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**SantaClaus** · 05-22-2010, 12:55 AM

Downforce can be measured. The loss of downforce that happens to a car in "dirty" air can also be measured. So, let the "brilliant people" design whatever way they want, but with a limit to how much they disturb the air for other cars. The limit is clear, without the necessity for being cleverer than the designers.

It's an interesting concept, but one issue I see is that when the rules are framed based on a particular method of measurement, the "brilliant people" will just find ways to make something that passes the test conditions, but behaves differently in the "real world". Think of the Ferrari sprung floor for example.
I can imagine teams spending piles of cash coming up with designs that pass the FIA wind tunnel test, but generate much more turbulence for the following car when the driver is sitting in it, or when the engine's running, or at different speeds to what the FIA test at.
Which is one reason why they invariably fall back on the blunt instrument of legislating on the causes (sizes of wings and diffusers etc.) rather than measuring effects.

05-22-2010, 12:55 AM	#19
SantaClaus Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 704 Senior Member	Downforce can be measured. The loss of downforce that happens to a car in "dirty" air can also be measured. So, let the "brilliant people" design whatever way they want, but with a limit to how much they disturb the air for other cars. The limit is clear, without the necessity for being cleverer than the designers. It's an interesting concept, but one issue I see is that when the rules are framed based on a particular method of measurement, the "brilliant people" will just find ways to make something that passes the test conditions, but behaves differently in the "real world". Think of the Ferrari sprung floor for example. I can imagine teams spending piles of cash coming up with designs that pass the FIA wind tunnel test, but generate much more turbulence for the following car when the driver is sitting in it, or when the engine's running, or at different speeds to what the FIA test at. Which is one reason why they invariably fall back on the blunt instrument of legislating on the causes (sizes of wings and diffusers etc.) rather than measuring effects.
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