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Installing Formula 1 Tires on a Normal Car Takes Work, This Is How It Was Done

About a month ago, someone put F1 tires on a car that was meant for the road. To be specific, someone made a considerable effort into fitting Formula 1 tires on a car that was meant for the road. To keep things safe for everyone, they did not take the car on the road, though.
Toyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tires 7 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by Driven Media
Toyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tiresToyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tiresToyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tiresToyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tiresToyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tiresToyota MR2 with Formula 1 wheels and tires
Instead, the Toyota MR2 was taken to the track to see if there are any benefits to installing tires meant for F1 cars on a normal car. The GBP 1,500 drop-top Japanese mid-engined vehicle was chosen not just for its price but also for its small brakes and its nimble handling (for its day, at least).

The team was also convinced to get an MR2 because it also had a mid-engined configuration, just like Formula 1 cars, so this was the closest they could get at an attainable price. Mind you, Toyota MR2s do not come cheap these days, as their resale values have passed the dip, and well-cared-for examples are beginning to fetch top dollar.

This example is not the best-preserved MR2 in existence, which is why it was somewhat acceptable for the team to modify it for this challenge.
While the tired suspension of the Toyota would be no match for what these F1 tires were supposed to handle, the same can be said for the brakes, as well as the engine.

Apart from the suspension, fitting F1 tires should have brought a dramatic improvement in how the vehicle behaved. We all know how that went.

Now, it is time for a behind-the-scenes video of the whole thing. In case you were wondering how you install F1 tires on a normal car, this is the way to do it, at least for a brief moment. Nobody will expect the vehicle to drive with the F1 tires for long, as these make it significantly wider and increase the strain on most of its components.

As the folks over at Driven Media have underlined, installing an adapter of this size, as well as having the tires so far away from the vehicle, will bring a significant load on the wheel bearings. Fortunately, they lasted enough to complete filming, and the vehicle will not be taken on public roads again.

It is worth noting that these F1 tires are the 13-inch ones, which were discontinued, but that has not stopped their price from being higher than what was paid for the entire car.

As a science experiment, it was definitely worth it, if you ask us. Otherwise, we would have never known what could happen if someone installed Formula 1 tires on a road car.

Instead, the team over at Driven Media will use it for various projects that will involve modifying a car, some of which are irreversible modifications, and their effects will be gauged on the track, so that means more content and more fun for everyone, so we can't wait to see more.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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