Why leave stickers on tyres

[K.D.]

Hi All

I must admit that I read these forum with great intrest and respect, ´cause its filled with so much good info.
Thanks for that.

Meanwhile I was just wondering the other day (while at Hungaro ring) why all the teams leave the stickers on there new tyres, surely there cant be any point in doing that ?
Does anybody know any different ?
They must disregarding the low weight cause some form for unbalance in the tyre.

[flynfrog]

there is no reason to the sicker wont stay on for long though

but this is where the term sticker tires comes form meaing new tires

[Tom]

Haven't heard that phase before, but its probably me. The stickers make no difference to the weight, esspecially as they will be gone within 2 corners. I considered that they might have marginal affect on grip if drivers were unlucky enough to brake on top of them, probably not though as the stickers will wear away within milli seconds. I think the merchanics are just not bothering to remove them anymore, I haven't noticed them before 2006 though.

[Ted68]

Why pay a crew member to sit there and peel them off when they won't last a quarter of a lap? Spend your workforce dollars on tasks that will have an effect on performance, organization or support.

(That way the boss can sit in his office and play BATracer and read F1T!)

[DaveKillens]

I wonder what the stickers are constructed of. Many would assume they might resemble what we see in the commercial world, heavy paper with a plastic coating on the outside. But maybe the stickers are of a flimsier paper, with no protective covering.
If they really had a negative effect, I'm sure the teams would remove them before mounting and balancing the tires. But it's probably in the best interests to have the stickers on, with the tire data readily available. If they were removed, and someone wished to check specifications before use, they would have to read the manufacturing code on the side of the tire, then consult the notes. That could lead to a delay of some very important time.

[Ted68]

When I was at Saleen in the late 80's early 90's, a few of us Mustang guys got to hang out in the pits at Laguna and Long Beach when Steve Saleen was running his Indy car--staying out of the way, of course. Goodyear would deliver the tires, they would then be mounted and stacked according to type/compound. There weren't that many variations. Wet/dry, soft/hard. It's the used tires that got the attention. Checked out and marked and sorted as soon as they came off the car. New tires were treated fairly unceremoniously. Most teams didn't like to use 'stickers' during a race. They preferred to run them during practice to find any defects as they were hand made, considering heat cycling as the final stage of production, marrying the carcass to the tread to help avoid blisters. Alot has changed in 15 years, but I bet that most of this is still reasonably accurate.

[mep]

I haven't seen them for long time.
Now some teams brush there tyres so there are no stickers anymore.

[manchild]

I can't explain but I find that to be cool .. car rolling out, accelerating and as someone alredy wrote - in next corner they are completely gone.

[Ciro Pabón]

Well, I know you have "sticker tires" and "scuffed tires": when they have the stickers on, you know they have not been scuffed.

Scuffed tires last more, because you heat them, remove them from the car and store them. The properties of the rubber change during this heating cycle. But you know all that.

Simply, there is no way you are going to confuse the scuffed tires with the sticker tires if you let the stickers on.

As pointed out, this stickers disintegrate in the first couple of curves, when the change in "stick" caused by them is minimal compared to the problems caused because the tires are cool.

Why take the stickers out and risk putting the wrong tire on? I suppose mechanics keep their sets carefully stacked and labeled somehow, but it does not hurt to have a way to distinguish them. After all, there are tire mechanics that forget to tighten some wheels...

Besides, you can scare the competition, because they know for sure you have new tires for the stint...

But my main contribution could be this: the 2006 (and 2008) sporting regulations states in its article 76 the following:

76) Control of tyres :
a) The outer sidewall of all tyres which are to be used at an Event must be marked with a unique identification.
....
e) The use of tyres without appropriate identification may result in deletion of the relevant driver’s qualifying time or exclusion from the race.

I really do not know if the stickers are part of the "unique identification" asked for in the rules. If they are, you cannot remove them by law.

A question: does anybody knows what kind of counterweights F1 cars use to balance the tires? Not that I think a sticker changes the balance by much, but I've never taken a second look to the rim. Where are the counterweights? Are they used at all? If not, what do they do?

[DaveKillens]

A question: does anybody knows what kind of counterweights F1 cars use to balance the tires? Not that I think a sticker changes the balance by much, but I've never taken a second look to the rim. Where are the counterweights? Are they used at all? If not, what do they do?

When designed, the rims, valve stem, and tires are manufactured so that when assembled they create a natural balance. Errors can happen, and all tire assemblies are balanced. They use a lead weight with an adhesive on one side to firmly attach the balance weight to the rim. A special machine holds the wheel/tire assembly, and spins it, while recording the amount and direction of imbalance. A technician then reads the data, and attaches the weights to give the assembly as good balance as reasonable. This chore is done by the tire technicians immediately after mounting the rim, and before turning the wheel assembly over to the team representative.

http://www.f1racing.net/en/photolarge.p ... =1105-1844
In the picture posted, the weights can be observed on some of the tire rims. They are flat and lay along the inside of the alloy rim.

Wheel balance 101.
Most of us are aware that an assembled tire and rim could have one side slightly heavier than the other. Usually this is of a low order, but considering the revolutions a wheel experiences, this unbalance could generate severe vibration, leading to parts failure, handling problems, and making the driver very uncomfortable. If a driver experiences severe vibration, they could experience fatigue, distraction, physical damage, and even having their eyes vibrate so much they cannot see properly. So this is an important issue that must be addressed. Wheel balance is important.
Most of us are familar with the concept that if one side is heavier than the other, a balance weight of the appropriate mass is attached to the lighter side. But since a Formula One wheel can be as much as 460mm wide (FIA regulation 12.4.1) dynamic balancing has to be done.
Imagine a wheel assembly that has one side of the outer rim heavier by ten grams, and the opposite (180 degrees by the axle centerline), but inside of the rim heavier by ten grams. If you stuck an axle on it and allowed it to sit there, it would seem to have balance. But if you spun it very quickly, there would be severe imbalance side to side. This is what dynamic balancing does.

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/features/intro.cfm

As a side note, the same laws of physics apply to road cars, so I strongly suggest that you make sure the wheel is properly attached to your car, that it is in good condition, air pressures are regularly checked, and the assembly has been dynamically balanced.

[sticker-paper]

The self-adhesive material used in tire appliques is generally bright silver dragon. Requires special 5A glue for tires, bright silver PET. Bright milky white PET is also available.
If they really had a negative effect, I'm sure the teams would remove them before mounting and balancing the tires. But it's probably in the best interests to have the stickers on, with the tire data readily available. If they were removed, and someone wished to check specifications before use, they would have to read the manufacturing code on the side of the tire, then consult the notes.