Poll Big Rims be Bling Blinging

18 inch wheels in F1?


  • Total voters
    19

Greenlantern101

Super Hero And All Round Good Guy
Contributor
Pirrelli are running 18 inch rims on Wednesday's test at Silverstone and have just released some CGI images of what they will look like.

As I understand it 18 inch rims will make the tyres easier to manufacture and more reliable. As well as making them more relevant to road cars. It will mean possibly significant changes to suspension if this test goes well. If it does go ahead it won't come in until 2017.

What what do we think. Is it worth whilst technically ? Does it look better ?

http://www.pirelli.com/corporate/en...o-rendering-of-pirellis-18-inch-concept-tyre/

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I'll wait till tomorrow. It's hard to really tell anything from those images because there's no context and the angles are a bit mad.
 
F1 sponsored by Ripspeed. Up next leapard skin seat covers and LED lights under the car.

Personally, from a technical perspective I like it. It makes the car more predictable, and the suspension more controllable, but this would only make sense in terms of road technology if the teams were allowed to pursue active suspension/ride height etc, otherwise, road car technology is currently way ahead in this area.
 
They can fit bigger brakes now. They reduced the size of the brakes because the harvesting unit is doing a lot of the work with the current regulations.
 
It's difficult to say from the mock-ups but it doesn't look like it will make very much difference to the appearance of the cars to me.
 
Combined with today's stiff suspensions these wheels would make riding over any kerb or bumps a very back-breaking business indeed.
 
Barking up the wrong tree, there's no bling involved. From memory 13" rims were mandated back in the day to make them 'relevant to road cars,' heard that one before... Well what was the last car anyone bought with 13" hobnobs for wheels and tyre profiles the size of your face?

Its about time this long promised change was implemented. I think there was talk that due to the complete redesign required on the suspension (about 50% of the current cars travel is in the side wall of the tyre and completely uncontrollable by the teams beyond small variations in tyre pressure), they would wait until the teams had got their heads round the 2014 changes...
 
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