I have been reading some old threads about tyres and, perhaps, I may have missed it, but I have not found anything about when tubeless tyres began to be used in F1 ( or in car racing in general ).
Can anyone provide some information about it ?
Tubeless tyres
Started by
WHITE
, Nov 19 2005 18:56
2 replies to this topic
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#2
WGD706
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- 956 posts
- Joined: August 02
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Posted 19 November 2005 - 21:50
"At the end of the sixties for the first time tubeless tyres were used. And in Hockenheim Clark´s Firestone wet weather tyres had been less developed than the Dunlops used by his rivals."
http://www.research-....de/jcr05-a.htm
I've found numerous articles about when various companies developed tubeless tires, but no mention of when they were first used on racing cars back in the '60s.
Warren
The first slick type tyre was produced by Dunlop in 1966 called the CR70. However this was ahead of its time and proved unsuitable for the compounds available then. As we now know, a tyre needs a certain amount of 'flexibility' in the tread to give it 'progression'. Without this it feels like steering a truck tyre. Earlier tyres achieved this 'progression' by the inherent flexibility of the tread pattern. Current slick tyres achieve this effect by the use of soft tread compounds. However the compounds used then were far too hard for this pattern. The next pattern development was the CR82 in 1968, a much more traditional style, which was a development of the earlier CR65. In the late '60s other developments rapidly followed, largely as the 'tyre race' developed with Goodyear and Firestone. These included extended use of depressed contour moulding, aspect ratios as low as 40, and tubeless construction.
The CR84 was introduced late in 1968, winning Jackie Stewart his first Formula One world championship in 1969.
http://www.stuckey.c.../evolution.aspx
http://www.research-....de/jcr05-a.htm
I've found numerous articles about when various companies developed tubeless tires, but no mention of when they were first used on racing cars back in the '60s.
Warren
The first slick type tyre was produced by Dunlop in 1966 called the CR70. However this was ahead of its time and proved unsuitable for the compounds available then. As we now know, a tyre needs a certain amount of 'flexibility' in the tread to give it 'progression'. Without this it feels like steering a truck tyre. Earlier tyres achieved this 'progression' by the inherent flexibility of the tread pattern. Current slick tyres achieve this effect by the use of soft tread compounds. However the compounds used then were far too hard for this pattern. The next pattern development was the CR82 in 1968, a much more traditional style, which was a development of the earlier CR65. In the late '60s other developments rapidly followed, largely as the 'tyre race' developed with Goodyear and Firestone. These included extended use of depressed contour moulding, aspect ratios as low as 40, and tubeless construction.
The CR84 was introduced late in 1968, winning Jackie Stewart his first Formula One world championship in 1969.
http://www.stuckey.c.../evolution.aspx
#3
A E Anderson
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- 86 posts
- Joined: November 05
Member
Posted 19 November 2005 - 22:15
Tubeless tires were a dream for racing from the introduction of cast/machined alloy wheels in the late 1940's in the US on first Midgets, then as the 1950's progressed, through Sprint cars and Championship cars (Indianapolis cars). The tubeless concept was experimented with, early on, before 1960, by both Firestone and Halibrand Engineering, the latter being the pioneer of magnesium alloy racing wheels and the primary supplier of them for racing at the time. However, it took several years, and probably the development of the concept for military aircraft (where the magnesium alloy wheel and rim was introduced, in the late 1930's) before any workable sealing material came about to seal the porous castings then in use, to prevent air from escaping through the metal (cast metals tend to be very much a series of airbubbles, joined by metal).
I believe that the first use of tubeless racing tires occurred at Indianapolis in either 1962 or 1963 (1963 Firestone 15" racing tires do carry "tubeless" lettering on their sidewalls), when a suitable epoxy coating came about that could be sprayed on the inside of the rim. This coating was a rather bright yellow in color, and could be seen on wheels having no tire mounted.
"Slick" racing tires came about in the late 1940's (as we understand slicks even today), for use on Midgets for running on pavement or even the handful of wooden "board" midget ovals around at the time. Of course, Firestone racing tires at the height of board-track racing in the 20's, and at Indianapolis into about the mid-30's were completely without tread whatsoever, the offset tread commonly associated with Indianapolis tires coming about 1936 or 1937, and remaining pretty much the standard tread pattern for Firestones used there through at least 1962.
Art
I believe that the first use of tubeless racing tires occurred at Indianapolis in either 1962 or 1963 (1963 Firestone 15" racing tires do carry "tubeless" lettering on their sidewalls), when a suitable epoxy coating came about that could be sprayed on the inside of the rim. This coating was a rather bright yellow in color, and could be seen on wheels having no tire mounted.
"Slick" racing tires came about in the late 1940's (as we understand slicks even today), for use on Midgets for running on pavement or even the handful of wooden "board" midget ovals around at the time. Of course, Firestone racing tires at the height of board-track racing in the 20's, and at Indianapolis into about the mid-30's were completely without tread whatsoever, the offset tread commonly associated with Indianapolis tires coming about 1936 or 1937, and remaining pretty much the standard tread pattern for Firestones used there through at least 1962.
Art
