Wheels
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Could wheels like these be developed to be strong enough for an F1 car?
I’m not sure if they would ever take, its interesting to discuss something like this out of left field, good topic…
There would be a number of obstacles to overcome. 1) Racing Tyres get extremely hot, to the point where they would have to ensure the polymer wheel rim wouldn’t lose integrity and warp to such a degree where it would collapse or non-circular. 2) F1 cars currently rely hugely on the the tyres currently for setting ride height, to the point where they add pressure or reduce it to raise or lower the ride height. 3) Just to lighten the mood somewhat, how would these tyres help Hamilton and Massa from running into each other? :P
cheers,
DragollI am also not sure that at present they could take the temps or be strong enough. But I do know that the F1 designers would take your arm off if you offered a safe way to reduce the unsprung weight by 100gm at each corner.
Sorry dragoll didn’t answer your question. Obviously Massa couldn’t use them as they would break up when smashed into orange painted concrete, so Ham would be much quicker and could break later.
Ultimately it’ll come down to a matter of weight and whether that type of wheel could undergo the forces and temperatures required of an F1 Wheel. The current F1 wheels are extremely light already, I think it is the Tyre that is the weightier component of the combination.
F1 is looking at going for lower profile tyres and larger diameter wheels in the not to distant future anyway so looking forward the issues of ride height etc. could be solved anyway.
Who knows what the future brings – Interesting though, cheers for the post :)
Interesting idea. I think the problem would be more the brake temps. than the tyres.
They reach monstrous temperatures & I think the wheel nearly wraps around them.
On the larger diam. wheels & lower profile tyres, as the tyres at present are about half of the total suspension travel, they will have to build more compliance into the suspension itself or run the cars stiffer. They also tend to soften the suspension for wet running, even if it is only the roll bars.On the topic of wheels (sorry not sure if this has been discussed anywhere in other threads), but has Keith ever done an article on the history of F1 wheels?
I just recently bought a set of Advanti Racing rims, and they apparently supply Toro Rosso with wheels.
It got me thinking, of how in the old days the wheels were so open, and you could see that awesome glowing red break disk as they braked hard. Then the wheel covers came along and we didn’t get to see it any more. But now even without the covers, the wheels now seem to be not as open, therefore not showing much of the disk. Can’t remember the last time I saw glowing break disks?I think this is a viable lightweight alternative to normal roadcar rims. But are they actually lighter than carbonfiber or magnesium wheels?
Of course they will be cheaper, and appearently very durable. Thermoplastic-polymer composite is the exact same thing as Boeing uses for their new 787 Dreamliner. Probably not the exact same types, but still research in plastics as construction materials have been very good, and we now see the fruits. Who knows, it might find way to the smaller racing series such as Formula Ford or Formula 3.
Another concept for wheels and tyres has crossed my desk this week. The link is http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost.aspx?post=5a51c788-4262-4e37-81c3-51f27dd3ee4a
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