Geoffrey

Did anyone see the article in Autoweek that said that for 2006, all closed cockpit racing cars partcipating at the 24hrs will be required to run air conditioning capable of maintaining 75 degree cockpit temperatures? This is in response to the temps experienced by the drivers of the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 cars.

Interesting to see how this plays out.

Honkity Hank

Missed that. Sounds like something Ralph Nadar would have come up with. Whats next? Power windows, dual zone a/c, leather seats, bose sound system with 6 disc cd changer, navigation system, cup holders?

DJF1

Why would AC be bad? What's wrong with keeping the driver comfortable to race hard ? Heat exostion is not a thing to scoff at! With the same logic,cool suit , direct helmet air should be discontinued?
I just dont get these kind of comments.

Gator_86_951

I think everybody's issue with it is the sanctioning body making it manditory without the drivers or the teams making the decision themselves.

sweanders

OTOH it would make the cars performance worse so no teams would do it unless they have to.

Geo

Actually, this could be fantastic for road car engineering. You can be sure some of the best minds will design some pretty efficient AC systems. We could more AC engineering for cars than we have seen in the last 40 years.

This will also probably lead to a great many strategies to reduce cockpit temps with minimal weight addition.

The real question is how will the ACO know if the cockpit temp rises above 75F?

Bill L Seifert

The reason teams ain't going to do it, is because it takes power to run the thing, and they can't afford to give that much power away, but with a rule, then everyone is able to do it. I wish mine had AC, the cool suit/helmet doesn't last near long enough, and it is a pain to keep all the ice on hand.
Back when my air worked, I accidentally left it on, (The big switch that runs the radiator fans, also turns on the AC) really wasn't that much slower, probably my driving. It didn't do any good, as the windows were open. Also remember Le Mans cars run with windows, for the aero, I guess..
Just my opinion.

Bill Seifert

1987 944S Race Car

Marks951

What happened to race cars where people sweated and worked for the glory? Back in the day NASCAR didn't have power steering....but now the driver's practically can't finish a race without it. Although I am sure the car's that compete at that level can afford an effecient and light-weight A/C system. They already have lights, mirrors, defrosters, and wipers, might as well have A/C.

ehall

"Actually, this could be fantastic for road car engineering. You can be sure some of the best minds will design some pretty efficient AC systems. We could more AC engineering for cars than we have seen in the last 40 years."

Between the above, and the possibility of having a driver running at almost 200 mph while suffering from heat exhaustion, I would think this is a good thing. Anyone but me ever come close to a heat stroke before. Once you hit exhaustion levels your focus, concentration and balance go to sh&t. From a pure safety stand point, I would think this could be favorable, and if the same system had to be incorporated by all teams, OR they were allowed to innovate, it would eventually help road cars.

DGaunt

Packaging solutions should be very interesting considering all the tings competing for cool air: Rad, oil cooler, brakes, PS cooler, etc.

And what of reliability? I?f the cabin temp rises about the limit (via telemetry) does the car have to come in for repairs? DQ? interesting.

jim911

I've talked to guys that run the air in their GT3s during DE. Could that be a prolem for any of the components running at the higher RPMs?

Nordschleife

You are so far off base its laughable. People driving open and closed cars can and do suffer from heat exhaustion and even carbon monoxide poisoning. Even the drivers of rear engined cars have problems with the heat from the radiators.

The minimum weight for the LMP1 cars has been increased by 25kg to allow for AC units to be installed.

Many NASCAR drivers have discovered that what they thought was dehydration/heat exhaustion was in fact carbon monoxide poisoning, hence the ready uptake of fresh air helmets in that series.

Endurance racing involves competing under extreme conditions, including rain, heat and high humidity. This requires that the driver continues to function as well as possible in addition to the car avoiding mechanical hiccups. Even before the ACO came up with the AC regulations teams were working on better cool suit and fresh air solutions.

It may surprise you to know that some of the endurance racing cars that I know about even have self dipping rear view mirrors, to cut down on driver motion sickness at night, and racing ABS so they can brake in what we call 'brake and forget' mode. And whilst they do not have cup holders, per se, they do have drink systems aboard and a restring system for the fluid holder and delivery system.

Many of the top race cars do indeed have Navigation displays showing their progress round the circuit.

The successful practitioners of sarcasm understand what they are poking fun at.

R+C

Honkity Hank

Lighten up.

The Corvette team used all of the things you mentioned because it made their team more competitive. I found the insistence that cars have to have A/C humourous, you don't. I may not know the inner workings of a race team but it is my assumption that the driver is a pretty highly prized component and keeping them alive and well is high on the list of things the team needs to do without the sanctioning body having to step in.

If what you say is right then apparently I got it all wrong and stand corrected, I am no longer amused by the rule. I just wonder why the Corvette team did what they did even though Le Mans did not make them do it., perhaps they had a little extra car that they could hold back on and did not have to resort to the bare miniimum, or perhaps they care about their drivers too. You be the judge.

Cheers, Hank <---Unsucessful sarcasm writer

Geoffrey

I'm interested mostly in the packaging solution for a system that will maintain a 75 degree temp inside a hot race car with plastic windows and doors without seals, etc. It is hard enough to get down to 75 degrees in a modern car which has been designed to seal the cabin from the outside.

The other consideration is the A/C compressor. In a street car the compressor is shut off during full throttle application and I'd wonder the longevity of a component at the higher RPMs like 9500 of the RSRs.

Z-man

What's next? A Nav system? Night vision? Cruise control?

Don't most of the pros use a cool suit type system where they wear a shirt that has channels that you run cool water through? And forced cool air helmets?

Seems more important to cool the driver, not the cabin.

If ya can't stand the heat...
-Z-man.