Managing Tire Temperatures

[izzy]

You don't want necessarily the maximum amount of heat you technically could achieve, to actually go through the rim. You only have to bring the tyre in the right temperature window and keep it there.
Also you have to consider that over the width of the rim there's quite a big temperature gradient going on. At the very inside and outside of the rim you actually lose some heat because there's relative cool air flowing by.
If i remember correctly the first iteration of the Merc rims with the "improved heat managment" just had a "diamond cut pattern" around in the area where the brake disc were located
http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/wp-content/up ... _rim-s.jpg
Not sure if the picture shows a Merc rim, but that's basically what it looked like.

yes i know what you mean, BUT... why would they do one side and not the other? it doesn't make any sense. If they wanted to transfer heat through that layer they'd at least have roughed up the surface a bit on the tyre side

this is why i said it's disinformation and not really about heat at all, it's about the aero. The cake tin is probably quite hot and so why would they want to make the rim near it soak up more heat? when on the other side, they're actually minimising the transfer. Or vice-versa, if they wanted to flow heat out of the tyre

[Tim.Wright]

Doesn't it give a negative effect on top speeds as well?

I wouldn't think so. The toe-angle is so small that the tyre lateral force projects such a negligibly small drag force onto the car. As far as parasitic longitudinal forces from slip angles, this also seems to be pretty negligible at least on road car tyres.

[Dex35]

Yes, it is all about achieving the proper thermal balance. Several years ago McLaren had pit-stop adjustable baffles on their brake "cake tins". They were located up high, just behind the roll-over hoop. There were 2; probably front and rear (rather than left/right).

[roon]

Riding the brakes (brake application + throttle application) might be employed. If heat is needed rather than cooling. Set the ducting up to work with this--cool air ducting always available, but continuous (no variable bodywork). Brake heating is variable, though, and potentially available at times outside of corner entry.