The French manufacturer found that the switch from the equal size 31cm wide tyres and rear of the original car to 29cm fronts and 34cm rears produced a bigger than expected gain on the upgraded 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar.
“We have decided to go for these tyre dimensions knowing they had more potential,” said Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie.
“We found from testing that they had even more potential than we expected from our simulation; this came as a surprise to us.”
Initial testing has confirmed that the gains with a car known as the 9X8 2024, which incorporates a rearward shift in weight distribution and new aerodynamics involving the addition of a conventional rear wing for the first time, have made it less sensitive to different track configurations.
That was the primary weakness of the first iteration of the 9X8 that came on stream in mid-2022: it proved competitive at Le Mans and Monza last year and Qatar this season, but struggled to varying degrees at other circuits.
“The amount of performance gain over the old car will depend on the track layout, but it is always faster and better with the new car in terms of tyre management and tyre consistency,” he explained.
He added that he expects the new car to “be more robust” in terms of performance over a range of circuits.
Source: Autosport