What have BMW got here...

[Lee]

Piccy!

Now how in god's name is that going to help?!

 

[Poverty]

is that for real?

 

[Danoff]

Straight line stability?

 

[F1GTR]

They're pillars for the new wing!

 

[Danoff]

They're pillars for the new wing!

How do you know this?

I do like all the pitot tubes on the exterior for measuring air flow velocity.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

How do you know this?

I do like all the pitot tubes on the exterior for measuring air flow velocity.

Maybe it helps in cornering or to measure air speed better?

 

[Carl.]

Those must be annoying as hell for the driver...

Effective as track marshall slicer though.

 

[daan]

They'll be banned before they get a chance to race. They're too dangerous for the driver, other drivers, and marshalls. Straight line stabilty is exactly the opposite of what you need for a corner. If they swivelled, they would aid cornering, but then they'd be a moveable aerodynamic device, which are banned (unless you're Ferrari, or DC's chin...)

 

[Lee]

(unless you're Ferrari, or DC's chin...)

So that's why DC has been strangley fast lately..

But yes I think they will be banned straight away too, which is why I wonder why they even bother...

 

[scoobyonline200]

xm radio antennas...nah maybe its to channel the air around the drivers head...who knows!! dam thats a strange aerodynamic component.

 

[Tornado]

Takuma Sato crosshairs. Or maybe a shelf support for the sandwich the BMW drivers could eat during all of the time they are not out racing their cars for various reasons. They might even fold down to create another wing! Possibly, they are locking clips for Voltron's legs.

 

[Blake]

They would be used to reduce the disturbance caused by the drivers head. They would split the air into two “sections.”

The green one would be heading towards the wings on the sidepods, and the red section would be heading for the drivers head. The advantage here is that more clean air is directed towards the wings on the sidepods (allowing them to create more downforce), rather than the disturbed air that normally comes from the drivers helmets.

 

[Lee]

Would they be legal though Blake?

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Yeah, Blake's right: they're airflow conditioners. I would assume that since BMW have gone to the trouble of designing it and building it and putting it on a car before testing it, then it is (a) within the regulations, and (b) demonstrating some benefit in the wind tunnel.

However, as daan says, they're likely to be banned before they race.

 

[Blake]

Would they be legal though Blake?

Yes, they’re plenty legal. The areas in the picture below that have no colour on them are pretty much free game (subject to certain restrictions in the regulations).

 

[Omnis]

So, they're kinda like frontal diffusers?

I made a diagram of what I think they're doing.



The cyan blue is clean airflow. The red would be dirty air. Now, I think the "verti-wings" would channel air to wrap around the engine duct-structure and right onto the rear wing. Also, perhaps if they molded them in with the beginning of the suspension (hard red lines), it might help with the flow. And, if they added a small wing on the top of the nose (pink and/or green), it might bypass the helmet drag alltogether, ramming clean air into and around the engine intake and putting downforce right on top of the suspension. The only thing bad about the whole thing would be for the driver. His visibility might suffer, and without the air blowing directly onto the helmet, he's gonna sweat his balls off.

Just a thought. I really would like to go to a windtunnel some time.

 

[Blake]

Oh, Omnis, the air isn’t at all disturbed until it hits the helmet.

The wings just help by making the area where the helmet is lower pressure than the area where the sidepods are, so the dirty air does not find it as easy to go to the sides.

The air is traveling faster over the sidepods than it is when it hits the helmet, so it is easier for the dirty air to go over the helmet, rather than around it and over the sidepods (thereby having to “merge” into air that is moving much more quickly).

And yeah, I’d love to see some windtunnel pictures. Doubt they’ll ever be released to the public, though.

 

[Sting]

Interesting little item BMW have come up with there.... whats next... enclosed fighter jet style cockpit covers? lol

 

[Pupik]

I predict the FIA will kill it. Or at least accuse BMW or using a rabbit on the track.

All sorts of weird things came from the front of the car before 1983, the last being Arrows. Back in 2001, at Monaco, they tried a high-mounted wing, that was banned because it might become unsafe if it broke off. The wings were banned; of course they were getting desparate, since they'd tried it 20 years earlier:

Marc Surer (pictured above) must be wondering how stong the struts are, and how much term life insurance he's got during this practice session.

 

[Omnis]

Oh, Omnis, the air isn’t at all disturbed until it hits the helmet.

The winglets look like wings, though. Not just fins. They have curve to them, which is why I think at least SOME of the air will draw to the outside. And with that subtle spoiler on top of the nose, you'd still have SOME kind of dirty air patch, reducing drag on the helm.

 

[FastEddie12]

If you ask me, they also turn with the wheels. If you notice, the wheels are turned to the left, and the trailing edge of the right fin is slightly over the outside edge of the car, while the trailing edge of the left fin is slightly inboard. Must have high speed understeer issues...

 

[daan]

If you ask me, they also turn with the wheels.

They can't.

If they swivelled, they would aid cornering, but then they'd be a moveable aerodynamic device, which are banned

 

[FastEddie12]

Touche! Trick of the light then. Sorreeeee....

 

[Blake]

The winglets look like wings, though. Not just fins. They have curve to them, which is why I think at least SOME of the air will draw to the outside. And with that subtle spoiler on top of the nose, you'd still have SOME kind of dirty air patch, reducing drag on the helm.

Well, ignoring your spoiler, and working with what’s already there, we’ll see what I think is happening.

The wings are angled out, and combined with the curve in the wings, this will create a low pressure area infront of the helmet, and a high pressure area over the sidepods.

The air infront of the helmet then hits the helmet, and becomes horribly disturbed. Normally a lot of it would head towards the sides, but the air there is higher pressure, so it is more difficult for dirty air from the helmet to go that way. Thus, more of it will go up into the air intake and over the car.

Meanwhile the air hitting the sidepods is relatively undisturbed, as well as higher pressure than normal. Now we get a lot of clean air onto the wings in the sidepods.

 

[wfooshee]

I think these serve the same purpose.

 

[Omnis]

Well, ignoring your spoiler, and working with what’s already there, we’ll see what I think is happening.

The wings are angled out, and combined with the curve in the wings, this will create a low pressure area infront of the helmet, and a high pressure area over the sidepods.

The air infront of the helmet then hits the helmet, and becomes horribly disturbed. Normally a lot of it would head towards the sides, but the air there is higher pressure, so it is more difficult for dirty air from the helmet to go that way. Thus, more of it will go up into the air intake and over the car.

Meanwhile the air hitting the sidepods is relatively undisturbed, as well as higher pressure than normal. Now we get a lot of clean air onto the wings in the sidepods.

Well, yeah. That's what I was getting on about, anyway. Who doesn't like spoilerz though?

 

[Blake]

New and improved (with a little McLaren thrown in for good measure):

 

[Lee]

Haha looks good with the McMerc horns, nice little car that one. 👍

 

[Blake]

And it will race (assuming they aren’t banned).

 

[Lee]

I guess we shall see first hand what it actually does then.

If it's legal, I wonder if we shall see over teams follow the idea..