[WEC] Kolles Prototype

[Mike E]

A testing update. They seem to be making good progress. Hope the car has some pace.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2017/1...2017-test.html

[Damian Baldi]

"A new aero package" I don't know what would they be changing this time,. maybe the rear of the car.

[Akrapovic]

Compared to last season, it appears to have-

Slightly reprofiled nose
Inboard winglets have gone (probably low drag testing, but there may be some funky new aero going on there)
New dive planes
Squared off arches
Mirrors moulded into the bodywork
Air intake in front of the cockpit is gone
Rear arch holes are now inboard
New headlight shape

[chernaudi]

Looks like they raided the Porsche parts bin for those headlights...

[TF110]

These aero changes aren't even what the car will have, apparently. They will change again next year so obviously they feel there's still gains to be made, which is good!

[canaglia]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Looks like they raided the Porsche parts bin for those headlights...

I was thinking about how clm started 2016 season like an audi r18 chinese copycat and now taking ever more "ispiration" from last season porsche

[Jam3s]

I wonder if they've had the opportunity to put it in a wind tunnel to aid these aero updates or if they're still relying on CFD.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Jam3s

I wonder if they've had the opportunity to put it in a wind tunnel to aid these aero updates or if they're still relying on CFD.

Who's windtunnel would they use? Who does Kolles have connections to that would have one on demand?

[Ospi]

There's a few in the UK I thought, though likely not full scale things.

[Adam43]

When in F1 Kolles involvement with Hispania and F1 they used the wind tunnel at Mercedes and Brackley. I don’t think they’ll have been using that recently

[Damian Baldi]

from Pierre Kaffer facebook

Last Test done for 2017! Looking forward now to having some days off and enjoy some time with my family. Merry Christmas

It looks like they upgraded the steering wheel since 2015

[helgi]

I beg a pardon if this was mentioned somewhere above, but was there any info about new turbo layout at Nissan-Cosworth V6? It's not on the block (or is it?), so the pipes length is different - how does it affect hp and moment specs?

[chernaudi]

Should be alongside the block as on a conventional V engine. The Toyota has a similar layout.

[helgi]

I've found it in the Web googling most of the evening.
The layout is different (at least I think so). I wonder what was the amount of work needed to construct new inlet and outlet pipes - so they could not just use spare parts left after 2015. While it was NISMO who supplied engine, I think there are no problems with power or torque.

[Damian Baldi]

This is the car from 2015. The turbos are in the same place (in a different angle), but the air inlet, the exhaust exit, the intercoolers, and the cooling on the sidepods are different.






From 2016 to 2017 the rear of the car changed three times. Now there is more room for the air to go to the rear wing, and exhaust exit and cooling are different.

2016


2016


2017

[Damian Baldi]

ByKOLLES RACING FIRES-UP, AGAIN IN LMP1, FOR THE 2018/19 WEC SUPERSEASON

ByKOLLES Racing will take part in the 2018/19 Superseason of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), competing again in the LMP1 class. During a press-conference held in Paris today, Series Promoters of WEC have confirmed the entry of the Greding-based private Team to the Championship which includes two times Le Mans 24hrs race. ByKOLLES confirms also Oliver Webb (GB) as its first contracted driver.

"We look forward to the coming tasks of WEC season with enthousiasm. In particular, we perceive the Le Mans events, which will see our team this year in June entering it for the 8th time, as special highlights" says ByKOLLES chief of race operations, Boris Bermes. "Competition in LMP1 will be drastically different to previous years, given the withdrawal of Porsche and new private teams joining. We significantly changed and improved our package in recent months and our Enso CLM P1/01 car has been provided with extensively tested updates so that we can expect to be at the top in a competition which is becoming more and more exciting. We are delighted to confirm Oliver Webb as one of our drivers and we will announce the full drivers line-up in the coming weeks".

"I am excited to having the chance of staying with ByKOLLES Racing for the coming Superseason" says Oliver Webb, "we never had such good possibilities to succeed as today although there will be a fierce opposition in the LMP1-L class like never before and I 'm proud of being part of it, for which I feel grateful towards the team. We intensively tested during winter and we are confident on our package performing well on track".

[TF110]

Glad to see this team continue on. Hope they have a good package to go with that Nissan engine!

[Damian Baldi]

Well, this time we know that they made several test sessions, but we don't know if that will change their usual performance. I hope yes.

[Deleted]

Trying and testing new things out has never been a problem for this team, in fact other than the factories Kolles has been the one to update their machinery the most throughout the grid, which is admirable. What has been a problem however is that those updated parts have either been ineffective or plain crap most of the time.

Anyway while I don't think they're gonna challenge top 5 finish anywhere, certainly not LM, I think they could be decent-ish at Spa because the track suits the low df aero okay and all the other privateer cars probably have some teething issues still.

[carbsmith]

The updates have worked okay considering the car's fastest lap improved at Le Mans improved 9 seconds in two years, it's just polishing a turd. (plus LMP2 is now 11 seconds faster, so it doesn't look like they've gone anywhere)

[TF110]

They could have gone a lot faster last year too. A potential 3:21 at Le Mans. There really wasn't any reason to go all out anyway because Porsche and Toyota were out of reach. Beating the p2's was good enough. I think this year they can be better. More testing has taken place and it seems like they're getting more from their Nissan engine. I hope so at least.

[Deleted]

Why did they ditch Dunlops last year by the way? I don't remember them being particularly bad in their or Swiss hands, though it's hard to tell...

[Damian Baldi]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Why did they ditch Dunlops last year by the way? I don't remember them being particularly bad in their or Swiss hands, though it's hard to tell...

They used Dunlop in 2016, but went back to Michelin for 2017 when Rebellion left the series. It was a test for the upcoming new P2 cars.

[Deleted]

I was going to say "but wouldn't you want to retain that relationship if Dunlop managed to produce better wet weather tire than Michelin, which would enable you to have potential ace in the hole against the others" but then I remembered these cars aren't allowed to race in the rain anymore. Also I guess Dunlop doesn't really need that marketing value in LMP1 when they have that armada in LMP2 anyway.

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Chiana

I was going to say "but wouldn't you want to retain that relationship if Dunlop managed to produce better wet weather tire than Michelin, which would enable you to have potential ace in the hole against the others" but then I remembered these cars aren't allowed to race in the rain anymore. Also I guess Dunlop doesn't really need that marketing value in LMP1 when they have that armada in LMP2 anyway.

Last years Fuji race was a weird one with all the stopping but it was wet for the whole thing. I don't remember the Dunlop performance in the wet, was it better than the Michelin just in lmp2 or GTE?