Racer.com’s Marshall Pruett had the exclusive earlier today on the new look/reworked Honda Performance Development ARX-04b P2 chassis.
The new-for-2015 coupe made just one competitive appearance, in January 2015 at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (below) with a two car effort for the Tequila Patron ESM team before the car was withdrawn from competition, the team having uncovered some significant aerodynamic issues, specifically a major shortfall on front end downforce.
The new look sported by one of the cars shown here focuses on the problematic front end of the car with the work undertaken by HPD.
Post-Daytona wind tunnel tests confirmed the ARX-04b’s comparative lack of front downforce, and according to HPD vice president Steve Eriksen, recent tests have verified the revised ARX-04b has found the missing front downforce and added more to use if desired.
“We saw a nearly 8 percent improvement for the higher-downforce Sebring configuration, and a 15.5 percent improvement for the low-drag Daytona specification,” Eriksen said.
“The main thing starts with the 03b sidepods, which are a lot lower than the 04b sidepods were,” Eriksen continued. “It means everything that connects with it needs to be revised to flow continuously. It’s hard to tell, but the lower deck has resulted in a big portion of the engine cover changing, and it has to blend into the front and rear fenders so there’s a new rear fender profile. The rear portion of the front fender from the wheel centerline back is also different. And they’ve changed to a 03b style mirror, which was well received.” (revised car is on the right of the two cars shown here)
Along with changing the sidepods and modifying all of the bodywork that interacts with them, the ARX-04b’s splitter and nose section have also been revised. In fact, most of the surfaces on the ARX-04b, barring the monocoque and diffuser section, have undergone some form of aero optimisation.
“The hammerhead, the forward portion, is shortened for improved airflow across the splitter,” Eriksen added. “And there was some rework to the splitter that occurred. And because we’ve gone to the 03b sidepods, the car now uses the actual 03b cooling system that also makes the system more efficient.” (New car is top pic below, old spec lower pic)
Eriksen says HPD has one complete 2016-spec ARX-04b ready to run, and will convert the second car from its Pikes Peak configuration to the new bodywork when a customer emerges. Enough parts and pieces have been produced to build a third ARX-04b, as well, and the car is eligible to race in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class for the next two years.
“It’s a little bit late to expect the car to race at Daytona, but we could deliver the car if someone wanted it,” Eriksen remarked. “The next race at Sebring’s a more likely possibility; there’s an open test there in February and people would have more time to prepare. It’s legal to run next year and in 2017, too, for anyone interested.”
