Quote:
Originally Posted by ev99saturn
For the tire rolling resistance, there seem to be three components; 1) width of tire (how much air hits it), 2) inflation pressure, and 3) stickiness. Can anyone comment on how much of each of these contributes to the problem?
I'm thinking that a front air dam will reduce the air velocity at the front tires by quite a bit, but not affect numbers 2 & 3 above. So it would be interesting to understand the relative influence of each factor, and also, did I overlook anything regarding tire rolling resistance?
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Low rolling resistance tires often have a silica rubber compound instead of a carbon rubber, as I understand it, this rubber has more texture to it while being hard so it's more like gripping with sand paper, there is also side wall flex and tread block shape.
Width affect load capacity, an example of this is that I am to big of a guy to ride a bicycle with racing tires on it because even at max pressure they create a longer contact patch then a wider tire does, because it's not just about contact patch size but how long it is, as the tire is always trying to fight that flat spot to roll, at some point of course you reach the widest tire that is practical for the weight of your vehicle and anything wider is more weight and aero drag.