2011 18" tyres...

[Jersey Tom]

Yea.. except that Pirelli race tires are garbage.

[WhiteBlue]

Yea.. except that Pirelli race tires are garbage.

Sure, and which are not?

[Jersey Tom]

Yea.. except that Pirelli race tires are garbage.

Sure, and which are not?

Bridgestone / Firestone... Michelin / Goodrich... and Goodyear / Dunlop all make good products, both in racing and for consumers. Pros and cons to each and the services they provide.

Some folks seem to think Michelin make godly products, which just isn't the case. On the average they're no better or worse than the other two tire "families." They have some good stuff, and some trainwrecks.

Pirellis are an abomination.

[hecti]

Yea.. except that Pirelli race tires are garbage.

I thought they had some good stuff....

[Ian P.]

Yea.. except that Pirelli race tires are garbage.

I thought they had some good stuff....



You must be thinking about their Calenders. Can only imagine why.

[WilliamsF1]

What happens to wishbone geometry in case of an 18 inch Wheel? Will we be seeing extreme slope angles on the wishbone? top and bottom wishbone not being parallel?

[Jersey Tom]

What happens to wishbone geometry in case of an 18 inch Wheel? Will we be seeing extreme slope angles on the wishbone? top and bottom wishbone not being parallel?

Why would they be?

Though it seems for some time now a lot of cars have had pretty substantial control arm slope.

[WhiteBlue]

Pirellis are an abomination.

I think the two years since you posted that opinion have proven you wrong. Pirelli have delivered what they were commissioned to do. That seems to be the general consensus. Whether the brief is a good one remains open to judgement.

Regarding the 18 inch wheels we can safely assume that they have been shot down by the teams or they would have featured in the 2014 technical regulations that have been updated already once. I reckon 18 inches are still on the Christmas list but politically unrealistic atm.

[rssh]

Realistically 18 inch rim cannot be applied to the current crop of F1 cars because half the softness is due to the bigger side wall tyres . Also in 2010 it was a rumour that FIA would implement 17 inch rims for the 2013 season (which is now postponed to 2014) but the team were of the opinion that 15 inch should be the fair next step . Considering how manufacturers converted I4 engines to V6 after negotiation from FIA I think teams can negotiate this as well . Overall the tyre diameter would be constant to the current rules though.

[Jersey Tom]

Pirellis are an abomination.

I think the two years since you posted that opinion have proven you wrong. Pirelli have delivered what they were commissioned to do. That seems to be the general consensus.

Couldn't disagree more. And beyond that I'm fairly certain I've gone over this whole "but.. but.. they're just doing what they were told!" thing before and how it's a crock.

In any event, how and why did the 18" (or any larger wheel size) discussion come back up?

[GSpeedR]

Realistically 18 inch rim cannot be applied to the current crop of F1 cars because half the softness is due to the bigger side wall tyres . Also in 2010 it was a rumour that FIA would implement 17 inch rims for the 2013 season (which is now postponed to 2014) but the team were of the opinion that 15 inch should be the fair next step . Considering how manufacturers converted I4 engines to V6 after negotiation from FIA I think teams can negotiate this as well . Overall the tyre diameter would be constant to the current rules though.

I think every F1 team should welcome tires that are more vertically stiff, which would allow them to reduce the ratio of suspension/tire stiffness (avoid tire-body modes) and still retain a stable platform to appease the aero gods. That's not saying the teams want to trash the years of work/experience with soft tires, as there would be a significant amount of development.

[rssh]

Realistically 18 inch rim cannot be applied to the current crop of F1 cars because half the softness is due to the bigger side wall tyres . Also in 2010 it was a rumour that FIA would implement 17 inch rims for the 2013 season (which is now postponed to 2014) but the team were of the opinion that 15 inch should be the fair next step . Considering how manufacturers converted I4 engines to V6 after negotiation from FIA I think teams can negotiate this as well . Overall the tyre diameter would be constant to the current rules though.

I think every F1 team should welcome tires that are more vertically stiff, which would allow them to reduce the ratio of suspension/tire stiffness (avoid tire-body modes) and still retain a stable platform to appease the aero gods. That's not saying the teams want to trash the years of work/experience with soft tires, as there would be a significant amount of development.

Your point is a valid (as can be seen from the active suspension from early ninety's Williams 1992-93 season were computer kept the car always at the same height in acceleration and braking) but in current crop of F1 cars half the bump absorption is done by the tyres (side wall) and if they increase the rim size then engineer will need to compensate for softer springs because a stiff car has a fidgety handling on bumpy race tracks and can cause wheel lock up easily under braking . Also the wishbone are aerodynamically shaped and with softer springs they will move more and hence upsetting the airflow to the sidepods.

[ESPImperium]

Last I heard the rims will be changed in 2015/2016 to 15" or 16" from the present 13.3" rims. They won't feature in 2014 due to the tech already streaching the teams. However Pirelli are looking to negotiate this into the new 3 or 5 year deal starting in 2014.