Does Body Damage Matter

[NateFink 62]

On My H1 and H2 cars I have stopped repairing body damage, and I have not noticed any performance drop.

 

Other than broken windows and mirrors is there any downside to this?  It is not about the money.

[Johnnnn 184]

Good question. It should be less aerodynamic (lower speed, less downforce, etc.). I always thought my car would explode so I rather invested into it 😄

[Dytut 89]

It's generally cosmetic, don't think it impacts performance noticeably. Most cars in DR2 don't have that much aero on them, so body damage wouldn't hurt that much anyways.

Of the body damage that would impact performance, I'd say the rear wing should be most noticeable. Especially on group B cars. Haven't really tried damaging it just to see if something happens with the aero.

Other than that, it's mostly front dive planes and maybe diffusers that could do a bit of difference.

But I haven't really tried to make comparisons of how much of an impact it has. I think it's a good idea to repair as the body protects the inner workings of the car.

[dani211212 328]

I like to drive damaged (just body) and dirt (not cleaned) Car myself, but the only thing i notice, i get much easier puncture, and if i Crash again, other part get sooner bad, didnt notice any other Car behavior (less top speed,  or any other negative effect)

[Mike Dee 1,248]

Worst thing I can think of (aside from cracked windshields) is if the body damage might cause some of the panels to drag on the ground. That itself I don't think will hurt you too much, but it will definitely make it easier for those panels to "catch" those hard-as-cement white/orange pylons in Australia which can cause a world of hurt.

Overall though it shouldn't do much to actually slow you down by itself. If you can manage a clean run with the damage I doubt you'd see more than a few seconds slower if that on a stage.

[ApexAzimuth 57]

From my experience and testing it a little, I don't think body damage has any performance impact.  However, your car is more likely to take mechanical damage or get punctures when the body isn't repaired. 

[ianism 1,316]

3 hours ago, ApexAzimuth said:

From my experience and testing it a little, I don't think body damage has any performance impact.  However, your car is more likely to take mechanical damage or get punctures when the body isn't repaired. 

yep, this is my experience too.

[bn880 530]

No performance impact that I noticed from body damage with data logging,  just easier to get other mechanical damage as was mentioned.