RBR little secret ....

[DEEJAY.B]

Red Bull Map-Q: The secret to the teams Q3 pace Scarbsf1's Blog


Another little Red Bull secret has come to light, it could explain why the other teams are having problems getting their versions to fully work (blown rear defusers).Seems to me this years car is getting extremely complicated to drive even over 1 lap. First off you already have a steering wheel with loadsa settings to deal with ,adj front flaps to adjust ...F duct to cover on the staights...an now it seems with this retarded ignition you have to keep the throttle partly open as you brake and corner ... Seems a lot to do as well as race the car too ..Maybe this could explain Mr Schumacher,s lack of pace ..

 

[CHR15-53AT]

interesting, but when i saw James Allens name mentioned I lost interest. Is this effect anything like left foot braking, because if I remember correctly Schumi was always known for being on the brakes and accelerator at the same time, balancing the two.

 

[PeteMoore]

ermm, if you watch the telemetry you will see the majority of the time they will be left foot braking anyway

much in the same way as the WRC guys, its merely another way to balance the car without having to totally come off the throttle

 

[CHR15-53AT]

yes I know the majority of people these days left foot brake, but I was wondering about this system and its explanation, in association with left foot braking.

I've read it again and found "maintaining a constant exhaust gas pressure, on or off the throttle." The first time I read it (late last night) I thought it was implying drivers are either on the throttle or on the brakes, no inbetween (ie left foot braking).

I was thinking if people are left foot braking then there will still be a pressure on the EB diffuser. What this system does is try to keep the pressure constant, apparently.

 

[DEEJAY.B]

Well pointed out Chris , as you said , we all know left foot braking has been used for decades in all m,sports. This is usually to balance the car through a high speed corner in F1. This would be "mechanical grip" but this Red Bull "trick" is about producing constant aero grip . Apparently the system cant be used for too long or the temperature goes through the roof , and then rear ends start melting , just like mclaren on fri at silverstone .This system i think , explains why no other team can stay with the RB6 through high speed corners . Button and Hamilton were scratching their heads when following Webber and they had to lift while he had his foot planted. I just found the whole "redarded ignition " solution to keepin a hot flow through the diffuser genius . I suppose some of the guys who do engine mapping on the site might know or have a better understanding of it.

 

[DEEJAY.B]

It appears that they have an engine setting that allows exhaust gases to be generated even when the driver is off the throttle, under braking or in the middle of a corner.
This is done by retarding the ignition. Renault also has the system, as it is governed through the engine's electronic control unit (ECU).
The benefit is that it delivers a more consistent gas flow through the diffuser that does not upset the car's balance, as happened to McLaren in Silverstone.
The drawback is that it overheats the engine and uses a lot of fuel, so Red Bull only use it in qualifying. This goes a long way to explaining why the RB6 is so dominant on a Saturday afternoon.

From a report by Ted Kravitz.

 

[CarbonKa]

Thats a good find, makes a lot of sense. The concept of using exhaust gasses in a diffuser had been around for a good while, but was largely abandoned, in favour of the "stacks" as it meant the car was extremely twitchy if a driver came off throttle, mid corner.
I thought the red bull system was a means of controlling the flow around the diffuser, instead of generating flow through it though?