Tweet
Colleagues;
During my class discussion today on friction, that is, the
force needed to overcome friction is proportional to the
normal force and the coefficient of friction--and not the
surface area--a student asked why then do performance cars
have wider tires? I muttered something about stability
and center of mass and base of support. Does anyone have
any other explanations, such as softer tires (higher
coefficient of friction) need more surface area to decrease
wear and improve tire stability? As usual, will post
responses.
Jeff Ives, PhD
Dept. Exercise Science
Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC 27506 USA
jives@camel.campbell.edu
During my class discussion today on friction, that is, the
force needed to overcome friction is proportional to the
normal force and the coefficient of friction--and not the
surface area--a student asked why then do performance cars
have wider tires? I muttered something about stability
and center of mass and base of support. Does anyone have
any other explanations, such as softer tires (higher
coefficient of friction) need more surface area to decrease
wear and improve tire stability? As usual, will post
responses.
Jeff Ives, PhD
Dept. Exercise Science
Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC 27506 USA
jives@camel.campbell.edu