dans79 wrote: ↑08 Mar 2021, 22:41
wesley123 wrote: ↑08 Mar 2021, 21:56
BestOfDiResta wrote: ↑05 Mar 2021, 12:27
I agree that in the studio they can set ride heights to whatever they want. However I wouldn’t be surprised to see them shift slightly higher than last year when they hit the track. The changes to the regulations are likely to cause greater losses at lower RRHs where floor area is more dominant.
Why would it affect lower ride heights more? If anything, one would think the opposite is true, since the slots that were present that dealt with tire squirt are gone. Considering a higher ride height more of the tire would be exposed and thus more of the wheel wake would directly interfere with the floor and diffuser.
I'd agree with that. Generally speaking the higher the ride height the harder it is to seal the floor all other things being equal.
It's going to be interesting. Diffuser performance is going to be significantly affected by the '21 regs. The tire squirt tools at the rear of the floor are gone, a chunk of the floor has been cut, and the diffuser strakes are getting cut down.
In general, you would think that Mercedes will be able to cope with the changes. Although a higher-rake car has more peak downforce potential with respect to diffuser performance, Mercedes has a longer (and thus, larger) floor area to work the air headed toward the diffuser by virtue of their longer car.
The long wheelbase, low-rake car isn't as peaky in terms of pure downforce/diffuser potential, but it is very stable/consistent and generally provides outstanding performance in high-speed corners.