ELI5; Why can Vehicle tires last Tens of thousands of miles, While Shoes get destroyed after a couple hundred miles, Even though tires carry a much heavier weight than shoes and go much faster

Question

ELI5; Why can Vehicle tires last Tens of thousands of miles, While Shoes get destroyed after a couple hundred miles, Even though tires carry a much heavier weight than shoes and go much faster

In: Engineering

Answer 1

The rate at which the rubber on the sole of your shoes wears is largely a result of how much you slide your feet or rotate. When people move they often don’t smoothly step down onto their heel, and even a little bit of heel slide will rapidly wear the heel of a shoe. In addition, people spin on their feet, and rotate, often with little of the sole’s area in contact with the ground. The rubber soles on my shoes last me a long time because I don’t drag my feet, and in most cases are still in pretty good shape while other parts of the shoe are breaking down.