As part of the Project 56 DeltaWing, Michelin has introduced tires to fit the special Le Mans car.
The DeltaWing project is a special venture, undertaken to prove it is possible to be just as fast with less resources. The end result should be a competitive Le Mans-type challenger that uses only half as much power, fuel and tires.
The DeltaWing has received permission from the ACO to take part in the next 24 hours of Le Mans, and therefore it needed tires. Michelin has come up with a specially made rubber which, in comparison with regular-sized Michelin slicks, is very, very small.
"The Delta Wing front tires are just 10/58-15, or less than 23 inches tall, and with a tread just four inches wide," an ALMS press release said.
"By contrast, the 2011 Le Mans-winning Audi R18 TDI utilized taller and wider front 36/71-18 MICHELIN® tires, approximately 28 inches tall with nearly 14 inches of tread width."
"You could fit three DeltaWing [...] front tires inside an Audi['s] front tire," said Karl Koenigstein, Michelin ALMS technical leader.
The difference however with the rear tires is not as drastic. "[The] DeltaWing is designed to race with 31/62-15 MICHELIN tires while the average LMP2 prototype rear tire is sized at 37/71-18."
The DeltaWing project is a special venture, undertaken to prove it is possible to be just as fast with less resources. The end result should be a competitive Le Mans-type challenger that uses only half as much power, fuel and tires.
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| A lot of hype surrounds the DeltaWing car (Photo: ALMS.com) |
The DeltaWing has received permission from the ACO to take part in the next 24 hours of Le Mans, and therefore it needed tires. Michelin has come up with a specially made rubber which, in comparison with regular-sized Michelin slicks, is very, very small.
"The Delta Wing front tires are just 10/58-15, or less than 23 inches tall, and with a tread just four inches wide," an ALMS press release said.
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| Regular LMP1 tires versus DeltaWing tires (Photo: Michelin) |
"By contrast, the 2011 Le Mans-winning Audi R18 TDI utilized taller and wider front 36/71-18 MICHELIN® tires, approximately 28 inches tall with nearly 14 inches of tread width."
"You could fit three DeltaWing [...] front tires inside an Audi['s] front tire," said Karl Koenigstein, Michelin ALMS technical leader.
The difference however with the rear tires is not as drastic. "[The] DeltaWing is designed to race with 31/62-15 MICHELIN tires while the average LMP2 prototype rear tire is sized at 37/71-18."