256 Technical Regulations

The 256 Technical Regulations were the fifth major iteration of the Formula Lego Technical Regulations. They were the final set of Regulations to be implemented by the EotLP GP Commission, before it's transition to the WFL Commission.

Aerodynamic Changes

The main visible differences between the S9-12 Cars and the S13 cars was the size. From a previous size allowance of 8.5 x 22 x 6.5 Studs, the S13 cars were reduced to 8.5 x 20 x 5.5.

The above-wheel aerodynamic devices that had become popular from Season 9 onwards (Most notably the Octan Bubbles on the S9 Octan OE34P22) were limited in size to a negligible size. However, no stipulations were made that aero devices couldn't be mounted on parts of the suspension and simply rest against the body of the car - where they were now banned from being mounted.

Any kind of addition to the structure of the HALO System (such as National had on their S13 Entry) were also banned, but the rules on their mounting were left more open than they had been before.

Power Unit Changes

The Power Unit Changes for 255 were mainly aimed at parity with variety. to do this, a large part of the additions were simply clarifications on the requirements for different spec engines: most notably, the definition of "effective engine volume", which related engine power to various measurements that might be found on different engine styles (engine volume for traditional ICEs, a different engine volume for Wankel Engines, power consumption for electric motors, etc.). These changes allowed for more variety in engine design to be competitive with one another.

For piston-driven ICEs, several parts (most notable, Piston O-rings) were standardized across all teams. For Wankel Engines (of which only Octan ran one), the gear directly attached to the rotor was specified as a standard part. Heat Energy Recovery Systems (HERS) were also freed up slightly, allowing more variety in placement and method of recovery across teams.

The intake manifold specifications were also changed drastically, to a wildly different size, that changed the air intake capabilities of the vehicles.

Later Updates

After Season 13 got started, several notable loopholes to the rules were discovered by several teams, and banned for Season 14 onwards.

Aero Devices were forbidden from being attached to the wheels, or in front of the wheels if they affected airflow over the wheels and wheel-wells by more than a certain threshold of performance. This was a response to Windsor & Dragon's ingenious aero devices that they used to increase grip and decrease degradation over the wheels.

any Aero devices that might impair the drivers view were banned, as a response to the Erit Safety System's unnecessarily large, and hugely visibility-limiting cockpit-debris protectors.

All Aero infractions were also redefined to constitute potential disqualification, rather than a fine - as Erit and Osborne had blatantly violated aero rules for several seasons now, and had merely been fined, despite the problems their Aero may have caused for their own drivers and others.

Sidepods were also re-defined to have a maximum distance from the steering-wheel mounting point of 3 studs to the front. This was a pre-emptive measure taken to make sure that teams would not try to use sidepod extensions to achieve what had been banned with over-wheel aero changes