When you Google why are f1 tires smooth, the answer is no tread means more surface area, so better grip, but when you Google why do street tires have grooves, the same answer comes up. I’m confused. Also, is this a physics question, engineering or technology? Lol
In: Engineering
The grooves in normal tires are to evacuate water under the wheel when it’s raining, as otherwise the water is going to form a layer between the tire and the road surface, causing a loss of traction and subsequent loss of control; this phenomenon is called Aquaplaning.
The “normal” F1 tires, so called “slicks”, doesn’t have any grooves because A: It maximizes the surface area the tire has with the road which gives you more traction, and B: The organizer can plan the race day based on weather forecast, so there won’t be any water on the road to cause issue with Aquaplaning.
There are F1 tires with groves, which are called “wet” tires. These are used for when a race day happens during the rain, as slick tires can’t be used due to the aforementioned Aquaplaning.
Fun fact: In some very specific conditions, the wet tires of F1 cars, due to the wear they experience can become slick tires as the thicker part of the tire, and so the grooves, wears away. These tires are then called Slintermediate, a hyphenation of Slick and Intermediate, with Intermediate being the name of the wet tire. There’s also another wet tire called Hard iirc but that’s getting off track and a rabbit hole for you to discover.
Latest Answers