This has been bugging me for ages!
I was reading a post the other day where one of the members was saying that he was going to put on some wide tyres to increase his 1/4 mile times.
Now in engineering terms, grip (or frictional resistance) is u(friction co-efficent) times by the force. Notice there is NO allowance for surface area!..... ie/ width of tyre / contact patch.
Despite this, everyone knows that wide tyres grip better! Is this just because a higher grade rubber compound is more likely to be used in a wider (more expensive) tyre?.... Or maybe the size of the tyre allows for better heat dissipation?
I had countless arguments with lecturers / tutors about this subject when I was at uni & have not been satisfied with any explanations offered (There are other friction application that disprove the grip thing).
I'd like to know what any of you guys that are involved with racing or are servicing the automotive industry think.