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Chapter1:Tires
Tiresarethemostimportantelementinthequesttogetacartohandlewell.They'retheonlylink
betweenthecarandtheearth.Thatlinkdependssolelyonthefrictionbetweenthesurfaceandthe
tire'scontactpatch,solet'shavealookathowfrictionworks.

1.1Onroadtires

1.1.1Friction
Theformulaforfrictionbetweentwosurfacesissideload=*weight.Isthecoefficientof
friction.
Forarubbertire,isdefinitelynotconstantitvarieswithtemperature,pressureandmore
importantly,amountofslip.Thisisrepresentedinthenextgraph.

Onthehorizontalaxisistheamountofslip,from0%(noslip,thetirejustrollsalong)to100%
(Eitherthetireisstandingstillandthevehicleismoving,orthevehicleisstandingstill,butthetire
ismoving).Ontheverticalaxisisthecoefficientoffriction.Intheleftpartofthegraph,slipwithin
thetireisdominant,alsoknownastiresquirm.Thishappenswhenthetiredeformsunderload,and
thecontactpatchmovesrelativetotheaxle.Thisalsocausesslipanglestoexist.Intherightpart,
slipbetweenthetwosurfacesisdominantthetirestartstoslidesidewaysalittle.Itisremarkable
thatreachesitsmaximumwhenthereisalittleslip,usuallyit'sbetween5%and15%.That's
becauserubberinteractswiththesurfaceinaveryspecialway.
Infact,thereasonwhythegraphhassuchanoddshapeisbecauseit'sacombinationofthings,
therearetwoseparatemechanismsinvolved:hysteresisandadhesion.
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Thefirstcomponent,adhesion,isthephenomenonthattheoutermostatomsoftherubbermolecules
areindirectcontactwiththeoutermoleculesofthesurface.Rubberisapolymer,anditsmolecular
structureresemblesspaghettiofstringsofatoms,thesurfaceismostofthetimecrystalline,in
whichtheatomsaremorecloselytogether.Sowhenthereisaspeeddifferencebetweenthetwo,the
'atomstrings'intherubberwillbestretched.Somemolecularbondswillbreak,andnewoneswill
beformed.Thisprocessrepeatsitselfastheonesurfaceisdraggedovertheother.Obviously,
breakingandstretchingmolecularbonds,andmovingatomsaroundtakesenergy,andhencealsoa
force.Thatistheadhesionforce.Itreachesitsmaximumwhenthespeeddifferenceissomewhere
between0,03and0,06meterspersecond.

Thesecondcomponent,hysteresis,existsbecauserubberisbeingdeformed.Asthetirecarcassis
beingdistorted,insomeareastherubbergetscompressed,andinotherareasitgetsstretched.For
stretchingtobepossible,theatomsmustmovealongsideeachother,andasalways,it'san
irreversibleprocessbecauseoffriction.Thefrictionwillmakethetireheatup.Again,allthistakes
energy,andthusaforce.Thatforceisthehysteresisforce,whichisverysimilartotheadhesion
force,onlyitssizeisdeterminedbytheinternalfrictionintherubber.

Astheweightonthetireandtheamountofslipvary,theproportionofthetwocomponents
changes.Forexample,ifthereismoreslip,thehysteresiscomponentwillbedominantover
adhesion.Iftherubbercompoundisverysoft,andthetemperatureishighandthesurfacesmooth,
adhesionwillbethedominantforce.

Notethatalltheaboveisvalidforveryhardracingsurfaces,likeasphaltorreallyhardclay.Ifthe
surfaceissoft,it'sthedeformationofthesurfacethatcausesthefrictionforcetoexist:thespikeson
thetiresdigintothesurface,andmakegroovesintoit.Inthatcase,thegraphdoesn'thaveasection
that'scurveddownalwaysincreasesastheweightonthetireandtheamountofslipincreases.It's
atotallydifferentmechanism.That'salsothereasonwhywhenanonroadcartakesaturn,and
transfersweightontotheoutsidetires,itscorneringpowerdecreases,whilewhenanoffroadcar
doesthesamething,itscorneringpowerincreases.Soitmakessenseforonroadcarstohavea
highrollstiffness(thinkantirollbars),andforoffroadcarstohaveaverylowone.

1.1.2Thetractioncircle

Nowthatweknowhowfrictionworks,andhowitisusuallymaximalwhenthereisalittleslip,let's
findouthowitinfluencesthecar'shandling.
Unlessthetire'sthreadisn'tsymmetrical,frictionisthesameinalldirections,anditalsohasa
maximumvalue,whichisalsothesameinalldirections.Thiscanberepresentedbythetraction
circle.

Theverticalcomponentofthegraphrepresentsaccelerationanddeceleration,andthehorizontal
componentrepresentsturningleftandright.Themaximumamountofgripisrepresentedbythe

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edgeofthecircle,andtheareaofthecirclerepresentstheamountofgripofthetireontheroad.

Naturally,thefastestwayaroundatrackistouseyourtirestotheirverylimit.So,tobrakeasfastas
possible,youwillneedtotakethetirestopointConthegraph.Ifyoubraketoohard,andyou
exceedpointconthegraph,youwillskid,andyourbrakingdistancewillincrease.Youmighteven
losecontrol.Thesamethinggoesforacceleration:ifyouexceedpointa,youwillexperiencealot
ofwheelspin,andyou'llaccelerateslower.It'salsopossibletoexceedthegriplimitswhencornering
(pointsD(black)andB),andspinout.

Butthehardestpartstojudgearen'ttheaxislines,it'sthepartsinbetween.PointDforexample(the
greenone)representsasituationwherethecaristurningrightandaccelerating.NotethatD(green)
isontheedgeofthecircle,yetthecarisn'tacceleratingorturningatitsmaximumspeed,it's
somewhereinbetween.Let'ssayyouareacceleratingasfastaspossible(pointA),andyousteera
littletowardstheleft.Onthegraph,thismeansyou'reatapointleftofa,whichisoutsidethecircle,
sothetireswillbreakloose,andthecarwon'tturn(frontwheeldrive)orspinout(Rwd).Another
interestingfactisthatinordertogetthemostcorneringpower,thereshouldn'tbeanypowerapplied
tothewheels.(PointsBandD(black))Andconversely,inordertogetthefastestpossible
accelerationorbraking,nosteeringshouldbeapplied.

Keepinmindthattheradiusofthetractioncirclerepresentsthemaximumadhesionforce,andthis
isproportional(well,kindof,asexplainedinthepreviousparagraph)totheverticalloadonthetire.
So,inbrief:thesizeofthecircleincreasesasmoreverticalpressureisexertedonthetire,andit
decreasesifthere'slessverticalpressureonit.Thecircledoesn'tevenexistwhenthere'snopressure
onthetire.Itmakessense,becauseatirethat'shangingintheaircan'tresistanylateralforce.

1.1.3Slipangles

Youmighthavewonderedwhatexactlyhappenswhenyougobeyondthetractioncircle,andhow
yourcarwillreact.Slipanglesprovideaclearwayofdescribingthis.

Aslipangleistheanglebetweenwherethetireispointingandwhereitactuallygoing.Eachtire
hasitsownslipangle.

Atirethat'snotslippinghasaslipangleofzerodegrees.But'slip'canbeinternalaswellas
externalthecontactpatchdoesn'tneedtobeslippingrelativetotheroad,twistingofthetire's
carcassisalsoaformofslipping.

Thisnextdrawingrepresentsacartakingaturnatlowspeed.Allfourslipanglesarezero.

AssumingthecarhasthecorrectAckermanneffectandnoreartoein,thecarcanturnwithnoneof
thetiresslipping.Notethattheimaginary(wellthey'renotsoimaginarywhenIdrawthemoutfor
you)linesthroughthefouraxlesintersectatonepoint.That'sthepointthecaristurningaround.
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Sortofliketheapexofthecornerthecaristaking.

Thisisatypicalsituationwhencorneringspeedislow,andallfourtireshavemoreorlessthesame
weightonthem.

But...unfortunately,thingsaren'talwayslikeyouwantthemtobe.Onecommonconditionis
understeer.Thishappenswhenthefronttiresdon'thaveenoughtweightonthem,andtheystartto
slip,hencecreatingaslipangle.

Theslipangleofthefronttiresistheanglebetweenthebluelinesandthegreenlines.

Thecarisnotturningaroundthepointyou'dexpect,orwantittoturn.(wherethebluelines
intersect,pointN)Instead,it'sturningaroundtheintersectionpointofthegreenlines(pointU),
whichmakesforalargerturningradiusthanexpected.Thisisundersteer:whentheturningradiusis
biggerthanyou'dlikeittobe.

Theoppositecanalsohappen:thereartirescanhaveinsufficientweightonthem,andstarttoslip.
thisusuallyleadstoaconditioncalledoversteer,wheretheturningradiusissmallerthanyou'd
expectittobe.

Here,thereartireshavestartedtoslip,creatingslipanglesattherearofthecar.Theinsidefront

tirehasalsostartedtoslip.Thisisbecausethecarcan'tbeturningaroundtwoseparatepointsatthe
sametime.inthiscase,thecaristurningaroundpointO,(whereasthedriverwouldhaveexpected
ittobeturningaroundpointN.)Whenacariscornering,thelinesrepresentingtheslipangles
alwaysintersectatthepointthecarisrotatingaround.Iftheydon't,thetirewiththeleastamountof
weightonit(inthiscasetheinsidefront)willdevelopaslipangle.

Noticethatthepointwhichthecarisrotatingaround(O)isnowmuchclosertothecenterofthe
car,andmoretowardsthefront.Thecarwillturnverysharply,muchsharperandearlierthan
expected.

Plainoverandundersteerareverycommonconditions,butinreality,allsortsofwackythingscan
happen.

Forexample:youcanpowerslidearoundthecorner.
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Forexample:youcanpowerslidearoundthecorner.

Althoughthefrontwheelsaresteeredtotheleft,thecaristurningtotheright.(countersteering)The

reartiresareslidingatanextremeangle.

Noneedtosaythisrequiressomeseriousdrivingskill.

1.2Offroadtires
Offroadtiresoperatequitedifferentlyfromonroadtires.Theyusuallyhavesomesortoftread
patternwithpinsthatdigintothesoil,oraseriesofsmallpinsthatscrapethetopsurface.Thisis
entirelydifferentfromthefrictionmodeldescribedabove,whereyouhadasmooth,hardsurface
andauniformrubbercontactpatch.
Offroadtractionisgenerallymorecomplicated,thecurveshavemorecomplexshapes,thereare
moretypesofsoil,moretransients,andtherearemorevariables.

1.2.1TreadPattern

Sizeofthepins/blocks

There'sabasicruleofthumbthatsays:"Thesofterthedirt,thebiggerthepinsneedtobe.".Long
pinsworkbypenetratingthe(soft)soil,andshortpinsusuallyworkbyscrapingofftheupperlayer
ofthesoil.
Bearinmindthatlongpinsandverysoftcompoundsdon'tmixverywell,thenthespikesjustbend
overinsteadofpenetratingthedirt.

Densityofthepins/blocks

Foragiventirewidth,thedensityofthepinsisinverselyproportionaltotheweightsupportedby
eachpin.There'susuallyanoptimum,wherethetireworksbest.Forexample:ifacertaintireworks
verywellwhenit'sheavilyloaded,butdoesn'tfeelrightwhenitisn'tloaded,thetreadpatternis
probablytoodense.Thiscanhappeninverydustyorsoftconditions.
Tiresforstickymudusuallyhaveaverylowspikedensity,becausetoomuchspikescausetoomuch
stictionfortheamountoftractiontheycreate,slowingthecardown.
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Pinsorblocks

Roundpinsprovidegripthatfeelsthesameinalldirections,itfeelsconsistentandit'ssomewhat
easiertoslide.Veryusefulondifficult,lowtraction,bumpytracks.
Squareblocksfeelmore'edgy',theycangivetheimpressionofgeneratingslightlymoregrip,
especiallyonsmooth,hardsurfaces.Theforwardtractiontheygeneratealsofeelsnicer.

Centertread

Sometireshavealargertreadpatterninthecenter,oftenshapedlikeanX,anI,oraT.Inallcases,
itincreasesforwardtractiondramatically.
Notethaton4WDcars,moreforwardtractionfromthefronttirescanalsomeanmoresteering.

1.2.2Rubbercompound
"Thesofterthesurface,theharderthecompound,andviceversa."
Somesyntheticsurfaces,likecarpetorpolishedfloorsrequirespeciallyformulatedcompounds,
suchasSchumacher'sYellowcompound,andMedialPro'sIndoorcompound.

Hardcompounds

E.g.LosiGold,ProLineXTR,SchumacherBlue&Green.
Theseworkwellonverysoftsurfaces,suchasmud,damp,loosedirtandfreshgrass.Theideais
thatthetiredoesn'tmove,butthesoildoes.
Hardcompoundtiresaren'tsensitivetochangesinfoaminsert.

Mediumcompounds

E.g.LosiSilver,ProLineM2,SchumacherSilver.
Thesecompoundsworkwellonmostdirtsurfaces.They'rethebestchoiceifthetrackisverydusty,
orisstartingtobreakup.

Softcompounds

E.g.LosiRed,ProLineM3,SchumacherPink.
Softcompoundtiresworkverywellinbluegrooveconditions,whenthere'senoughrubberdeposit
onthetracktomakeitdarkishgrayorblack.Theyalsoworkwellonveryhardsurfaces,wherethe
rubbercompoundismoreimportantthanthetreaddesign.

1.2.3Carcassshape

Roundcarcass

Thesetireshavearoundedcontactarea,sothey'renotatallsensitivetocamberchanges.They're
excellentforbumpy,ruttedconditionsthey'llprovideconsistenttractionandwon'thookintothe

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rutsandmakethecarflipover.Thedownsideisthattheydon'tgenerateasmuchforwardtraction.

Flatcarcass

Thesetireshaveaflat,oralmostflatcontactarea.Theyprovideexcellentforwardtraction,andif
camberiscorrect,alsoexcellentcorneringtraction,butonlyonsmoothsurfaces.Inbumpysections,
theyfeelinconsistentandcanmakethecarflipovereasily.

1.2.4Rimsize

Tallerrims

Ifyouuseaslightlytallerrim,forexampleifyouuseanold2.0inchtireon2.2inchrims,you'll
stretchthetire'ssidewallalittle,makingitstifferandflatter.Ifyouoverdothis,thetire'scarcassis
bentoutofshape,andtractionisverypoor.Butdonecorrectly,itcanmakethetirefeeljustalittle
moreresponsiveandsurefooted,butmaybenotasgoodinbumps.

Widerrims

Usingslightlywiderrimsseemstobeinfashionnow,probablybecausetheycombineverywell
withverysoftcompoundtires.Usingaslightlywiderrimstretchesthecarcass,makingitlower,
widerandmorefirm.Thismakesthetirefeelmoredirect,andalittlebetterforsmoothtracks.

1.2.5Foaminserts
Alltires,exceptmaybehardcoumpoundtires,needfoaminsertsinorderforthecarcasstokeepits
shape.Thesofterthecarcass,thedenserthefoamneedstobe.It'sbestthattheshapeofthefoamis
matchedtotheshapeofthecarcass,sooftenthefoamwillneedsometrimmingaroundtheedges.
Also,whenyou'reusingwiderims,youmightneedawiderfoam.
Thefoamthatcomeswiththetiresisusuallythebestchoice,youcoulduseaslightlysofteronefor
bumpytracksandaslightlyharderoneforsmoothtracks,butyou'llgetaverysimilarresultbyjust
trimmingthestockfoamdifferently.Ifthevariationsarerelativelysmall,usingabiggeroramore
densefoamhasthesameeffect.

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