The g-Force

BFGoodrich’s award winning g-Force profiler has proved unstoppable at this year’s FIA World Rally Championship. BFGoodrich has swept the board winning every round in every country so far, but you have to remember the company supplies tyres to five out of the six teams in the event. Either way, the WRC demands a broad spectrum of tyre types and, as such, BFGoodrich has produced variations of the g-Force Profiler, capable of taking on every type of terrain encountered. With the mass of the car rarely distributed evenly on all four wheels at the same time, the battle is to control the tyre pressure. BFGoodrich’s award winning g-Force profiler has proved unstoppable at this year’s FIA World Rally Championship. BFGoodrich has swept the board winning every round in every country so far, but you have to remember the company supplies tyres to five out of the six teams in the event. Either way, the WRC demands a broad spectrum of tyre types and, as such, BFGoodrich has produced variations of the g-Force Profiler, capable of taking on every type of terrain encountered. With the mass of the car rarely distributed evenly on all four wheels at the same time, the battle is to control the tyre pressure.

The event sees three basic families of surface: gravel, asphalt and snow/ice and the tyres have to be adapted to the demands of each surface. The g-Force Gravel, used on the shifting terrains of Rally Japan, for example has a relatively compact tread pattern to ensure that a maximum amount of rubber is in contact with the ground for optimised grip and traction. In low wearing gravel the tyres need to be adapted to the extremely high average speeds (more than 120kph, with top speeds in excess of 200kph.) Fast gravel tracks require tyres capable of soaking up the heavy loads to which they are submitted as the cars land after the countless jumps – the hallmark of this event.

On dry asphalt surfaces such as the Rallye Deutschland, the g-Force Profiler’s wide dimension favours the transmission of power to the ground, while the low side walls ensure excellent cornering stability. Given that the number of tread patterns teams may choose for asphalt rallies is limited to two, WRC tyres have to be increasingly versatile as there is no longer a specific rain tyre. In case of heavy rain, BFGoodrich’s technical staff technicians ‘recut’ extra grooves in the pattern of so-called intermediate tyres. These extra grooves can be either longitudinal (to combat aquaplaning) or lateral (for extra grip). A tyre with a full rain ‘cut’ is capable of clearing up to 20 litres of water per second.

The g-Force Winter is used exclusively on the Monte Carlo Rally where grip is often at a premium over the mountain passes or in the shade. The mixture of dry portions, sheet ice and/or snow can make tyre choice extremely difficult. The tyre can be equipped with studs of varying amounts. The combination of the studs and the siped tread pattern provide first class grip on snow and ice. An outer row of studs enhances cornering grip while the inner row favours traction.

The g-Force Profiler has achieved phenomenal success at the event so far this year, quite literally taking the rough with the smooth in dealing with the pressures that world class rallying brings.