I segreti della Toyota TS040 LMP1

[VELOCIPEDE]

Project CARS’ Vehicle Lead, Casey Ringley, forensically dismantles Toyota’s Le Mans challenger.
​
The Toyota TS040 was, for many of us here, the highlight of the Japanese Car Expansion Pack. Working out the details for these hybrid LMP1s is always a real challenge, because manufacturers never give out detailed technical info’ for current race cars (rightfully so), and that means we have to go into full forensic science-mode to sort out the details. 

It helps, too, that the TS040 is an absolute hoot to drive. Where its main opposition, the Audi R18 e-tron, is only mildly hybridized in the 2MJ class and consequently drives mostly like a ‘normal car’, this thing has a Mario Kart Golden Mushroom on it. These hybrids are really odd creatures, and the TS040 is no exception. It’s the fastest car with a low top speed that you'll ever drive, and obtaining the fastest lap is all about acceleration, not top speed advantage. It’s a strange feeling because, in order to maximize lap times, you’ll have lower top speeds at your disposal than a GT3 car, but you’ll be getting to top speed so much more quickly resulting in lap times over 20s per lap faster at tracks where they run these hybrids in real-life.
​
Strange creatures indeed—but let’s get back to forensic science: here are our dissection notes. 

 

Aero

The TS040 made headline news for having a (maybe, possibly, perhaps illegal) flexible rear wing system in 2014. We copied that here via an active aero’ system, so it sheds about 135kg of downforce, and 28kg of drag at a typical Le Mans top speed of 300kmh. Efficiency drops a bit, and balance shifts four percent forward when this happens. Numbers are just guesses, but they’re in the right ballpark. This flexible wing system was far more significant to their performance than most realize, and our lap times around Le Mans dropped about 2s when this feature was added.

Power Unit
​
The 3.7 litre, naturally aspirated V8 is good for 520hp at 7,000-8,500RPM, and power deliver is super-smooth. Hybrid motors add another 480hp (when over 300kmh—below that speed, they’re torque-limited), split probably around 40/60 front-to-rear. We know this because the TS030’s rear-only MGU-K was good for 300hp. The hybrid has been configured in such a way that, driven normally, it uses all 6MJ of available energy at low speed for acceleration, as that’s the ideal package for fastest lap times. Burning a full charge will take the TS040 from 60-280kmh at an amazing rate, and is about 3s faster over a lap of Le Mans than using it for a top speed boost, even if top speed drops from 340kmh to 300kmh when used that way. It is, however, possible to use it for top speed boost on our model: Get up to 250kmh or so without using full throttle, and then give it full beans. That’s when you’ll see the power meter approach 1000hp, and it will shoot up to 350kph in about 5s. Impressive, but only useful for passing slower traffic, not for ultimate lap times.

Gearbox
​
Slightly odd setup here. There’s no evidence that we could find of first gear ever being used. It’s always in second—we analyzed it behind a safety car at a sedate 60kmh, and we analyzed it around in La Source, Arnage, and other really low-speed situations. The only time we see it in first is when leaving the pits under electric power when the engine hasn’t fired up yet. In Le Mans gearing, sixth gear takes it to 285kmh, even if top speed in the most effective hybrid mode is only 295-300kmh. Seventh, meanwhile, is purely for fuel saving, or when you want to use the hybrid for a top speed boost—then all of the extra hybrid torque means that using third and fourth gear is optimal for all but the slowest corners. Expect to spend most of your time at most tracks shifting between fourth, fifth, and sixth gear.

Tyres
​
With the fix that came with Patch 6, tyres now heat faster and more predictably, and this means you will be punished for either poor driving, or poor setup. Before, if rear tyres started at a lower pressure, they could run up against a limit near ideal pressure and lose heat, thereby ending up cooler than the fronts, even if the handling balance was strongly biased to oversteer. Now we see consistent heating, and a reasonably higher carcass temp’ than non-driven fronts, which then filters through to a hotter tread. Generally, the temperatures are more representative of handling balance now. Cool stuff.

​​​fonte Project CARS