I was just talking to my friends about rallying, and a very good question came up. We were pondering the use of the apperent scoop on the top of the Subaru WRC, and most rally cars... Anyone know what its for?? :confused:

Jason

Its a vent that directs air into the car

Thats what I thought but, what good is that? Is it an alternative to air conditioning or what?

Jason

yes and underneat that vent is a 'real' vent which you can open to redirect in fresh air... erm... or rain as it would be here in Seattle :D

believe me, you get soooo hot in rally cars... that's a necessity if you dont have AC... erm... rally car? AC... ok... see my point? :D

j.
www.subiegal.com

Ventilation. No air conditioning on those things.

My guesses?

#1 Don't add anything unnecessary to the engine(KISS principle)

#2 Don't add anything that robs power to the engine

Neil

I now have an answer to a question that has been bugging me for a while, thanks! :D

Jason

serious? wouldn't that mess with the aerodynamic of the thing?

Not enough to matter.

i'd rather have a happy driver then a slightly less aerodynamic car...

Spelled weird.

take a long look at a WRC car, I get the feeling that Aerodynamics where not high on the list of things they needed. Not becaust they dident want the cars to go fast but because in a rally their are more important things to have. Reliability is one of the first, both of the car and the driver. and a driver that has a heat stroke is not that reliable. so they sacrifice aerodynamics for things like long travel suspention, intercoolers, and air vents for the drivers. but I think the main reason it is on the car is that it looks so cool.:cool:

your huge side mirrors (I think) would produce more resistance then that scoop. Just take those off to counter act the roof scoop.

:lol:

why can't they just open the windows? maybe put a mesh there to block debris. NASCAR cars run with open windows and they go much faster than rally cars.

I think it's for looks ;)

Ahhh...but if you noticed, NASCAR's have NASA ducts that are connected to piping that intern connects to openings on the drivers helments. Dust and dirt getting in their face really isn't a concern whereas in a Rally car there is plenty of crap that could get piped in.

Tats.

I think I remember reading somewhere that the FIA mandates that they run with windows closed - otherwiser I`m sure they`d open them to cool the car.

There was a story in one of the rallying mags from home about fire extinguishers exploding in the car because of the heat !

Think it was Fisher (?) the Ulster driver who won the WRC seat for one rally to run at the acropolis ?

2 more Days till the safari starts ;-)

Woo Woo - Go Colin !

Maybe if he wins the championship Ford will make a limited "McCrash" edition of the new cossie Focus in Martini colours ;-)

Not that we will see it out here - I`ll have to go home to get one.

Uncle Git

To tie into the NASCAR referance. I believe that the cup cars are required to run with windows down or actually lack there of. As I remember this was done to make them less aerodynamic.

Pete

About rallying with windows open, once I saw a rally of the Argentina Rally Championship on TV (there is very good rallying in Argentina, lots of EVOs and some WRXs...even some A8 cars, a Ford Escort Cosworth and a Toyota Corolla) and it was a really cold day with some rain, and as some guys in WRXs obviously didn't have A/C, they had to race with their windows open, to prevent the windsheild from getting full of fog.

Also, imprezas "WRX type RA" (previous to the "new age" impreza) have a little flap in the roof which opens forwards to let air in, in a similar way to the A8 cars.

And, finally I have seen some cool body kits on the internet (I don't remember where) that are just as the A8 roof vents, they weren't just for apparence, they actually worked, and had some sort of fans to suck air into the car more efficiently.

I knew the vent was for air, as there's no AC on the car, but I never really thought about just opening the windows. Do they open? I could have sworn I saw some of the WRC converage on Speedvision with the windows down, but I may be on crack too...

Windows on N4 rally cars should open, as they are production-based cars. I dunno about A8s though...but they have the roof vents...most N4s don't.

most rally cars do run with plexan windows... they aren't fully functional, but most have a seperate vent for more cooler air. And why don't the use full windows? because a face full of broken glass and then the subsequent spray of rocks sucks. Oh and to save weight... damn it's late; read this again... I AM RETARDED!:)