Go Back   oOple.com Forums > Car Talk > Mardave

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 04-01-2013
fido-dido's Avatar
fido-dido fido-dido is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Cambridgeshire
Posts: 129
Default best shell for downforce

i have tried a 12th circuit shell on my dave years ago and it was great. planning to race my dave again circuit so do people have a prefered shell?

not looks more down force is what im after, i was thinking either the ascari or the lotus..,...


But will rather take advise on whats best
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-01-2013
oakey4 oakey4 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SUNDERLAND
Posts: 437
Default

Ascari shells seem to work very well at our club..Cut the wing down as it far to high when mounted on the posts.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-01-2013
JimboJames1972 JimboJames1972 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Posts: 69
Default

Mike,

The four most common shells for circuit racing are the Lotus, Ascari, Mazda and the GT "Wedge".

The Mazda is aerodynamically the most balanced and safest shell when driven on the track. It's wide, flat windscreen, blunt nose and big wing push the aero grip well towards the rear to make it extremely neutral. It is a good all round shell, especially for beginners and club running but is not legal for Nationals.

The Lotus gives more front end aero grip. The windscreen is steeper and positioned further forwards so this gives a car that handles with more front end. It is significantly heavier than the Mazda though, and taller, and some think that this can promote more grip roll in certain conditions?

The Ascari is between the two. It has more aerodynamic grip than the Mazda and pushes this a little further forward too. However, is is also quite low and sleek and this is probably why it is popular on the circuits.

The "Wedge" is not commonly seen, although is is still legal for Nationals. It's aggressive front end shape means that positioning it on your shell exactly right is vital - too far forward gives a very front endy car, too far backwards gives understeer. Way back I had two of these shells that mounted just 5mm different to each other and the difference in grip was frightening!

The Ginetta is not legal, yet, but should get signed off next weekend at the AutoSport show. First testing though indicates its aerodynamic grip is towards the rear, more so than either the Mazda or Ascari. I'll drop you a line when I get some more test results through.

Hope this helps,

James
__________________
James Garrett - BRCA GT12 Rep
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-01-2013
jasond43's Avatar
jasond43 jasond43 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: devon
Posts: 175
Default

spot on james what about the aston
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 05-01-2013
JimboJames1972 JimboJames1972 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Posts: 69
Default

Hi Jason,

Unfortunately I have not seen the Aston shell in the flesh yet. Nor have I had any feedback relating to its performance on the track.

However, there might be some clues in the photographs. The front end looks quite tall and blunt (I do think though that the photographic angle might be over-emphasising this quite a bit!), I'm guessing the bonnet will be relatively long, the windscreen will be quite a long way backwards and you do get what looks like the mother of all rear wings... I'm guessing it will be quite a balanced shell, perhaps handling somewhere between the Ascari and Mazda?

As soon as I get my mitts on one I will feedback.

James
__________________
James Garrett - BRCA GT12 Rep
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 05-01-2013
jasond43's Avatar
jasond43 jasond43 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: devon
Posts: 175
Default

ill let you know tomorrow a chap has one that i sprayed
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 16-01-2013
mark christopher's Avatar
mark christopher mark christopher is offline
Spends too long on oOple ...
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: haxey, doncaster
Posts: 7,787
Send a message via MSN to mark christopher
Default

alot of info on here

http://www.facebook.com/groups/336445139755237/

Ascari, lotus or ginetta? And why????

Like · ·Unfollow postFollow post · Yesterday at 09:14 near Orpington, United Kingdom


__________________
MBModels - Schumacher Racing - Vapextech.co.uk - MRT - Savox - SMD
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 16-01-2013
f888fhw's Avatar
f888fhw f888fhw is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Bishop Auckland
Posts: 224
Default

For me the Aston has totally transformed my car, Barley Mow has started a winter series and we are now 2 weeks into it. The same track will run for 4 weeks with the final on the last week.

On the 6th of Jan I ran the lotus shell and my times were not that bad. (results below Simon 1) 12.33 Best lap and 13.05 Average Lap

On the 13th of Jan the only real mod to my car was the replacement of the lotus for the Aston shell. My best time the first week was now higher than my average time for the race the second week. (Results below Simon 2) 11.37 Best Lap and 12.15 Average lap



For me the Aston is very similar to the speed 6. I would expect to be quicker on the second week but a full 2 laps is not something that i was expecting!

Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 17-01-2013
oakey4 oakey4 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SUNDERLAND
Posts: 437
Wink

Nice graph Simon how did you do that mate.... Planning on a slight change for this Sunday, never new we where running a winter series till I Left early, couple of weeks I and hope to get my car handling how it was when I packed in. See you Sunday mate.

Paul.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 21-01-2013
JimboJames1972 JimboJames1972 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Posts: 69
Default

Managed to do some back to back runs between the Ascari, Ginetta and Aston at a local club tonight. Exact lap times/graphs to be added as soon as they have been posted...

Track measured 12x20m and was an intermediate layout (10 apexes, and a 10 sec lap was a good target). Grip usually starts off fairly low but comes up well through the evening. Test results were obtained once a few rounds have been rung and grip was up.

Aston gave the fastest single lap of 9.64s. It was extremely aggressive to drive - everything felt as it it was on the nose and as if the rear was just waiting to swing round to overtake the front. Some setup changes (including adding a bigger rear wing) and tire changes were needed to get the best times but getting consistent times was a struggle. If you could keep it tamed it was fun to have all that front end grip but it was bit like trying to drive an angry Pit Bull.

Ginetta gave the most consistent times (best single lap of 9.74s, average over 5mins of 9.97s). Car felt safe and easy to drive and forgave several driver input errors. Keeping a rhythmical flow to corners was easy, but the car never felt fast or as "on edge" as the Aston did. However, it was easier to drive and getting tight lines felt less risky.

Ascari gave me a best single lap of 9.71 sec. The runs I did with this shell were hampered by a few crashes so the average lap times are not comparable. It felt less predictable to drive than the other two - it would grip, grip, grip... and then all of a sudden let go. Sometimes the front end let go first and it understeered, sometimes the rear let go and stepped out. And then sometimes it would carry on gripping. Odd, I never felt as I knew what to expect the next time I tried the same corner. I still like this shell but feel as if the other two have more to offer?

Overall my favourite is the Ginetta. For a one off blast the Aston will probably give a faster single lap but, over a whole race, I feel as if I will have more success with the Ginetta.

Hope this helps,

James
__________________
James Garrett - BRCA GT12 Rep
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 05:49 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
oOple.com