Why are unused tyres scrapped?

[Raptor22]

I just think its a monumental waste when the world is trying to focus on energy efficiency. "burned as fuel for cement factories: well that would be anything from bunkers to bitumen then. it would be more energy efficient to use the hydrocarbon for that purpose from the outset.
The more these tyre regs stick around , the more they stink

[Jersey Tom]

Well I say don't let the hype fool you. Racing is the opposite of energy efficiency. The strive of it is to consume or transform as MUCH energy as possible in the shortest amount of time. Always. We do this and accept the consequence because it's entertainment.

If environmental efficiency was that crucial or paramount to racing we'd be watching racing series with Renault Clio's.

[Raptor22]

But it should not be wantingly wasteful

[Jersey Tom]

But it should not be wantingly wasteful

Motor racing has since day one been wasteful. Like I say, the whole intent is to use as much energy as you can as quickly as you can. There are things that could be done to make F1 (or other racing series) leaps and bounds more "efficient" ... e.g. cutting horsepower in half, or only doing races in Europe (think of all that wasteful international travel!), or whatever. Fact is, people are more interested in their entertainment than the waste factor.

As an aside, this is the same reason it took so long for hybrids and such to catch on (at least here in the US). A friend of mine asked me once, why OEM's didn't pour more resources into that sort of thing a decade earlier, suspecting they must all be in league with the evil oil companies. In reality, no one developed it because no consumer gave a crap about it. No market for it. No interest.

In any event, scrapping 200 tires in a weekend is a drop in the bucket. A tire factory for a major manufacturer can make on the order of 40,000 tires a day, each manufacturer having multiple such factories, and there being multiple manufacturers. Hundreds of thousands of tires being produced daily. I'm sure hundreds are scrapped each day just because they don't meet production tolerance.

So for Pirelli to scrap out 200 over a weekend... in the grand scheme of things doesn't equate to much.

IMO anyway.

[Raptor22]

I agree with the economics of what you're saying Tom. I just don't agree that it should simply be accepted without questioning whether there is a better way.

[Richard]

We can’t blame Pirelli for this, it’s the FIA procedure to ensure that teams do not take tyres home with them for testing.

[Raptor22]

its a two way street. As sole (forgive the pun) tyre supplier, they have a lot of leverage

[Jersey Tom]

We can’t blame Pirelli for this, it’s the FIA procedure to ensure that teams do not take tyres home with them for testing.

I don't think that's the case. If it were so you could dismount tires and use them at a following race. I think it's a safety thing. Once they're mounted... that's it. If they have to be dismounted they get scrapped, and there's no worry of f'd up beads or anything like that.

[Richard]

Is the only reason to dismount the tyres is because the FIA want them back? Otherwise the teams could take the tyres home still attached to the wheels.

What happens in other FIA series? What happens in non-FIA series such as NASCAR and Indy?

[Raptor22]

I just wonder why they don't go back to a lower profile tyre with a bigger rim. This will allow steel brakes back into the picture. at the moment the tyres shear so easily the brakes easily outperform the tyre.

[strad]

@ Richard

Is the only reason to dismount the tyres is because the FIA want them back? Otherwise the teams could take the tyres home still attached to the wheels.

And what if they don't use that same compound again for a month or two, or for the rest of the season?