Dave, ET ALL,
to quote Mike Gascoyne (Renault F1)just after the problems they had in Brazil:
"You run softer compounds because you want to generate heat in colder conditions when you've got water. The trick is to run soft compounds that can last when it dries out and don't generate too much heat. What happens is you generate heat on the edge of a tyre and with a treaded tyre , you've obviously got lots of edge, so the block breaks down as it heats up and wears away. The trick is to have a soft enough rubber to generate some internal heat, but one that remains robust. Its easier to have a harder compound so that the tyre will stand up as it dries out, but in the wet it wont get hot enough and you'll have no grip. Intermediates
have a shallower groove because you're talking about less water , and you have to transport less away from the contact patch. The problems with a very wide tyre with a large contact patch is that you have water between the road and the tyre and there's nowhere for it to go, so you aquaplane. The grooves are their to take the water out.
But it all boils down to what you choose..."
Two types of tyres would seem to be a solution but it would mean extra rims and storage (they not small items on a -40). That's showbiz though!!
Dave M
[ April 13, 2003: Message edited by: David Morton ]
[ April 13, 2003: Message edited by: David Morton ]