11 replies to this topic

[dbw]

we've all heard the old saw"why, i remember when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny"...true in a way..but my question is just when[let's keep it in f1]DID the tires get fat???i remember shots of clark in a lotus where the sidewalls were starting to pooch out but the actual footprint remained alarmingly small...was there a specific race that "introduced" wide tread tires as we know them? or did they evolve slowly so the transition was not so sudden..anyone?

[Ray Bell]

Some factual stuff here... the wheels of the Lotus 32B (who knows what it really should have been?), the Tasman car Clark drove in 1965, were 7" front and 9" rear. I know this for a fact because I drove a car later fitted with these same wheels.
This then defines the period when the widening of wheels and tyres was on... 1963 saw small beginnings, as F1 teams with diameters reduced to 13" looked for a bigger footprint, while by 1966 they got serious because they had the greater power of the three litre formula with which to contend.
By 1967 the Lotus 49 had 15" wide rears, I believe.

[Falcadore]

the version I'd seen was used by Jack Brabham "I can remember when sex was safe and motor racing was dangerous"

oh well

[Jhope]

Ray...I highly doubt these are 15 inch rear tyres on the Lotus.

[Ray Bell]

My memory is that by the time they hit these shores for the Tasman series of 1968 they were 15s. I remember Matich talking about it at the time... and look at the way those rims are wider - much wider - than the tread.

[Milan Fistonic]

From David Hodges book The Lotus 49

Wheels 1967 - Lotus magnesium, 15 in diameter, 8 in front (10 in last two races), 13 in rear.

Wheels 1968 - 12 in front, 15 in rear (15 in split-wheel type from Monaco Grand Prix).

[Ray Bell]

The picture is from Le Mans, is it not? Well into the season... maybe they are already a bit wider?

[Jhope]

well I guess you're right Ray. I just had a look through Hodges book.

[Roger Clark]

The picture is from Zandvoort, first race for the 49

[Ray Bell]

Could be Zandvoort, but the colour of the road looks wrong.

[dbw]

i guess i should be more specific; wide foot print......as the photo shows wide rims were in place,but when did the actual width of the tread catch up ???? [somewhere in the back of my mind ,the mickey thompson"liquid suspension special" strikes a note.....indy,65,66,??? anyone?

[Ray Bell]

V8 Sports Cars were in their element with such wide tyres before F1, just a bit wider than the Racing Cars, and they were gaining strength by the end of 1964.
Sorry, can't give figures, not sure where my Car & Driver collection from that era is packed.