The Difference Between Road and Racing Tyres
Despite both being called ‘tyres’, an ordinary road car tyres and a formula one car tyres couldn’t be more different. While a tyre made for the vehicle you use for commuting to work and doing the weekly shop is made to last around 10.000 kilometres, a formula one car’s tyres are designed to last on average just 200 kilometres!
Like everything on a modern Formula one car masterpiece, the tyres need to be as light yet as strong as possible and able to withstand the incredible forces that come with the high speed racing they are involved in. Your car tyres are much heavier and made of steel belted radial piles to last longer and be more durable. A racing tyre is made from very soft rubber to give the best grip possible on the racetrack so in turn they wear much quicker. They are also constructed to perform best at high temperatures. Dry grooved tyres, which were regularly used in the championships performed most optimally at temperatures between 90 degrees Celsius and 110 degrees Celsius.
The rubber compounds, being ‘softer’ and ‘harder’ are adjusted dependent on which track the cars are going to race on. During each Grand Prix fixture the teams have two different compounds and must ensure the driver uses both during the event. The amount of ingredients added to the rubber of the tyre are what assists in making it softer, these being carbon, oil and sulphur. Basically the more oil in the tyre the softer it will be.
When racing in the wet, intermediate and wet weather tyres have tread patterns to enable push away standing water. This is necessary to maintain the best grip possible between the tyres and the track and prevent aquaplaning, just as on your road car tyres.
Formula one tyres are usually filled with a nitrogen rich air mixture that retains the pressure for longer and to try to ensure there are limited variations between the pressure and temperatures. This is one Formula One feature you can have on your road car; we offer a nitrogen air filling service here at Grippy, where you can also purchase the best cheap tyres online.