Tyre technology remains an interesting subject at hand as far as safety is concerned.
Think of concepts such as airless tyres and run-flats that ensure supreme safety onthe roads.
And as the world becomes more technologically advanced, tyre manufacturers are always looking for ways to enhance the driving experience and Pirelli’s latest creation takes things further.
The Milan-based tyre manufacturer has, for the first time, equipped as standard a tyre with sensors that communicate with a car, thanks to the brand’s Cyber Tyre system which is made up of a sensor in each tyre.
Fitted for the first time in the new McLaren Artura, the system gathers important data for safe driving. It is linked to software integrated into the car’s onboard computer to offer a plethora of information to the car and driver.
What it does is it constantly monitors information including the tyre temperature and pressure which are important aspects when it comes to safety and compared to traditional sensors, its information is delivered with greater precision as the Pirelli transmitting sensors are in direct contact with the actual tyres rather than the wheel rims.
The data is then processed via a Pirelli software that is integrated into the car’s electronics and displays some information on the dashboard and instrument cluster.
At the same time, the information collected is then used by the car’s electronics to calibrate the driver alert systems based on the exact characteristics of the tyres and their status.
For example, the system may alert the driver for any loss of pressure as well as when it’s time to change the type of tyres depending on the season. It can also alert the driver when the maximum speed for that tyre has been reached.
In the case of the Artura, some of these functions have been specifically selected for use on a race track in a way that the system allows the driver to adapt tyre pressures to obtain better performance on track based on their individual driving style. As a result, the alerts that each driver receives are altered too.
In that case, drivers can be alerted when the car’s tyres have reached optimal temperatures and when to cool them. Pirelli likens this to having a race engineer in the passenger seat.
The Artura is fitted with bespoke P Zero tyres in 235/35Z R19 size at the front and 295/35 R20 size at the back. The tyres have an asymmetric tread pattern, which gives excellent braking performance to guarantee control of the car under all conditions, particularly when it’s wet.
There are P Zero Corsa tyres for those track days as well as road use which feature a compound derived from Pirelli’s motorsport experience.
Pirelli says its next innovation will be tyres that are connected to a network with other vehicles and the surrounding infrastructure. To refresh your mind a bit, the brand was the first to share information relating to road surfaces over the 5G network in 2019.