Quote:
Originally Posted by DoggieHowser
Do lighter roofs make a difference?
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl...rnational_auto
This was when the Evo8MR first launched with an aluminium roof vs the older Evo8 with steel roof.
Best Motoring claimed improved stability at high speeds - was due to the reduced weight of the roof.
At 12:46. they slap on a 4kg rubber mat on top of the Evo8MR to see the impact of the heavier roof. It is quite interesting.
The effect of the aluminium roof is to lower the CG by a mere 3mm. Doesn't seem like much. But to have that same impact by reducing the weight of the front bonnet, you'd have to drop that by 12kg!!! That's a lot.
And looking at what they did to bond aluminium and steel - and still prevent leaking.. doesn't sound straightforward so I'd be hesitant about getting a third party CF roof.
That said, the heavier roofed car was more unstable under heavy braking and through the slalom - but the driver (who's a Mitsubishi racing team driver) kept the car going with more throttle input to correct - so it ended up faster on the slalom. |
Very interesting findings. Design purposes of M2s become clearer to me. Thanks for sharing.