[indycar] Chevrolet debuts 2015 IndyCar Aero Kit [vindyc]

[indycar] Chevrolet debuts 2015 IndyCar Aero Kit [vindyc] Feb 17, 2015 19:38:17 GMT -6 Stig's US Cuz'n likes this

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Post by n7thGear™ on Feb 17, 2015 19:38:17 GMT -6

Chevrolet debuts 2015 IndyCar Aero Kit
Street/road course kits to debut on March 13, Oval kit at Indy on May 3
March 1 is the deadline for Verizon IndyCar Series teams to take delivery of their corresponding Chevrolet or Honda road/street course and short oval packages. April 1 is the deadline for delivery of the speedway aero kits.

New bodywork to provide more downforce, unique look as Honda aero kit remains to be seen

Almost five years in the making, Chevrolet on Feb. 17 unveiled renderings of its 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series road-course-spec aerodynamic body-kit package. The kit should increase downforce, improve lap times and—perhaps most importantly for the “spec-series” in which every team uses the same chassis—differentiate its cars visually from those of rival IndyCar manufacturer/supplier Honda.

Honda will not reveal its own new-look Indy car until March. However, Chevy during IndyCar media day in Indianapolis presented its take on the project first proposed by former IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard in the summer of 2010, ahead of the debut of IndyCar chassis-supplier Dallara’s all-new DW12 car for the 2012 season.

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Intended originally to make its competition debut in 2012 but waylaid due to cost and logistics concerns, the new aero kits will hit the track for IndyCar’s season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 29. That’s the same schedule outlined ahead of the season, as IndyCar and its teams planned to run Dallara’s standard aero package for the now-canceled Brazil season-opener planned originally for March 8.

Chevy’s package—and by extension, it is safe to assume Honda’s—is distinguished from Dallara’s base configuration by 100 different parts, according to the manufacturer, including new front wing elements, side pods and rear wing. The front wing receives new outside and inboard end plates, flaps and vertical, pedestal-mounted wing extensions; the kit also includes revised sidepods, side-floor kickups, flick-ups in front of the rear wheels, rear wheel “wedges” and revised rear-bumper pods with an aero element mounted on top. A new engine cover and sidepods feature more compact shapes, achieved through revised turbocharger- and exhaust-system layouts. A multi-element upper rear wing receives louvered end plates.

The aerokits were developed in nine key phases, Chevrolet says. They started by conducting a baseline analysis of the DW12’s aerodynamics and established clear design goals for the kit. They then used CAD software to develop a design concept, analyzed the potential structural properties and tested them using computational fluid dynamics. The next step was 3D printing some of the parts and testing a 50-percent scale model in a wind tunnel. They were able to conduct a full-scale wind tunnel test once they had a finalized design for the kit.

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Chevy said it plans to reveal a speedway configuration for the aero kit—sidepods remain the same for all types of circuits—ahead of its competitive debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. For short-oval races, teams will mix aero elements from both the road-course and speedway packages.

With the new aero setups focused on balancing downforce, drag and engine performance, drivers should be able to corner faster while maintaining straightaway speeds fans have become accustomed to, though setups and their resulting performance are likely to vary based on the circuit in question. Chevy racing boss Mark Kent told Autoweek that the kits provide 15-percent better aerodynamic performance -- a combination of downforce and drag -- in road-course configuration, though that does not mean 15 percent more downforce.

Chevy during development of the kit predominantly used Charlotte, N.C.-area wind tunnels operated by Penske and WindShear. IndyCar teams did not run the parts during testing at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana the week of Feb. 9; the track hosts the season’s second race, on April 12. However, Chevy has already conducted on-track testing of its kit at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway, Texas’ Circuit of The Americas, and Phoenix International Raceway. It plans to undertake additional testing prior to the St. Pete race, including IndyCar’s official preseason test on March 16-17 at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park.

Chevy so far has run the kit with several teams and drivers, including stalwart partners Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. All IndyCar teams, be they affiliated with Chevy or Honda, are slated to have their aero kits by March 1.

Cars running Chevrolet power in the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series will look significantly different compared to last season as the engine specific aero kits come into effect.

With Honda’s efforts still to be unveiled, Chevrolet took advantage of the series media day to unveil the aerodynamic upgrades the American motor giant has garnished the base Dallara DW12 with.

At the moment this kit is only for road courses and short ovals, with the speedway aero kit to be revealed before the Indy Month of May begins.

Officials are hoping that the new kits will provide drivers with more downforce, Chris Berube – the Chevrolet IndyCar programme manager – said it is hoped cornering speeds can be higher while not impacting on straight-line performance.

“This is an important milestone in Chevrolet’s involvement in IndyCar racing,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We focused on developing an aerodynamic package that delivers an balanced combination of downforce and drag, along with integrated engine performance. It’s a total performance package.”

Most of the parts were 3D printed on the test kits with everything designed electronically before it went out to the teams who tested at tracks as varied as COTA, Texas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Phoenix International Raceway.

It is hoped that the clean sheet approach the team used will mean the upgrades aren’t just an escalation on the old Dallara package but a complete evolution for the Chevy powered teams.

While the most obvious changes are external, a new front wing is ‘decorated’ with raised pedestals and the rear wing has been resculpted, there has been an internal change as well to accommodate compact side pods. Namely, that is the moving of the turbo chargers and exhaust system within the engine to make it more streamlined.

The first chance anyone will get to see the new kit run in full out anger is at St Petersburg at the end of March for the season opening race.

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Post by n7thGear™ on Feb 17, 2015 19:38:17 GMT -6

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