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Michelin by the numbers
2008 KEY FIGURES Endurance racing is one of the new forms of motor sport which do not call for a control tyre system. Michelin welcomes this opportunity to showcase the performance of its products and push out the envelope in terms of the ...
Edited: Jun 11, 2008, 11:34 PM
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2008 KEY FIGURES
Endurance racing is one of the new forms of motor sport which do not call for a control tyre system. Michelin welcomes this opportunity to showcase the performance of its products and push out the envelope in terms of the technology it employs.
150: The number of different ingredients that go into a Le Mans tyre. These include both natural and synthetic rubber, styrene brutadiene (for grip) and polybrutadiene (durability), as well as textile fibres (nylon, polyester), resins, sulphur, wax, oils, etc.
12 kg: The average weight of an LMP1 tyre. The tread pattern featured on rain tyres means they tip the scales at about 2kg more.
80: A dry-weather tyre is at the peak of its performance potential from 80C (temperature of the tread band) .
41k: The life expectancy of a Le Mans qualifying tyre (equivalent to three laps).
5 seconds: LMP1 cars brake from 320kph to 90 kph in five seconds the Mulsanne Corner of Le Mans 24 Hours circuit. That's adeceleration force 2g.
9: The number of different tyre type available per car. 2 for qualifying sessions, 2 for dry weather, 4 for wet track.
2,2 seconds: every year sees Michelin bring out new generations of increasing competitive tyres aimed at saving valuable seconds. At Sebring, lap times fell by 1s per lap. Extrapoling from this figure, lap-times at Le Mans (much longer, but a similar non-agressive surface) are expected to fall by 2.2 seconds compared with last year. To obtain the same gain by others means, cars would have to feature a 15% improvment in aerodynamic efficiency, be 50kg lighter or have 40 bph etra engine power! The difference of 2.2s per lap translates into an additionnal 60km at the flag after 24 hours of racing.
30 seconds: Not having to change tyres after a stint represents a time saving of 30 seconds. Over the duration of the race, this can represent a gain of around 9 minutes, the equivalent of 2,5 laps.
50 000 km: The number of kilometers covered in testing to prepare for the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours. That works out at 1,000km per day over 50 days. Around 20,000km are given over entirely to tyre development work.
183 l/seconde: Rain tyres are capable of clearing around 106 litres of water every second at 200kph, and 134 litres per second at 250 kph. A "re-cut" pattern can clear up to 183 litres of water per second at 250 kph.
1000 kg: According to the set-up of the car, the vertical load ( car mass + aerodynamic downforce) can exceed 1000 kg per tyre.
6500: The number of times a tyre turns every lap. Each part of the tread hits the ground 84,500 times during a 13-lap stint.
1,5h: Is the approximative time required to produce a tyre for Le Mans 24 Hours. Production begins in March and ends just before the race.
100 tonnes: The total weight of the 8,000 tyres taken to Le Mans by Michelin. They are offloaded from the trucks and carefully stored in a vast 800sq.
-credit: michelin
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