All the street performance cars get shod with 17,18 or 19 inch with rubberband profile tyres for the purpose of performance so why do F1's have 13's with massive profiles?? Is it to do with speeds they reach or do the tyres just heat up too much to have low profiles?
Rubberband profiles? I don't recall seeing any racecars with rubberband profiles. All race tyres I've seen have at least a 45 profile. Most commonly 50 or 55 profile. I'd say F1 would be running 13" rims because of regulations. Performance wise, having a bigger sidewall allows for being able to run lower pressures, thus being able to run with suspension set harder which makes for a much tighter racecar while still being able to sustain high grip levels. Just my thoughts.
At a guess..................>> ....its to do with getting power to the ground. The taller the sidewall, the more tyre windup there is (look at the tyre profile of top fuel drag cars). High profile tyres wind up like a rubber band, when power is dumped through them, and release the energy slowly, so the tyre has less chance of just breaking traction and spinning when power is applied. Low profile tyres, on F1's may increase the spectator pleasure, as they spin out of control down the track, after powering on, on the exit of every corner, but I think the sport as a whole would be very short lived, as even the most wealthiest team, couldnt afford to rebuild their chassis after every race. May be wrong (often am), but seems like a logical explanation. Regards GT
