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
Because F1 tires (typically) are only used in dry conditions on a manicured track. In fact, when it rains, F1 cars do swap to tires with tread on them to clear the water out.
The answer you quoted was right. On *dry* pavement, smooth tires offer the most amount of grip due to increased surface area.
However in your personal car, you’re not just driving on dry pavement. You’re driving in rain, you’re driving in snow, you’re driving on gravel. If you had ‘slick’ tires you would have zero grip on these surfaces.
Your car tires need to be versatile enough to work in 100 different conditions whereas F1 slicks only need to be used on dry pavement. If you put slicks on your corolla you certainly would get better grip on a nice summer day. You’d also almost immediately die when it rains or snows.
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