Tyre Wear.......

[DannyG]

Did anyone else notice the tyre wear at Melbourne, it appeared to me as though the grooves were virtually gone at the end of the race on some cars.
Looking at the lap times its obvious that the new tyres are consistant for the entire race, i wonder how much of the times were coming from tyre consistancy or is it that the wearing tyres are giving a larger contact area, effectivly becoming true slicks?

Isnt there a rule regarding the grooves having to still be there at the end of a race? Whats stopping the tyre manufacturers making the tyres so that they become slicks quickly giving more grip? Is it even possible?

I done a search for previous tyre related threads, none of them appeared to discuss this specific topic to much, so sorry if it has been discussed before.

[Kempi]

it appeared to me as though the grooves were virtually gone at the end of the race on some cars.

Especially with Michelins, that has always been the case, even in some 3stop races. It became most apparent when some team didn't change the fronts for the whole race or double stinted them. Actually, I was surprised how much of the groove was left on the Renaults.

[JeremySmith]

The tyres on the Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella looked in great shape.. There is a rule about how much visible tread must be left on the tyre at the end of the race...I am sure that one of our esteem members can fill us in on the details..

[Sodemo]

Is there?
Thats news to me!

I just thought the FIA left it vague with their stance that "F1 will take place on grooved tyres" or words to that effect...

[DannyG]

Yeh i was sure there was some type of rule that visible grooves must be showing, but as Kempi said last year they scrubbed the grooves off as well so who knows!
Most of the tyres this year at Melbourne still kind of had a grooved effect showing, although the grooves were all pushed/melted together effectivly making a slick.

[SetikX]

Originally Posted by The Monster

Is there?
Thats news to me!

I just thought the FIA left it vague with their stance that "F1 will take place on grooved tyres" or words to that effect...

There was last year, unless the regulations have changed - there is still a rule.

The rules specified the depth, and the width of the grooves which needed to fit the tyres. This rule was amended last year (or was it the year before, i think it was 03) when Michilin intepreted the rules as they were being measured before the GP - not after - that caused alot of controversy IIRC.

[Gt_R]

The rule was revised last year after Michelin tyres were found to be used in a way that the contact patch of the tyres grew bigger as the race goes on, effectively giving it a greater footprint for better grip. Bridgestone studied it and protested, and the FIA concurred that such an interpretation in against the intentions set by the rule, and although Michelin tried to appeal against the decision, they quickly adapted a new tyre knowing that there is little to argue against as the loophole is closed.

[Sodemo]

According to sources the actual increase in contact patch was in the region of 4mm.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by DannyG

Did anyone else notice the tyre wear at Melbourne, it appeared to me as though the grooves were virtually gone at the end of the race on some cars.

Really? I thought they all looked in great condition. Certainly no worse than we have seen in the past.

Also most drivers said their tyres lasted well. Lap times didn't increase or decrease with tyre wear, just fuel levels.

The rules changed (or clarified) near the end of 2003 were brought about due to an aspect other than grooves. That was about the shoulder wearing away and making the contact patch wider. It wasn't the grooves wearing - that wasn't the issue.

Monster mentioned the rule about grooves and this also hasn't changed over the off season. A quick look at the rules on the FIA website www.FIA.com shows that it is:

Originally Posted by sporting regs FIA

76) Wear of tyres :
The Championship will be contested on grooved tyres. The FIA reserve the right to introduce at any time a method of measuring remaining groove depth if performance appears to be enhanced by high wear or by the use of tyres which are worn so that the grooves are no longer visible.

So there isn't an issue there either.

Of course we move to hot Malaysia, which will probably be run in conditions much hotter than any of the winter testing that has taken place. However even if there are no grooves at the end then the thing to look for is stated in rule 76 and isn't the existance grooves as such.

[Adam43]

In addition you can check the scrutineering report for every GP on the FIA website. Here is the Australian GP report: http://www.fia.com/resources/documen..._Report_05.PDF

The tyres used by all drivers during the sessions today have been checked.
Fuel samples were taken from car numbers 06 and 14.
...
All car weights and the items checked were found to be in conformity with the 2005 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.

[pole2pole]

Do you ever get the feeling that at some point this season there is going to be another throw all toys out of the pram rows over the legality of the tyres

[Kicking-back]

I don't think there will be.

[Glen]

Tyres worn beyond grooves and down to the rubber that covers the carcass have far less grip because the final thin layer of rubber doesn't deform enough to generate heat.

I thought the tyres looked pretty good to me, and most cars seemed to make their fastest laps near the end.

[race aficionado]

Check these out . . . . . .

http://homepage.mac.com/emeseditoria...heater243.html

McLaren tyres australia 05

http://homepage.mac.com/emeseditoria...heater244.html

McLaren tyres australia 05

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by speed

They're doing a brilliant job
...the tyres aren't looking bad...
Yeah they look fine to me...

although they question the McLaren tyres. Which aren't too bad IMHO, although it aint a bad thing if they were going off a little

[djinvicta]

Can anyone enlighten me with the new tyre rule what happens if it rains during a race. I presume they can change to inters or wets, but when? Do the teams have a say when, or will it be declared a wet race somehow by flags or what? What happens if it stops raining; do they revert to the "old" grooved set they were using?

[Adam43]

Yes, basically.

Race control declares a wet race, but there is no need for flags as the rain will make it obvious. There is no chance of a race not being declared wet if they need to put rain tyres on.

The teams can change when they want and back when the want. They do have to return to the previous set of dry tyres.

[djinvicta]

Thank you Adam, Ive just not heard this scenario mentioned; now I know!

[Adam43]

There are a couple of quotes from the drivers about Malaysia's heat and wear. These came from Thrusday press conference: http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2711/733.html

Originally Posted by Fisi, championship leader

It’s a difficult circuit for the tyres, first of all because it’s going to be very hot and then it’s quite abrasive asphalt, tarmac. So for the race, it’s important to keep a good pace, but it’s important to save the tyres, especially the last ten laps will be very interesting.

Originally Posted by DC, he has wings

Tyre-wise, I think if you look at the choices of the majority then whereas if you look at what we raced here in the past, with prime and option then both the prime and option that are here are quite conservative, so I wouldn’t expect any big problems with the tyres.

We really need them all to have some track time to get away from this speculation!

[DannyG]

RB's tyres were slightly worn when he retired today! It is good to know that a worn grooved tyre (slick) is slower than when having grooves.

[pole2pole]

I seen that myself, they looked well after there sell by date. I also noticed when Fernando Alonso was in for his final stop his tyres looked fantastic

[maximus]

Both Toyotas (especially Ralfs) front tyres looked awful towards the end of the race. The blistering was very clear to see.

[Mosport67]

Trulli's front tires looked done from a view late in the race. I didn't notice what they were like at the end though.

[Rich R]

while were talking about tyres, does anyone know what caused raikonens puncture?

[Adam43]

From McLaren's post race press release availabe from Autosport, F1-live, F1.com etc...

Originally Posted by Kimi

However early on during my out-lap a tyre valve failure caused a puncture to the right rear...

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2748/733.html