Pirelli will take Bridgestone's place after 2010

[zorog]

Avons on a Super Aguri

[WhiteBlue]

Huge scam or dumb idea either way.

Pirelli said in an interview they prefer 18 inch.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83373

Q. The teams seem to be quite reluctant to jump straight away to 18-inch tyres for next season, because of the costs that will entail - so there is talk of perhaps a transition period. Is that something Pirelli would be open to?

MI: It is an option. I know the teams would prefer to stay on 13-inch tyres, at least in order to have a period top be able to develop the car to the 18-inch tyre. It is a big change and I can imagine they would have to work a lot on the mechanical aspects of the car. The 18-inch tyre is much more interesting for us because it is very close to a road tyre, compared to the 13-inch tyre which nobody uses at the moment.

[Belatti]

Q. The teams seem to be quite reluctant to jump straight away to 18-inch tyres for next season, because of the costs that will entail - so there is talk of perhaps a transition period. Is that something Pirelli would be open to?

MI: It is an option. I know the teams would prefer to stay on 13-inch tyres, at least in order to have a period top be able to develop the car to the 18-inch tyre. It is a big change and I can imagine they would have to work a lot on the mechanical aspects of the car. The 18-inch tyre is much more interesting for us because it is very close to a road tyre, compared to the 13-inch tyre which nobody uses at the moment.

The 18-inch tyre may be used a lot in magic wondersupercarsland there, but here in the curel real world (South America) 90% of the cars have 14 or 15 inch tyres and smaller cars still use 13-inch.

EDITED: J TOM posted exactly my opinion about this in page 14.

[WhiteBlue]

We know from the Michelin market analysis which I commented in the 18 inch thread that 15 inch wheels are the biggest market segment but the 18 inch and bigger are the hottest growth segment with the best margins.

viewtopic.php?p=162050#p162050

The poll here on F1technical also showed that the forumers preferred the bigger wheels for the cooler design they provide.

[Jon]

A large portion of the world uses 13-15" tires on consumer vehicles. Expensive sportscars on 18, 19, and 20" wheels are a tiny sliver of the market (though they do get a lot of attention). Of course, that's not particularly important anyway since there's absolutely no f'ing reason that race cars have to be remotely similar to road cars. Beyond that, there's absolutely nothing more "high tech" or "advanced" about an 18" tire compared to 15" or 13".

Standing ovation to you sir: =D> =D>

The poll here on F1technical also showed that the forumers preferred the bigger wheels for the cooler design they provide.

What?!?!? Really? This happened? In a technical forum? Geez...how the mighty have fallen...

Where's the smiley for the "hanging head in shame"??

[Belatti]

Can someone tell me what would be the difference in rotational inertia between the 13 and 18 inch rim+tyres

[WhiteBlue]

The inertial moment would be significantly higher like at least 50% more. But the suspension would be much more controlled because the properties of the wheel/tyre would be much simpler. Today's tyres are almost impossible to understand/model for the engineers.

[xpensive]

Can anyone say for certain that 18" will not change total wheel diameter?

[Jersey Tom]

The inertial moment would be significantly higher like at least 50% more. But the suspension would be much more controlled because the properties of the wheel/tyre would be much simpler.

Total BS. Tire "properties" will be no less involved or complicated.

Today's tyres are almost impossible to understand/model for the engineers.

No more so than any other tire on earth.

Can anyone say for certain that 18" will not change total wheel diameter?

18" is the wheel diameter.

[mx_tifoso]

I thing Xpensive means the tyre tread diameter?

[xpensive]

You know what I mean JT, the total diameter of the entire wheel, do I have to draw you a picture?

[Jersey Tom]

Wheels are metal. Tires are rubber. As for the TIRE diameter, not sure how much they'll change it.

[Steven]

I was under the impression that wheel diameter would remain unchanged anyway. I don't see any point in changing that as well.

Anyway, I expect an announcement the week after the Turkish GP, probably just to confirm Pirelli 13 inchers. I'm happy with Pirelli anyway, because I run them on my car (not that it matters though)

[autogyro]

Wheels are metal. Tires are rubber. As for the TIRE diameter, not sure how much they'll change it.

I have been told on another thread that I invented it so I am saying it is a metal 'wheel' and it has only been suggested that it will be 18 inches inches in diameter.
Tyre is the rubber thing that goes on it and the size of that is as yet unknown.

[WhiteBlue]

Can anyone say for certain that 18" will not change total wheel diameter?

we covered that subject already in the 18 inch thread:

Can anyone xplain how much the total wheel diameter would xpand with 18" rims?

My understanding is that tyre diameter would not change from the current dimensions, which is 660 mm for dry and 670 mm for wet tyres. Rim diameter is currently:

- the tyre mounting widths are 12” (304.8mm +/-0.5mm) front; 13.7” (348.0mm +/-0.5mm) rear
- the wheel lip thickness is 9mm (+/-1mm)
- the outer lip diameter is 358mm (+/-1mm)

Wheel rim diameter would be 25.4 mm x 18= 458 mm
Tyre section height would be 102 mm
Front profile aspect would be 102/304.8=34%
Rear profile aspect would be 102/348.0=29%

LeMans LMP1:
33/68-18 front: 330 mm section width, 680 mm outer diameter, 111 mm section height, 34% profile aspect
37/71-18 rear: 370 mm section width, 710 mm outer diameter, 126 mm section height, 34% profile aspect

A comparison with the LMP1 tyre shows that the profile aspect is identical for the front tyre and lower for the rear tyre. LMP1 tyres are made for 750 km stints with heavier cars while F1 tyres have a maximum of 300 km stints with lower weight but higher over all performance. I don't think they would make much changes to the tyre size.