Tyre question

[Rcbuk]

My mate seems to think that having tyres with 1mm of tread will grip better in the dry than my brand new tyres that have say 8mm tread, but he admits in the wet mine are better.

I say that in the dry and wet mine will grip better due to having more tread, then he tells me that the tread is just there to get water out so it can grip in the wet and to look at formula 1 cars

what do you lot all think?

 

[Pep]

if its exactly the same tyre then the surface contact will be the same anyways so i think the only difference will be 'new' rubber which will be softer and therefore grip better, might not be right though

 

[Mells]

wait until he stacks it in the wet.. then see whos boss.

 

[b3nje]

either way you're not Lewis Hamilton

 

[Rcbuk]

so say both tyres are exactly the same make and same pressure on the same car, the only difference is the tread amount, 1mm v brand new, which will grip best in the dry?

 

[Final Maxim]

both the same? or probably the 1mm due to being worn niceley in.

dont shout at me if im wrong though tyre gurus

 

[b3nje]

1mm probably as they'll have more rubber on the tarmac?

1mm is very little tread!

 

[Adams_16v]

either way, driving around with 1mm of tread aint gonna do anyone any favours if the police stop him!

 

[mat-nos]

tyres never wear 100% even thats why the legal limit it 1.6mm!!

just tell him to shut up, pay up for new tyres or die in a crash...simple!! lol

 

[Rcbuk]

Wait I never said he actually has tyres with 1mm of tread, just that he thinks they will grip best

So who is right does any1 kno for sure lol

 

[cat171]

Proven fact that a car takes a lot, lot longer to stop the lesser the amount of tread it has left on the tyre !
So if he had 1mm & that was it, he'd probably take forever to stop.

 

[C.slicker]

Alot depends on the age of the tyre too.

Some tyres take 60000 miles to get to that state. They will then be cracked, hard and pretty s**t.

If it has just done a few track days so only a couple of months old then it would be much better at stopping.

Road surface is another factor. If you have alot of loose chippings on the road the tyre with more tread may fare better.

Sam

 

[mat-nos]

in other words there is alot of factors in what would be better in what condition etc
but as an over view i would say that it would be better all round if you had 8mm left on them rather than 1!!!

 

[Rcbuk]

Thats not what i asked

i asked:

so say both tyres are exactly the same make and same pressure on the same car, the only difference is the tread amount, 1mm v brand new, which will grip best in the dry?

everything is exactly the same, road conditions, reaction times, only difference being the amount of tread on the tyre, which grips best???

 

[C.slicker]

And that is the question I answer mate.

You can have dry gravel, dry motorway or dry B roads can you not?

You can also have a tyre with 1mm tread that is 1month old but have a tyre with 8mm of tread that is 6months old.

Sam

 

[GordonD]

What they do in racing classes where treaded tyres are required is to shave them down to the minimum amount of tread allowed. That reduces the squirming of the tread blocks, which generates heat, and can overheat the tyres. But in normal road use with correct pressures tyres shouldn't overheat. They might on a lap of Nurburgring, so maybe its relevant there, but not on the M25.

So its true that all else being equal a tyre that's down to 1mm tread might get more grip than one with full-depth tread. But all else rarely is equal. A tyre that's worn down is usually an old tyre. And the rubber in old tyres is harder and has less grip than in fresh tyres because the softeners have evaporated out and its been heat-cycled lots of times.

 

[Rcbuk]

cheers gordon, just the post i needed