"Phil W Lee" <
ph...@lee-family.me.uk> wrote in message
news:scv2j7d4icoktqvus...@4ax.com...
> Frank Krygowski <
frkr...@gmail.com> considered Fri, 3 Feb 2012
> 13:58:03 -0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:
>
>>On Feb 2, 9:34 pm, RichD <
r_delaney2...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> Low air pressure in tires retards fuel milege, but why?
>>>
>>> The obvious answer is, greater friction. But even though
>>> the tire is flatter, still it rolls, there's no relative movement
>>> between the pavement and tire, hence no sliding friction.
>>>
>>> So where and how do the losses occur?
>>
>>Friction losses within the tire's material is certainly one way. I
>>think if you lowered one of your car's tires to, say, 20 psi and drove
>>on the freeway for a mile, you could easily detect that the tire was
>>hotter, indicating that it's sucking up energy. Admittedly, I don't
>>plan to try that test myself.
>>
>>Think about dribbling a basketball. If the ball's soft, it doesn't
>>rebound nearly as well. Obviously more energy is lost. It's probably
>>going into the rubber.
>>
>>Also, I think there would be more relative movement between the
>>pavement and tire, due to a sort of scrubbing action. Tires that are
>>consistently run with pressure that's too low tend to wear faster,
>>mostly toward the edges.
>>
>>What seems to be different about bikes and cars is that, AFAIK, a
>>car's gas mileage doesn't decrease if you have tire pressure too high,
>>at least within reasonable limits.
>
> Actually, it does, but grip decreases as well, so nobody will admit to
> it, out of a perfectly reasonable fear that the stingy will go around
> with their tyres pumped up so hard they double their stopping
> distances :)
>
>> But a bike can take more energy to
>>move if you have too much pressure. The difference seems to be
>>related to lack of mechanical suspension on a bike; the bike tire is
>>typically the only suspension, and too much pressure makes the bike a
>>rigid, unsuspended vehicle.
>
> No - it's to do with the difference in contact area.
> If you used a motor vehicle on a road with surface irregularities that
> were proportionate to what exists for a bicycle's contact patch (which
> would be a truly atrocious road surface - something like 5-6" lumps
> with gaps of 8-10" distance between them), you'd see the same results.
>
> That's why vehicles designed for such terrain have huge soft tyres.
>>
>>- Frank Krygowski
>
> Race teams use a tyre thermometer to ensure the tyre pressure is right
> for the load and conditions.
> If you watch an F1 pitstop closely, you'll see the guy with the probe
> stabbing the tread as soon as the car stops.
Phil W Lee,
I don't think that's the case now - the cars are stationary for only 3
seconds or so. And, the cars have tire temperature telemetry (IR sensors)
that monitor tire temperatures in real time.
Kerry