Car setup will be difference-maker in 2018
Of all the gifts IndyCar’s new universal bodywork has brought to the 2018 season, it should be easier for fans to follow the good, old-fashioned engine wars between Chevrolet and Honda. In theory, at least.
By moving away from the high-downforce, custom aero kits created by the series engine suppliers, a level aerodynamic playing field has been re-established. And from that base, the raw power and torque produced from the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engines made by Chevy and Honda would be able to stand out and eliminate the old questions as to whether one aero kit or the other was responsible for tilting sector times or higher top speeds in the favor of one brand.
But there’s also a wrinkle to consider that might, according to two leading drivers, turn the engine war topic upside down at most races. Owing to the significant reduction in maximum downforce with the new UAK18 bodywork on road/street courses and short ovals, crisp and consistent handling could be elusive.
Where the high-downforce Chevy and Honda aero kits made it easier for drivers to stand on the throttle and drag race between corners, the massive downforce cut in 2018 will have drivers and their race engineers scrambling to put the power down at many venues. As they contend with rear tires that are sliding or spinning more than usual, chassis and aero setups will play a much greater role in who gets to the braking zone first.
“I think what this car is highlighting and what this new bodywork is showing is you can have all the power in the world, but we can’t put it to the ground like we did with the aero kits,” the Honda-powered Graham Rahal told RACER.
“I don’t think that it is going to be one engine versus another, meaning that one is going to dominate, like it has been. I think it’s going to come down to getting the setup right on that given weekend. We’d kind of known, with the aero kits, which manufacturer was go- ing to stand out at each track. And you’d think, by going with a universal kit, a spec kit, it would become all about who has the hot engines again, but I just don’t think that’s going to be the case.
“It’s going to be all about working with the car’s new tendencies to be light at the rear and moving around under braking and acceleration. If you get that right, and you can take care of your tires, and if you find the chassis balance that works, you’re going to be hard to beat. But I think that’s going to be more about the team, more about the driver and engineer on that day, than the engines making one group stand out over the other.”
2016 IndyCar champion Simon Pagenaud shares Rahal’s opinion and says that of all the things the engine manufacturers can do to gain an advantage, working on throttle mapping and calibrations to help their drivers get off the corners with minimal slipping and sliding will be key.
“I definitely agree with Graham on that,” the Team Penske Chevy driver said. “I think it’s going to be a sharp edge on the setup. It’s going to be harder to find the right setup, so that’s going to make a bigger difference than anything on the engine, although you still want the best drivability to keep your tires in good shape, and you want the power to get out of the corners quicker.”
To understand how much aerodynamic downloading has been lost from year to year, the 2017 St. Pete race featured cars carrying a rough minimum of
6,300 pounds of downforce to glue the cars to the track. With the switch to the
UAK18, a maximum of approximately
5,250 pounds is available, more than
1,000 pounds less. Simply put, IndyCar’s new road racing downforce high was last year’s lowest of lows.
“I think this car magnifies the weaknesses, and that is going to show on race days,” Rahal said.