Then some Caterham would leave an 18 inch oilslick to trip us up!!
No, I didn’t mean that the construction was different, but that the forces that the fronts are exposed to are only in one way: braking.
The forces that the rears are exposed to are both: braking and accelerating, so if anything I’m pretty sure the rears would be no problem running reversed. Their contact patch is experiencing forces coming from all sides already.
The fronts are the problem…
Yes, if you speak with the famous Gav, maybe he can put some light into this…
OK Uldis
Will report back after saturday…
Uldis
Yeah but… the front may not get ‘powered’ in the forward thrust position (ooo err…) but if they are the same design as the rears then why are they a seperate problem here?
surely iff no problem with the rear then also no problem with the front ??
Exactly, if the rears can stand all the forces coming from everywhere, why couldn’t the fronts?
They aren’t, being non-powered.
Should I try to find out?
And then, are they the same design?
Folks
Some links with some info
why do racing tyres have a direction of rotation?
directional & asymmetric tyres
an opinion about muddy tyres - gives food for thought
get the best from your race tyres
caterhams told to fit fronts ‘backwards’
soo… sounds to me like delamination of the tread is a possibility. I’ll tell you something tho’ the lack of clear information on the subject (I just spent about 2hrs searching/reading thru’ this stuff) suggests to me its a black-art that the manufacturers want to keep that way.
…suggests to me its a black-art…
BOOM BOOM!
More seriously, do they really sell tyres as front and back??
I know the Exige’s are slightly different, being of the special LTS variety. But normal road tyres (and likely the same with the A039/48s) are only sold on size, not front or back, FWD/RWD/4WD. I reckon the norm is for construction to be the same front and rear.
Another thought. Whilst reading Ross Bentley’s book Speed Secrets he introduces the concept of Slip Angle. A tyre actually gives it best grip when it is at its maximum slip angle. Road tyres are usually around 5/6o and both start and stop slipping relatively gently. Race (and tyres like ours) have much less, F1s about 1o, and go loose maximum grip much more dramatically (thank goodness for our amzing steering!). So, the point of all this, slip occurs when the tyre is at its highest sideways load and therefore I believe construction (and hence weave direction) is important.
I’ll been unsuccessfully trying to find out the slip angle for the A039/48s. Alistar McQueen didn’t know, can somebody see if Gav has more idea at the weekend pls?
Ian
Took me a whle to read through the EXCELLENT links posted by Rox, but here is the answer I was looking for:
“Tyres should always be fitted with the correct direction of rotation in mind. This is important, as when a tyre is manufactured there is always a loin in the tread and by running the tyre in the correct direction you are pushing this join together rather than pulling it apart. This is why fronts and rears rotate in different directions as the maximum torque applied to the tyre on the front is under braking, on the rear, under acceleration.”
So chaps, that’s why we shouldn’t.
Thanks Mike.
Took me a whle to read through the EXCELLENT links posted by Rox, but here is the answer I was looking for:
“Tyres should always be fitted with the correct direction of rotation in mind. This is important, as when a tyre is manufactured there is always a loin in the tread and by running the tyre in the correct direction you are pushing this join together rather than pulling it apart. This is why fronts and rears rotate in different directions as the maximum torque applied to the tyre on the front is under braking, on the rear, under acceleration.”
So chaps, that’s why we shouldn’t.
Thanks Mike.
And water dispersion and directional stability…