[ninja_gaiden]

Hey Guys,
It seems, to me at least, that the words CARBON FIBER and RALLY RACING are not used together very often, whereas with F1 and other racing, the two seem to go hand in hand.
So i was wondering, how much CF is used on rally cars? Are there rules barring CF from certain body panels or anything?
Thanks

 

[Bah Humbug]

FV-QR

Funny, Turbio and I were just discussing that on Sunday. Rally cars take way too much impact for CF, I would guess.

 

[ninja_gaiden]

Re: FV-QR (Bah Humbug)

Quote, originally posted by Bah Humbug »

Funny, Turbio and I were just discussing that on Sunday. Rally cars take way too much impact for CF, I would guess.

that is what i was thinking

 

[nickthaskater]

FV-QR

Rally cars are also production-based, no?

 

[Bah Humbug]

FV-QR

Yeah, but it depends on how close to production you have to be. If it's just outline, you could make the same shape of panels in CF.

 

[Vwgeist]

Re: FV-QR (ninja_gaiden)

Quote, originally posted by ninja_gaiden »

that is what i was thinking

In F1 they are regulated to use carbon for the tubs for safety, beacause of its strength. Carbon fiber is five time stronger than steel and twice as stiff, soooo I don't think that would be a good reason.Maybe its a cost thing?

 

[Turbio!]

Re: FV-QR (Vwgeist)

Quote, originally posted by Vwgeist »

In F1 they are regulated to use carbon for the tubs for safety, beacause of its strength. Carbon fiber is five time stronger than steel and twice as stiff, soooo I don't think that would be a good reason.Maybe its a cost thing?

It is, however, way more brittle.

 

[Bah Humbug]

FV-QR

Quote, originally posted by Vwgeist »

In F1 they are regulated to use carbon for the tubs for safety, beacause of its strength. Carbon fiber is five time stronger than steel and twice as stiff, soooo I don't think that would be a good reason.Maybe its a cost thing?

Not in every dimension at once, though.

 

[Bah Humbug]

FV-QR

Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »

It is, however, way more brittle.

To expand, look at failure modes. Carbon shatters. Steel bends. If an F1 car crashes, it's almost definitely out. If a rally car crashes, it goes on most of the time. Steel panels can be bent back close to their original shape, don't send shards everywhere, and so forth.

 

[mx5er]

Re:

I've seen a lot of CF in WRC cars. Aero bits, dashboard, interior door panels, underhood ducts etc.
On a Impreza WRC car, I've noticed CF covering the roll cage alond the sides. I think it's some sort of side impact absorption stucture.

Yeah I know it's just a model but I saw the same set up while watching it on TV. F1 cars's CF nose cone is designed to progressively crumble to absorb impact energy. I'm sure the set up in the Subaru is designed to do the same.


Modified by mx5er at 4:42 PM 7-9-2009

 

[tgodbout]

Re: Re: (mx5er)

The Sport Quattro Group B car body was mostly carbon kevlar. Even the street version.

 

[Lupo TDI]

Re: FV-QR (nickthaskater)

Quote, originally posted by nickthaskater »

Rally cars are also production-based, no?

Quote, originally posted by Bah Humbug »

Yeah, but it depends on how close to production you have to be. If it's just outline, you could make the same shape of panels in CF.

AFAIK rally cars in WRC have to be based off a "normal" car; various body panels, hoods etc may very well be made of CF/kevlar, but the unibody structure not. I think this reason and the cars having to finish the stages are the reasons why we won't see a CF chassis in WRC today.

 

[ninja_gaiden]

Re: FV-QR (Lupo TDI)