New squarer tyres for 2012 by Pirelli

[italian]

Today Pirelli has presented his tyres for the new season: http://www.pirelli.com/corporate/en/pre ... ne-season/
They are more squarer: what effects can they have on the aerodynamic of the car?

[Jersey Tom]

Are we more concerned about the aerodynamics of a revised mold shape... or the performance of the tires themselves?

[italian]

We are more concerned about the aerodynamics of a revised mold shape.

[Giblet]

Today Pirelli has presented his tyres for the new season: http://www.pirelli.com/corporate/en/pre ... ne-season/
They are more squarer: what effects can they have on the aerodynamic of the car?

Slim to none. It's not like when Mclaren switched from the square Michelins where they had years of data and finely tuned aero models of the tires, and had to suddenly adapt.

Everyone is in the same boat, and the change is not that large.

The increased grip and gradual reduction of grip were the key talking points, as that will be what the drivers need to get on top of.

They also have completely reworked the wet and inters.

[Giblet]

We are more concerned about the aerodynamics of a revised mold shape.

It will have the least effect on the performance and matters very little. Its the same for everyone. The new compounds will matter to the point that we will be able to tell which drivers get on better with the new grip and wear.

The shape of the tires will have no discernible difference to the viewers.

[shelly]

We are more concerned about the aerodynamics of a revised mold shape.

It will have the least effect on the performance and matters very little. Its the same for everyone. The new compounds will matter to the point that we will be able to tell which drivers get on better with the new grip and wear.

The shape of the tires will have no discernible difference to the viewers.

The shape of the shulder fo the tyre as a big aero effect I agree with italian on that.

[italian]

We are more concerned about the aerodynamics of a revised mold shape.

It will have the least effect on the performance and matters very little. Its the same for everyone. The new compounds will matter to the point that we will be able to tell which drivers get on better with the new grip and wear.

The shape of the tires will have no discernible difference to the viewers.

Understood. Thanks.
I've made this question because Pirelli's given to the teams tyres models for wind-tunnel so I thought the change on the aerodynamic of the car would have been more important.

[raymondu999]

I would think the compound and construction in terms of their dynamics and the way they move would be much more important.

[Ozan]

Pirelli will supply softer tyres in 2012 in a bid to further improve the standard of racing in Formula 1.

The tyre manufacturer revealed its 2012 F1 tyre range on Wednesday, including new soft, medium and hard tyre compounds. The super-soft compound remains unchanged, but all four dry-weather tyres will have a different construction in 2012 with a squarer profile.

Pirelli will also introduce a new wet-weather tyre. The intermediate tyre remains unchanged but the colours used to distinguish them will be revised – the intermediate tyre now has green colouring and the wet-weather tyre uses blue.

The dry-weather tyres will retain their 2011 colouring: red for super-soft, yellow for soft, white for medium and silver for hard.

According to Pirelli the banning of exhaust-blown diffusers has influenced their choice of tyres for 2012: “This new measure, which should result in a reduction of aerodynamic downforce acting on each tyre, requires a wider and more even contact patch.

“This objective has been met by having a less rounded shoulder on each tyre and using softer compounds, which produce better grip and more extreme performance.”

Pirelli added they intend to reduce the performance gap between the compounds from the 1.2-1.8 seconds seen last year to 0.6-0.8 seconds.

The new tyres will make their first appearance at the start of F1 testing at Jerez on February 7th.

Pirelli president and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera said: “After the positive experience of last year, the teams asked us to continue providing tyres with the characteristics that contributed to spectacular races in 2011.

“And this is what we have done, optimising the compounds and profiles in order to guarantee even better and more stable performance, combined with the deliberate degradation that characterised the P Zero range from 2011.

“We’re expecting unpredictable races, with a wide range of strategies and a number of pit stops: all factors that both competitors and spectators greatly enjoyed last year. The development work on the new compounds took place throughout the 2011 season, thanks to the impressive learning curve and reaction times from our engineers, who are ready to continue those evolutions during the season ahead.”

Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/01/25/p ... ours-2012/

I think the time gap's reduction between the compounds will make strategy abundant races.

[Ozan]

[neilbah]

if the profile is more square, would this make the use of camber outside the design limit more detrimental?

[NonNewtonic]

if the profile is more square, would this make the use of camber outside the design limit more detrimental?

Yes indeed a more square profile tyre will push the engineers to run more camber to gain maximum grip which increase the risk of blistering

[NonNewtonic]

One thing about the tyres is even though its a new set of tyre the surface seems more dusty in the race compared to the one we see now

[italian]

if the profile is more square, would this make the use of camber outside the design limit more detrimental?

Edit: NonNewtonic faster than me

[PNSD]

Did not Renault cite one of the reasons they lost performance from 2007 onwards was because of incorrect wind tunnel calibration, and CFD modelling relating to the change in profile from Michelin to Bridgestone? It was a problem which took years to sort they said.