Wavy McLaren front wing

[Wrex]

Go McLaren !

Rubins may not come second afterall.

[JonesF1]

Great stuff! Just saw the pic and im impressed, looks good. Theres a lot of possible reasons for a design like this but im guessing its to maximize front downforce (as has been noted elsewhere) when turning but there could be other advantages. Newey is one of the best designers in F1 history, im sure he knows whats legal and whats not. Someone could pitch a fit, though.

[Tristan]

Is this going to go the same way as that BONKERS Ferrari front wing a few years ago?? (remember, with the extra elements OVER THE TOP of the rest of the wing??)

[JohnSSC]

I am liking the look of the wing - interesting solution to an engineering "problem."

[Speed]

What ?!?
How do you people know that this invention will work ?

[Lee Janotta]

We don't but the theory behind it is sound:

More wing closer to the ground=More downforce, with very little drag penalty.

[Valve Bounce]

Is it possible that the shape of the wave accelerates the air moving under the wing? thus increasing downforce?

[Speed]

Originally posted by Lee Janotta
We don't but the theory behind it is sound:

That's the nice thing about this sport, sometimes reality (testing/quals/races) doesn't match theory (wind tunnel/CAD apps/etc.)

[JonesF1]

It makes sense now and I'd like to thank Lee for giving me the idea (actually its something most of us know but havent posted it yet). Deformed wings have been around for awhile, Newey just takes it to the next level with the waved wing. Normally you want to keep the wing close to the ground to maximize downforce and minimize drag but there lies the problem, you still have wheel drag to consider. This is why flip-ups were created to minimize rear-wheel drag. Anyway by keeping the ends of the front wing flared upwards you can reduce front-wheel drag and keep air flowing to the back while the center of the wing is swooped low to maximize downforce and reduce drag in that area. I hope this is right.

[Jordi]

Also on that picture, you can see the twin-keel concept making a very wide tunnel in the middle, obviously in conjuction with the spectaculat front wing.

[clk-lm]

i havent read the previous posts but by making the wing wavy, they have effectively made the wing longer without exceeding the prescribed limits.

the shortest distance between two point is a straight line. so therefore a wavy wing has a greater wing span than a shorter one.

increase the span then the aspect ratio increases which means a reduction in drag which means they can run a higher angle of attack for the same ammount of drag. less drag=car go faster

[avsfan733]

Originally posted by Valve Bounce
Is it possible that the shape of the wave accelerates the air moving under the wing? thus increasing downforce?

you mean like a vortex generator sort of influence?
i think toyota used that very succesfuly on their le mans cars. Seems like in this case it would have the added benifit ofextending back and clearing/blocking air from the under tray

[Try Hard]

The other thing to consider is the pitch sensitivity of the car, that is as the car pitches up and down, the wing moves closer to the ground and the downforce levels would change with a flat wing (possibly to the point where the wing will 'stall'). With the waves (anhedral to use the correct term), the level of downforce will remain similar as the wing gets closer, and if one section does stall, another is still working. This will make the car more predictable and stable.
Also looking at the wing, it appears to be above the regulation 100mm above the reference plane (bottom of the underfloor 'step'), it seems to be a (more dramatic) development of the wing that ran at monza last year.
(all other wings with a 'spoon' centre section are allowed becuase of the 250mm 'exclusion zone' allowed either side of the centre line, that allows bodywork to drop to the reference plane, and lower to the ground.)

i havent read the previous posts but by making the wing wavy, they have effectively made the wing longer without exceeding the prescribed limits.

but why the raised and not lowered section in the centre then? surely that would give even more length and downforce?

Hope this is useful
Ed

[Adam43]

I doubt making it longer by being wavy would produce more downforce. The force it produces is perpendicular to the plane of the wing. So if it is angled (from left to right) then the force isn't downwards. It will be a component of the produced force that is downforce, in which case it will (probably) just produce the the same amount of downforce if it wasn't wavy, but of the same overall width.

I guess that it is mainly that shape to gain the same amoutn of downforce, but also deflect the air around the rest of teh car in a favourable way (for cooling, for more downforce, for reduced drag, etc...).

[Red]

Originally posted by AdamAshmore
It will be a component of the produced force that is downforce, in which case it will (probably) just produce the the same amount of downforce if it wasn't wavy, but of the same overall width.

Yeah, I guess it would produce even less downforce, since the, already little, ground effect that the front wing produces is reduced even more. I guess that the improved airflow (for the radiators and diffuser; remember, that was the idea when Tyrell invented the high noses) might be the answer.. can hardly wait to see the car on track.

[avsfan733]

looking at the ferrari wing it seems to have some of the same "wavy-ness" to it. The only difference being the steeper nature and extra plane of the McclarenFerrari front wing

[GTV27]

It is clearly wavy so that the Mac can wav(e)y bye bye to the Ferrari as the red car speeds off into the distance....

(Yes, I am getting increasingly dispondent about another year of Ferarri domination already Its not that I don't like Ferarri (hey, they're virtually family), but a bit of variety would be nice)

Technically, I don't the wavyness makes that much of a difference - just an aesthetic way of transitioning from the low bit that lets air under the nose to the rad's from the downforcy bits either side (not that I'm an aerodynamic engineer or anything). Looks Cool though.

[clk-lm]

Originally posted by AdamAshmore
I doubt making it longer by being wavy would produce more downforce. The force it produces is perpendicular to the plane of the wing. So if it is angled (from left to right) then the force isn't downwards. It will be a component of the produced force that is downforce, in which case it will (probably) just produce the the same amount of downforce if it wasn't wavy, but of the same overall width.

I guess that it is mainly that shape to gain the same amoutn of downforce, but also deflect the air around the rest of teh car in a favourable way (for cooling, for more downforce, for reduced drag, etc...).

your correct saying that making it wavy wont increase downforce. inceasing the wings span without altering the chord, will increase the aspect ratio. a greater aspect ratio wing will produce less drag. it wont do anything for downforce.

this is my theory to get more downforce:
lets say that by increasing the A/R will yeild a %10 reduction in drag for the same downforce. so they increase the angle of attack to generate more downforce(who knows how much). in turn, they have just increased drag to right back to where they started. so by the end of the day their wing makes more downforce