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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Dallara Commits To DW12 Updates
Dallara will supply new pieces to address the DW12’s weight distribution issues and will seek drag solutions through full-scale windtunnel testing.
After making incremental improvements with the DW12, INDYCAR and Dallara have agreed to take bigger steps to overcome the car's shortcomings in a timely manner. (IndyCar Series/Steve Shunck)
The 2012 Dallara DW12 Indy car has faced ongoing challenges to hit its performance marks on the ovals, but as INDYCAR and the Italian constructor informed its teams on Tuesday, a new and more aggressive round of measures will be implemented to correct the car’s handling and aerodynamic deficiencies.
"I'd like to thank Mr. Dallara and his entire team for stepping up and tacking things directly," INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard told SPEED.com. "It would have been easy to back away from the problems, but I'm definitely encouraged with how they're working with INDYCAR and what they've come up with."
In an effort led by Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s VP of Technology, Dallara, DW12 transmission manufacturer Xtrac, and Chevrolet and Honda--the two engine manufacturers currently conducting private testing, the group has been working to resolve the rear weight distribution and excessive aero drag issues that have limited the car’s overall performance during oval testing at Iowa, Indianapolis, Fontana and Homestead.
Modest improvements were made at Homestead through the use of lightened gearbox parts, but the biggest shift forward in weight distribution came with the addition of ballast to the front of the cars.
Although the parties involved with the Homestead test reported those changes went at least halfway to cure the DW12’s sizeable oversteer on corner entry and understeer on corner exit, Dallara has agreed to produce all-new suspension for the car to further mitigate its balance problems.
A number of drivers and engineers suggested the use of rearward-swept suspension to shift the DW12’s weight forward, and after the latest round of oval testing delivered positive gains when the series moved the car’s 41 percent front/59 percent weight distribution closer to 43/57, Dallara decided to take the next step by manufacturing new suspension.
With little weight left to pare from the Xtrac unit and a significant amount of nose ballast already in place, altering the DW12's wheelbase through new a-arms was the next logical step to take.
The DW12s that are scheduled to be delivered over the next month will arrive with the first-generation suspension, and Dallara will soon provide updated front a-arms with a two-inch sweep and rear a-arms with a one-inch sweep for its customers.
INDYCAR is currently at Sebring with Chevrolet and Honda testing the new McLaren electronics for the first time, which will slightly alter the DW12’s final weight and weight distribution, but with all of the new pieces in place, the second-generation a-arms are expected to get the car closer to the 45/55 weight distribution found on the 2011-spec Dallara IR07.
Dallara has also committed to resolve the DW12’s top speed limitations on large ovals.
As Phillips told SPEED’s Robin Miller last month, “[The] car isn’t going as fast as we wanted or expected and we’re trying to identify why the theoretical world doesn’t match real world at the race track. At very high speeds, we have disparity in the data,” and solutions will now be sought through full-scale windtunnel testing at the proven Windshear facility in North Carolina.
"I'd like to thank Mr. Dallara and his entire team for stepping up and tacking things directly," INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard told SPEED.com. "It would have been easy to back away from the problems, but I'm definitely encouraged with how they're working with INDYCAR and what they've come up with."
In an effort led by Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s VP of Technology, Dallara, DW12 transmission manufacturer Xtrac, and Chevrolet and Honda--the two engine manufacturers currently conducting private testing, the group has been working to resolve the rear weight distribution and excessive aero drag issues that have limited the car’s overall performance during oval testing at Iowa, Indianapolis, Fontana and Homestead.
Modest improvements were made at Homestead through the use of lightened gearbox parts, but the biggest shift forward in weight distribution came with the addition of ballast to the front of the cars.
Although the parties involved with the Homestead test reported those changes went at least halfway to cure the DW12’s sizeable oversteer on corner entry and understeer on corner exit, Dallara has agreed to produce all-new suspension for the car to further mitigate its balance problems.
A number of drivers and engineers suggested the use of rearward-swept suspension to shift the DW12’s weight forward, and after the latest round of oval testing delivered positive gains when the series moved the car’s 41 percent front/59 percent weight distribution closer to 43/57, Dallara decided to take the next step by manufacturing new suspension.
With little weight left to pare from the Xtrac unit and a significant amount of nose ballast already in place, altering the DW12's wheelbase through new a-arms was the next logical step to take.
The DW12s that are scheduled to be delivered over the next month will arrive with the first-generation suspension, and Dallara will soon provide updated front a-arms with a two-inch sweep and rear a-arms with a one-inch sweep for its customers.
INDYCAR is currently at Sebring with Chevrolet and Honda testing the new McLaren electronics for the first time, which will slightly alter the DW12’s final weight and weight distribution, but with all of the new pieces in place, the second-generation a-arms are expected to get the car closer to the 45/55 weight distribution found on the 2011-spec Dallara IR07.
Dallara has also committed to resolve the DW12’s top speed limitations on large ovals.
As Phillips told SPEED’s Robin Miller last month, “[The] car isn’t going as fast as we wanted or expected and we’re trying to identify why the theoretical world doesn’t match real world at the race track. At very high speeds, we have disparity in the data,” and solutions will now be sought through full-scale windtunnel testing at the proven Windshear facility in North Carolina.
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