jeremyb wrote: WHAT!! EXCEL IS NEVA WRONG!!

Conners wrote:

Bigfoot wrote: Increased surface area touching the ground = increased traction off the line = more power put down onto the road = drag racing is about acceleration not top speeed.

Correct.
Except that traction = friction (against the ground). And the arguement above says that friction is independant of area. Hence my question.

Everyone knows that wider tyres have more grip, but the theory tells us that they don't.

philstar wrote:
the other reason drag cars use big tires is that they have so much torque that you need to spread the shear force of the rubber over a grater area.

Conners wrote:

big_daddy_jj wrote:

philstar wrote:
the other reason drag cars use big tires is that they have so much torque that you need to spread the shear force of the rubber over a grater area.

Wouldnt that work to the opposite effect? surely running your tyres on a grater would be the last thing you want to do

Their fat tyres have a couple of other purposes as well:
i) They flex massively as the torque is applied (initially). If you've ever seen a photo or slow-mo video of a drag car at launch, you'll know what I mean. The tyres grip, the hub spins, the tyre effectively "twists". An anti slip/traction control device of sorts.

ii) As the tyre accelerates, it increases in diameter - thus increasing the cars overall gearing. Lower gearing on launch, ramping up as the car accelerates - it's a win win.

istepinyards wrote:

Conners wrote:

big_daddy_jj wrote:

philstar wrote:
the other reason drag cars use big tires is that they have so much torque that you need to spread the shear force of the rubber over a grater area.

Wouldnt that work to the opposite effect? surely running your tyres on a grater would be the last thing you want to do

Their fat tyres have a couple of other purposes as well:
i) They flex massively as the torque is applied (initially). If you've ever seen a photo or slow-mo video of a drag car at launch, you'll know what I mean. The tyres grip, the hub spins, the tyre effectively "twists". An anti slip/traction control device of sorts.

ii) As the tyre accelerates, it increases in diameter - thus increasing the cars overall gearing. Lower gearing on launch, ramping up as the car accelerates - it's a win win.

Does this effect actually happen when Gordio puts down the HP too

slidecontrol wrote:

istepinyards wrote:

Conners wrote:

big_daddy_jj wrote:

philstar wrote:
the other reason drag cars use big tires is that they have so much torque that you need to spread the shear force of the rubber over a grater area.

Wouldnt that work to the opposite effect? surely running your tyres on a grater would be the last thing you want to do

Their fat tyres have a couple of other purposes as well:
i) They flex massively as the torque is applied (initially). If you've ever seen a photo or slow-mo video of a drag car at launch, you'll know what I mean. The tyres grip, the hub spins, the tyre effectively "twists". An anti slip/traction control device of sorts.

ii) As the tyre accelerates, it increases in diameter - thus increasing the cars overall gearing. Lower gearing on launch, ramping up as the car accelerates - it's a win win.

Does this effect actually happen when Gordio puts down the HP too

only if Gordio is running his tyres at 6PSI like a drag car.....

slidecontrol wrote: definite maybe

istepinyards wrote:

slidecontrol wrote: definite maybe

How uncomfortable is that paling sticking out your arse
There is no maybe