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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They generate less traction than a smooth tire on a flat dry surface. That’s why racecars use smooth tires because they race in a very controlled environment.
When the road gets wet, smooth tires lose almost all traction, and it’s extremely dangerous to drive like that. Grooved tires, however, still maintain traction in wet conditions.
This is because a layer of water forms between the smooth tire and the road, separating the tire from the road. The treads, however, allow the water to be directed into the grooves and away from the tire so the tire can still make contact with the road.
short answer is this… tread isnt for grip its to remove water from between the tire and road surface and increase traction on wet surfaces.
if roads were always dry we would have smooth tires like nascar tires on dry days.
The traction comes more from the friction between the rubber molecules of the tire and the road. Tires are formulated differently for the temperature they will be used at, hence summer, winter or a compromise of all-season. The tread patterns are for managing water through the contact patch. If the water was unable to escape from under the tire it would lift it, the tire would hydroplane, and the vehicle could lose control.
Racing tires are designed for either wet or dry. Dry tires are generally slicks, without any tread. As the traction is created via contact with the road, you want that contact to be as big as possible. Most drag or banked oval races such as NHRA, NASCAR or Indy will delay/stop racing if there is rain as they do not have wet tires. (NASCAR will race under damp conditions).
Endurance races on road courses have wet tires and cars will pit for tire changes as soon as there is moisture on the track. It is an important strategy as to when to go back to dry tires when it stops raining. Too soon or too late can affect the handling of the car.
Because car tires, especially sticky race tires achieve high friction through *two* methods.
First, like tires for rough surfaces, they conform to the surface and resist sliding. But this isn’t the knobby treads like you see on dirt/rally/snow tires that “dig in” to the surface. Treads on normal car tires are mostly to squish out water so the rubber can still contact the road when it’s wet.
Even smooth roads are rough at the level where you talk about denting rubber with the sandpaper like surface of the asphalt.
Second, road tires have a second method like an that adds much more than just the “roughness”. Once the tires get warm, they actually “glue”themselves to the road, and then peel it back up. It’s almost like driving around on wheels covered in tape or post-it note adhesive (or that sticky slime toy), except that rubber has been engineered to shed dirt and scrub off as the tire rolls so it continues to be tacky (unlike tape that gets covered in dirt and oil and gets less sticky)
The two effects combined, fast road tires and race tires have effective lateral friction coefficients anywhere from 1.2 (sports car tires) to 1.7 (Formula 1) times the vertical force applied. Then they apply giant wings and aerodynamics to increase downward pressure to achieve cornering forces up to 6G’s in F1!
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.
It’s because when more weight rests on a smaller area, it creates more pressure and friction.
Racing tires are different and designed for smooth, clean, dry roads. They also get super hot and melty/sticky, which is not really what happens with normal tires and driving.
What nobody has said is that with race cars, they use slick tires to increase the amount of power they can use before the tire slips. A normal road car, when driven safely, should only ever experience wheel slipping in one situation, an emergency stop.
I have only once in my 15 years of driving (approx 200,000 miles) needed more grip and that was due to driver error when I was new but needed grooved tires probably every time I have driven.
As others have said, it’s for traction when the Asphalt isn’t dry and smooth. I’ve drove on road legal slicks in the rain once because I had no other option. Let me tell you that it was an absolutely terrifying white knuckle trip.
Consumer tires need to be all-rounders for all conditions. The grooves in the tire act like a pump, removing the water from between the tire and the road surface.
Tread tires don’t generate more grip on a perfectly dry, flat surface. Slicks do. Tracks are inspected, cleaned or swept, and race on clear dry days usually. Tires for the general public and road conditions have treads to deal with rain, snow, debris and such.
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