Chevrolet just released photos and details of its road-course aero package for the 2015 IndyCar season. The new bodywork is easily distinguished from the previous racecar with new front wing elements, sculpted side pods and a new rear wing.
What does this reveal have to do with engines?
The engine cover is more compact after engineers revised the turbocharger and exhaust system layout. Chevy officials did not go into those details, but we can look back to a 2014 EngineLabs story that exposed some of the plumbing found around the 2.2-liter twin-turbo, direct-injected IndyCar V6 engines. Shown below are examples from the DW12 cars that raced in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Each team has its own methods of heat control and air-duct routing, but those factors may now be a little more uniform with the tighter engine covers.
“We did maintain the overhead intake as is in the DW12, but you’ll see a much more shrink-wrapped tight engine cover without that vent in the back. It is quite a bit of a tighter package in there,” says Chris Berube, Chevy’s program manager for IndyCar racing.
Overall, there are 123 pieces to the new kit. Chevy has to sell the kits at $75,000 for the first two and $90,000 for every subsequent kit to the teams.
“It’s not all about downforce, it’s not all about drag, it’s not all about engine power,” sums up Chevy director of competition Mark Kent. “It’s developing that optimal combination between those three to ensure at the end of the day we are providing our Chevrolet teams an aero kit and engine combination that can let them win week in and week out.”
During a press conference at the unveiling, Chevy officials reaffirmed the brand’s commitment to the current engine package and development.
“[Engine and aerodynamics] were the two areas that were most important, how the engine technologies relate to what we do in the showroom. A lot of the portfolio on the power train side is going to smaller displacement, use of direct injections and the boosting. Not every power train is going that way, but a lot of them. That’s why we love this direction.
“We’re already boosting, and that helps us on the production side. We also have powertrain engineers that are working on the IndyCar side with our partners at Ilmor. The same tools we use for our production we use over here in racing. The learning cycles apply to both sides.”
Chevy will reveal the aero package for super speedways in time for the Indy 500.
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