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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You’re kinda right. The tread does mean that the tire isn’t touching the road as much as a smooth tire would. On the flip side, a smooth tire doesn’t like water. It gets between the tire and the road, and can lead to the tire spinning on the water. The tread helps keep the tire touching the road by letting the water move away from where the tire and road touch. That way, the treaded tire can touch the road when the smooth one might not.
They don’t. That’s why race cars use slick tires. They provide much more traction, but they’re awful at dispersing water and dirt and grime from the road. That’s what the grooves are for. They’re for helping you drive in rain, snow, ect.
Sub-question: why don’t people put smooth tires on their sunny-day classic cars that they would never drive in the rain?
They don’t. They have more traction on flat surfaces in imperfect conditions.
They allow water to be displaced to prevent hydroplaning, and they cut through and displace damp debris that would otherwise mimic hydroplaning.
Race tracks often use completely flat tires because the track is used only in optimal conditions.
Slick tires do grab the road better, but are terrible in rain as they have no grooves for the water to go.
You’re right, the most friction would be from a smooth tire on smooth pavement. (Or another high friction road surface). That’s why race cars use “slicks”. Tires with no tread.
Road cars need to be able to deal with rain, and wet roads, and sometimes snow. The entire design of tread is to use the tire as a pump, and move the water out from under the tire, allowing it to directly contact the road surface.
If you had a treaded tire and a non treaded tire, both made of the same rubber: on a dry road, the smooth tire would have more grip. On a wet road it would have very little, and would also hydroplane very easily.
If it didn’t rain or snow, street cars would absolutely have slicks. Slicks are better is almost every way as a onroad tire, but when it rains they become useless. So treads are enforced because a little bit of dry performance is not worth sacrificing all of your wet performance.
Hot tip, road bicycle tires do not require thread at all, wet or dry. They are too narrow and slow to aquaplane. Threads on bicycle road tires only exists because consumers know that tires have to have thread.
They actually don’t. For maximum traction on a dry surface, slick tires produce the most grip.
But that’s the key point; dry surface. On slicks, water gets in between the tire and the surface. What treads allow is a place for the water to slip into.
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