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Aero 2016
INDY 500: Aero options primer for qualifying
Friday, 20 May 2016
Marshall Pruett (words & images)

Chevy and Honda teams have a few aerodynamic options to consider for this weekend's qualifying process to set pole for the 100th Indy 500.
Removing aero drag – the parachute-like forces that reduce top speed – is the big change from running in race configuration, and both brands follow different paths to reaching the ultimate qualifying aero kit package.
Starting with Chevy, its teams have a variety of things to bolt on, take off, or mix and match to achieve the desired drag reduction figures while maintaining enough downforce to provide drivers with a stable car in the corners.

(Here's Will Power's Team Penske Chevy pitting moments after setting his 231.339mph lap on his own. The rear wheel pod winglets are off, both sidepods feature the long ramps, and at least one of the small fins on the floor – behind the large fin blocking the 'n' in Verizon – is removed)

(Another look at the long Chevy sidepod and tire ramp and the bare wheel pod)

(The rear view of Helio Castroneves' car with the smooth tire ramp/wheel pod package)
(Chip Ganassi Racing's Charlie Kimball was one of many Chevys from the four-car team to try the long sidepod ramps with a single rear wheel pod winglet affixed to the left side)


(Above: The Ed Carpenter Racing Chevys went in another direction – the third so far – with no rear wheel pod winglets and no sidepod ramps)
(Adding to the fun, KV Racing went to a hybrid setup as Matty Brabham used the rear wheel pod winglets, the long sidepod ramp on the left – his left – and the standard piece on the right)
(And we aren't finished. There's a fifth option – the most common race package – with the rear wheel pod winglets and the standard sidepods without the long ramps)
(And on the Chevy floors, most teams have run with the smaller right side fin installed)
(And with the left mini fin removed)
Next page: On the Honda front...

(Above: Teams use the same long sidepod ramps and do not split them from side to side as some Chevy teams have done)
(The most common Honda qualifying aero package involves using a single Honda rear wing element and no rear wheel pod winglets)
(Some Honda teams started Fast Friday with the rear winglets installed)
(For the sake of comparison on size, here’s Chevy’s front superspeedway wing design)
(And here’s Honda’s less ornate front wing solution)


(Above: Another look at Honda’s single-element rear wing and its swan neck mounting system. Note the narrow chord – the distance from the wing’s leading edge to the trailing edge)
(And here’s the alternate wing option some Honda teams have tried. It’s the stock Dallara rear wing mainplane – note the difference in chord length to Honda’s tiny element)
(The presence of Gurney flaps on Chevy front wings is a rarity, while Honda teams have used two different Gurneys so far. This one is closest to the nose)
(And here’s the most popular Gurney solution for the Hondas—a small, almost triangular piece closest to the end plate)
(Here’s a look at how teams adjust the rear wing angle during practice and qualifying. A wrench turns the sliding mount mechanism attached to the attentuator, and the mechanics watch the readout on the digital inclinometer placed on top of the rear wing)
(The last item, which isn’t an aero piece, is something readers have asked about. Here’s how the new nose and front-wing tether attached to the chassis--a quick release pin holds the tether into its mounting bracket)

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INDY 500: Chevy uses final aero kit development box

FWEP=Front End Wing Plate
Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Marshall Pruett (words & images)
Chevy has used its third and final aero kit development box for 2016 with a new addition to its superspeedway front wing package. Chevy's aerodynamic team has reworked its front-wing endplate (FWEP) design in numerous ways, starting with a move away from the curved floor profile seen 2015 (BELOW). The new, flat FWEP floor and exit profile and dimensions appear (BELOW) to have increased to improve flow, and the most noticeable change involves the insertion a small cone-like piece (TOP) into the cone-shaped exit that helps to concentrate the air as it leaves the area by creating vortexes.

Chevy has added vertical walls for the cones – like a tiny inner endplates – to further focus the air departing the FWEP (BELOW).

With those vortices spinning and hugging the inside of the FWEP thanks to the mini cones, Chevy has found yet another aerodynamic device that increases efficiency and reduces drag. The cone-within-a-cone aero kit update could be described as something similar to the use of strakes within the underwing's diffuser where the strakes help to concentrate the air flowing beneath the car into more refined – and efficient – streams.
This final development piece for the season follows the revised road course/short oval FWEP Chevy introduced at the Grand Prix of Indy, and revised rear wheel pods that first appeared in Spring Training.
Honda has also exhausted its three development boxes for 2016, with the third and final also coming in the form of its superspeedway FWEP.
The new piece has a more pronounced curve to help divert air around the front tires (ABOVE), whereas last year's units had a more gradual curve (BELOW).

Honda previously introduced a Chevy-style road course/short oval FEWP and new rear wheel pods for its first and second development items, and those were in addition to the Rule 9.3 allowances it was granted by IndyCar. Under 9.3, Honda was able to redesign its engine cover, after section of its sidepods, and the related rear road course/short oval tire ramp system.
Despite those 9.3 changes, IndyCar has required Honda's teams to revert to its 2015 sidepods and rear tire ramp solutions for Indy and the other superspeedways.
With Chevy's cone-in-a-cone FWEP update, IndyCar's aero kit development cycle has ended for 2016, and with the series confirming it is considering abandoning aero kits for 2017 and beyond, the little cones could go down as the last new aero kit piece produced by both manufacturers.