6 replies to this topic

[kayemod]

A quick question, with no doubt a fairly simple answer, but the exhausts on this 93 Alfa 155 DTM interested me at this year's FoS, don't think I've seen anything quite like them before.



Why were they made that shape, and was there some obscure DTM regulation that required them, assuming of course that the cars actually raced like this. They look a little restrictive, and while I'm sure there's no connection, the driver had one heck of a problem firing the car up, and keeping it running long enough to exit the Cathedral Paddock, I was beginning to think he'd never make it. I should really have posted this on The Tech Forum, but I've put it here in the hope that I might be able to understand any answers that emerge, so any not too technical explanations?

[garyfrogeye]

Could it be some kind of aerodynamic aid to reduce drag or something?

[Ralf Pickel]

Just a few ideas I seem to remember from that DTM period.
They did have a strict noise limit of 100 dB ( measured somewhere from behind the exhaust) at the time.
I also do somehow remember some talk at the time, that the exhaust setup on the Alfas did help with the rear downforce (exhaust gases).
And - the cars at that time in the DTM were highly complicated - it was stated, that for exmaple Opel did require 16 people to fire up the Calibras raced at the time.

Of course, though this period is not too long gone, my remeberance might still be total bo.....s....

[arttidesco]

I always wondered about those exhausts too, I recall that either or both Gran Tusismo 2 or 4 had this car in it with the same upward facing exhaust and I believe that was how they ran in the DTM, I can only imagine that the engineers were seeking some kind of aerodynamic advantage by doing this, perhaps they thought this arrangement might create a more advantageous cloud of hot air behind the car in order to suck more cold air out from under the car ?

[Ralf Pickel]

They defenitely did run like this.
Also, remember that also DTM cars before had slightly skyward angled exhausts, for example the M3 or the Audi V8. Not almost vertical like Alfa, but abot 35 - 40 deg.
This started zilions of aftermarket exhausts for boy racers, all called DTM-style.
Ther must have been some reason for this.
I still think that this might have something to do with he noise limit which was DTM self imposed very early in the series running.
It didn´t change the great induction noises of these cars of course ( also think M3 here ) !

[alfaronny]

They actually raced like that. I even remember a race at the Norisring, where the Mercedes "gangsters" tried to hit the exhausts under breaking, so that the Alfa's would be losing power.
It didn't help them in the championship though !!
Here you'll find quite some pics of the 155's
http://www.forum-aut...sujet377949.htm
Ronny

[Frank de Jong]

There was certainly no rule on this for the DTM (or class 1 as it was called) I guess they thought it might give a small advantage on downforce. As said, the exhausts were fragile and easy to hit by a competitor.