Originally Posted by
FreddySudhoff
Yes John, for 100% zero flex (front <-> rear) the topdeck will be the best option. But on every test yet, if carbon chassis on asphalt or carpet, if alloy chassis on carpet, the car was without topdeck fastest. Also the front rear flex is no problem. It sounds strange, I know :-)
I know since the IIC in Vegas that US tracks are much different so maybe there are topdecks better because of the tires and high grip ;-)
I agree with Freddy. Here in the US, I've done many "back to back" tests with and without the top deck on a variety of medium grip tracks, with a variety of layouts. ( all on recent generation CRC "ozite" carpet , with Spec , Sweep, Solaris, and Jaco tires ). Most of the testing, however, was with the alloy chassis but the results were similar with the carbon chassis.
In most cases, in my testing, the car is at least slightly faster without the top deck, sometimes significantly faster. In some instances the car felt and lap times showed it was as fast with the top deck, but this was rare. Also, generally, I like the way the car rotated around the corner more when I am not using the top deck. I'm sure it is a bit of a personal choice / driving style too.
On US high grip, I believe there will be occasions that the top deck can be useful to avoid traction rolling but with it will come a difference in the way the car arcs / rotates around the corner, again, a driver preference thing.
Cheers,
Jake