretty much all cars on the road (im sure there probably are exceptions) are twin keel? how does this affect aero etc? or am i thnking it has a much bigger impact than it does?

[Holst]

I think a keel allows a better suspension geometry, but this allows less air under the nose and is less good for aero.

I guess that the new front tires might have something to do with the teams choice this year.

EDITED as I got my terms confused.

Edited by Holst on Tuesday 2nd February 14:25

[LocoBlade]

You can have single keel, twin keel or zero keel.

Single keel mounts the front lower suspension arms to a single fin/bulge sticking out the bottom of the tub under the drivers legs. Twin keel has two fins / bulges down either side of the tub leaving the central area under the nose clear for aero but slightly compromises suspension geometry as the suspension arms are shorter. Zero keel fixes the lower suspension directly to the bottom edge of the tub, assuming the tub is the same height as the other solutions, zero / no keel is best for aero as there's nothing in the way of the air coming through from the front wing, but it forces the biggest compromises on suspension geometry.

There's a great article here by Craig Scarborough that goes into more detail
http://www.scarbsf1.com/keels/formula_1_keels.htm

Edited by LocoBlade on Tuesday 2nd February 12:53

[Jungles]

It basically comes down to:

Twin keel = better aero grip but less mechanical grip.

Single keel = better mechanical grip but less aero grip.

Those are just very simple rules of thumb, and like all such things, there would be exceptions.