I can understand in off-roading because they would actually bite into the ground and push against it, but if the road does not deform into the treads then wouldn’t it be better to have them slick for more surface area? why do race cars use slick tires and not consumer vehicles?
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On **dry** pavement, they **don’t** generate more traction than slicks.
You need the grooves in the tires to allow water to pass through when it’s raining or else the car will hydroplane and lose control.
Road cars don’t use slick tires because they need to be able to drive on dry pavement, in water/rain, in snow, on ice, on gravel. The treads are required to create a single tire that’s versatile to do all of these things. If you used slick tires on a road car you would immediately crash as soon as it rained or snowed.
Race cars (generally) only need to worry about racing on dry pavement, hence they run slicks for maximum grip. You’d probably be pretty upset if you could only drive your car on hot sunny days.
>why do race cars use slick tires and not consumer vehicles?
[Race cars use treaded tires when it’s raining](https://cdn.racingnews365.com/_1125x633_crop_center-center_85_none/8047933/Pirelli-Wet-Japanese-GP-2022.webp?v=1668188771).
TLDR: Tread allows tires to be 1000% more versatile and road cars don’t need the maximum grip slick tires give. Further, race cars do use treaded tires in the rain.
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