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Originally Posted by HORNDAWG  Can this be proven? The air going through the restrictor body becomes charged by the velocity created when the car is moving at speed by the shape of the restrictor orifice and size of the airbox which is designed to maintain said charge to be utilized by the engine mapping at the specific pressure. This scenario could of hurt the performance of the engine just as well as enhance it by allowing the charge pressure to drop by pushing out through the crack or have been wholly neutral in nature and only affected the idle of the engine as there is no charge in the box at 0 mph! (?)  |
Good point...I suppose without knowing whether or not there's a negative pressure in the air box it's hard to make the determination whether or not there's an advantage. I would have to say that at WOT (wide open throttle) with the car's velocity at zero there has to be a negative pressure in the air box (that's just physics, air/fluid flow happens across a pressure differentials). Now it's possible that at some time during acceleration there becomes a switch to positive pressure, due to the velocity of the air entering the restrictor. If the Air box pressure was ever positive then a leak would be detrimental from the power aspect. I would have to guess there would be an advantage on slow corners when the velocity of the air stream presented to the restrictor are lowest and the air box most likely has a negative pressure. Whether or not the air box pressure becomes positive and at what speed it may or may not occur is unknown, at least to me.
But when you hear stories like the C6.R could make 900ish HP to try and compete with a LMP1, I've got to think these engines are choked down quite a bit and always have a negative air box pressure.
By no means do I think Fernandez racing tried to cheat...they knew they'd have to pass the test after the race. Just an unfortunate casualty of the track know as Sebring.
