Wide tires becoming a drag? Pirelli’s got your fix. Pirelli points out that the tire and rim make up to 5% of total drag, so in an attempt to create the “ultimate fastest tire,” Pirelli has introduced a new aero tire design that will kick off on the P Zero Race TLR SL-R.
The new Pirelli PAAS (Pirelli Advanced Aerodynamic System) is a patented tire geometry technology designed to reduce aerodynamic drag without compromising other performance characteristics. The system solves for the trend toward wider tires and rims, which have increased frontal surface area exposed to airflow, making tire aerodynamics more critical to overall wheel efficiency. To Pirelli’s point, even the best rim with the wrong tire will not reach its aero potential.
This means precisely positioning the tire’s widest point at a mathematically calculated location relative to the tire’s overall height when mounted and inflated.
Pirelli is in the unique position of already having a lot of engineering effort devoted to tire and rim aerodynamics thanks to their partnership with F1. Unlike a lot of automotive applications, F1 tires are exposed to the wind, and Pirelli needs to provide aero data from their tires to the various F1 teams to allow them to tune the aero elements of their cars.
Now on the bike side, Pirelli is using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software adapted from automotive applications. Pirelli identified a specific zone where airflow remains attached to the tire sidewall without separating, reducing vortex formation and lowering drag. This positioning maintains aerodynamic benefits across various yaw angles (0° to ±20°) and speeds above 30 km/h, with particular advantages in crosswind conditions. But crucially, it doesn’t require a pointy tread pattern that jeopardizes handling to do it.
Right Image: 28mm P Zero Race TLR SL-R (L) vs P Zero Race TLR (R).
More numbers:
- 14 iterations of aerodynamic parameter combinations over 18 months of R&D
- 8 dedicated wind tunnel sessions across 4 facilities
- Tested tire widths from 28 to 35mm
- Up to 20% average drag reduction vs P Zero Race RS (2W in normal conditions, 5W in high wind conditions
- Almost 15w improvement from P Zero Race RS at extreme yaw angles
Bonus: The PAAS tire design maintains its aerodynamic efficiency as the tire wears, thanks to the strategic positioning of the widest point.
The PAAS system also preserves the space between the tire sidewall and rim edge, ensuring standard mounting and removal procedures remain unchanged. Weight and rolling resistance are also unaffected, so it’s all winds, er, wins.
P Zero Race TLR SL-R Tire
The first tire to get the PAAS design is the new P Zero Race TLR SL-R which also features a new Litecore 120 TPI construction. This is their lightest TLR casing to date with maximum rolling efficiency, low weight, and a smoother ride. Combine that with the latest generation SmartEvo rubber compound, and you have a tire that is more aero, offers better grip, and lower weight.
By the numbers:
- 10% improvement (2W) in rolling resistance over P Zero Race RS
- 275g for 28mm tire (Claimed weight, actual weight of 290g for our samples)
- Available in 28 and 30mm now, 32mm coming by end of year
- Two colors: Black-silver and Black-Team Edition (yellow)
- Three victories already with J. Milan in the Alula Tour stages 1&2, and H. Wilde winning the T100 World Final in Qatar
- $127.90 MSRP
- Fourth model in P Zero Race Family, along with RS, Race, and 4S
