Re: Friction

[David Dockstader <DRDOCK00@UKCC.UKY.EDU>]

On Sun, 14 Jul 1996 15:58:29 -0700 (PDT) Lowell Herr said:
> You are correct in the assumption that I don't drive around town tearing
> rubber off the tires on my car. <g>  I always thought dragsters and race
> drivers 'heated' their tires so as to alter the composition of the tire
> with respect to the road surface, thus increasing the coefficient of
> friction.  Would not both static and kinetic increase when this is
> accomplished?
They do heat the tires.  Dragsters do burn outs before the race and track
drivers swerve around on pace laps and when running under caution.  Tire tread
compounds are formulated to give optimal performance at a certain temperature.
If the tire is too hot or to cold it will be too hard or to soft and performanc
e will suffer.  If the temperature of the track changes too much optimal
performance may dictate a tire change.  Local tracks often specify use of a
standard tire to save racers the expense of multiple sets.