Eli5 – F1 cars have smooth tyres for grip yet on a normal car this would be certain death. Why do smooth tyres give F1 cars more grip yet normal cars less grip?
In: 3088
The tires need to reach a specific temperature in order for them to have the proper grip; the temperature is reached by the racing style and speed of F1 cars which a “normal” car will never reach.
Not only are they smooth which allows more surface grip but are also softer which makes them grippier to the road. Those types of tires are called slick because of their smoothness. The down down side is that they will lose all grip if the road is wet as the tires will aquaplane; meaning that the tires will glide on the surface of the water. They also wear out quickly; because they are designed for performance and not longevity. They last about 45 miles (72km).
The tires need to reach a specific temperature in order for them to have the proper grip; the temperature is reached by the racing style and speed of F1 cars which a “normal” car will never reach.
Not only are they smooth which allows more surface grip but are also softer which makes them grippier to the road. Those types of tires are called slick because of their smoothness. The down down side is that they will lose all grip if the road is wet as the tires will aquaplane; meaning that the tires will glide on the surface of the water. They also wear out quickly; because they are designed for performance and not longevity. They last about 45 miles (72km).
The tires need to reach a specific temperature in order for them to have the proper grip; the temperature is reached by the racing style and speed of F1 cars which a “normal” car will never reach.
Not only are they smooth which allows more surface grip but are also softer which makes them grippier to the road. Those types of tires are called slick because of their smoothness. The down down side is that they will lose all grip if the road is wet as the tires will aquaplane; meaning that the tires will glide on the surface of the water. They also wear out quickly; because they are designed for performance and not longevity. They last about 45 miles (72km).
Traction (how well tires grip) comes from the compound they are made of, the surface texture, temperature and the condition (and temperature) of the asphalt.
In closed circuit racing, the tires are super heated (typically lasted for the race) and almost turn into glue. This makes them extremely sticky, and gives them superior traction.
On the open road, the road’s integrity is quite poor by comparison and littered with rocks and debris. We also drive during the rain and in the cold and don’t push our tires to build up nearly as much heat as on the track (road vehicles don’t hit speeds of 300 KPH). So we add tread to tires to offset these differences.
Traction (how well tires grip) comes from the compound they are made of, the surface texture, temperature and the condition (and temperature) of the asphalt.
In closed circuit racing, the tires are super heated (typically lasted for the race) and almost turn into glue. This makes them extremely sticky, and gives them superior traction.
On the open road, the road’s integrity is quite poor by comparison and littered with rocks and debris. We also drive during the rain and in the cold and don’t push our tires to build up nearly as much heat as on the track (road vehicles don’t hit speeds of 300 KPH). So we add tread to tires to offset these differences.
Traction (how well tires grip) comes from the compound they are made of, the surface texture, temperature and the condition (and temperature) of the asphalt.
In closed circuit racing, the tires are super heated (typically lasted for the race) and almost turn into glue. This makes them extremely sticky, and gives them superior traction.
On the open road, the road’s integrity is quite poor by comparison and littered with rocks and debris. We also drive during the rain and in the cold and don’t push our tires to build up nearly as much heat as on the track (road vehicles don’t hit speeds of 300 KPH). So we add tread to tires to offset these differences.
Very simple. It’s the rubber that gives the grip. The tread is there just to get rid of water on the road when it’s wet. If it never rained, normal cars would all run slicks.
Racing slicks also come in differnt compounds of hardness form soft to hard for pretty obvious reasons.
I’d also argue that by the time a regular gets bald, the rubber is much harder than it was from the factory, so less traction
Very simple. It’s the rubber that gives the grip. The tread is there just to get rid of water on the road when it’s wet. If it never rained, normal cars would all run slicks.
Racing slicks also come in differnt compounds of hardness form soft to hard for pretty obvious reasons.
Very simple. It’s the rubber that gives the grip. The tread is there just to get rid of water on the road when it’s wet. If it never rained, normal cars would all run slicks.
Racing slicks also come in differnt compounds of hardness form soft to hard for pretty obvious reasons.
Latest Answers