Ferrari Mailing List: Re: 18 inches

[Doug & Terri (dnt]

Someone put on a great You Tube about land speed record assault Sonic II.  The driver was talking about it.  When they set a record at 650+ mph he was describing the slowdown procedure.  “ . . . . when the time came to pop the chutes, I was hit with 6 g’s of negative force.  My ear fluids went forward with such force that it turned my world upside down – well nearly – I felt as if I were in a dive straight down.  When I described that to some of the other high speed drivers they were quite casual – oh yeah – the vertical dive syndrome.”  I never thot of that.

 

DOUG

 

From: Ferrari [mailto:ferrari-bounces+dnt=dock.net [at] ferrarilist.com] On Behalf Of Rick Moseley
Sent: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 7:23 AM
To: DOUG
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] 18 inches

 

There is actually an F1 technology paper that was commissioned some years ago (10?) regarding 13" wheels and the prospect of increasing this size and the impact of larger brakes.  Bottom line was that at the current brake technology was already pushing the boundary of what the human eyeball can withstand.  The fear was that allowing a larger wheel and brake combo could have permanent detrimental effects on driver vision.  Was it Kenny Bernstein who had to quit drag racing because repeated hard launches were causing detached retinas??  Sort of the same issue in reverse.   We had guy in my squadron removed from flight status permanently because of blood spatter and detached retina suffered from carrier landings.   Race cars (and fighter jets) are a harsh environment, eyes are delicate.     

 

Hence the 13 inch wheel is not a technology hold back but a driver safety issue.  

 

Rick

 

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From: Rick Lindsay <richardolindsay [at] gmail.com>
To: Rick Moseley <ramosel [at] pacbell.net>
Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 4:55 AM
Subject: [Ferrari] 18 inches

 

Hey Friends, 

 

Warning: F1 content!

 

Just had a look at the Lotus with 18" wheels and low profile tires. I haven't heard anything about performance but they make this year's arguably ugly car look better.

 

We all know that tires are more than grip. They're also an adjustable part of the suspension. For exampke, 13" wheels with higher profile tires are necessarily bigger 'springs'. Suspension changes will be required. Pondering: Is the suspension more controllable with stiffer tires, or are large profile tires more forgiving of setup?

 

Another issue of concern with low profile tires is increased potential for wheel damage. I can imagine that curb hopping would have to be avoided. Sebastian might even have to stay on the track when attempting overtaking.

 

On the plus side is that bigger wheels allow for bigger brakes. And bigger brakes with more surface contact area, run cooler.

 

Then again, this is F1 so any modern technology or competitive advantage is soon declared 'illegal' so we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the future years' formula.

 

-rick

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