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Old 03-08-2018, 01:53 PM   #13 (permalink)
RedDevil
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ksa8907 View Post
So you're saying a smaller diameter tire has magical properties and actually travels a greater distance with each revolution?

The tire obviously deforms when in contact with the road, inflation pressure will play a large role. In order for a smaller diameter tire to travel the same (or greater) distance would mean the tread on the larger tire is being compressed much more than the smaller tire. How?
Did you actually read what I wrote?

To say the tire just 'deforms' in contact with the road is missing the whole point.

The contact patch is FLAT.
Every lug is aligned parallel to the next lug, and it really does not matter how high it is. The distance between the lugs at the tarmac is identical to their distance at the belts.

Nothing magical happening, just plain logic.

Then, over time, the constant bending of the belts combined with the pressure in the tires will elongate them ever so slightly. So, indeed, the worn tire with its shallower grooves, but stretched belts, will roll ver so slightly further over one rotation.
From personal experience I can account for how much that can be: namely, 200 meters over 35.6 kilometer, about 0.6 %.

I knew my post was going to be criticized, as it seems to go against gut feeling and simple logic.
But once you understand the mechanism it should not be hard to get.
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Last edited by RedDevil; 03-08-2018 at 02:10 PM..
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