>There is an interesting debate on another list about contact patch size. I
>felt who more qualified to answer than the people who regularly push their
>poor contact patches to the limit? The big question is, how is contact
>patch size affected by a larger/wider tire given identical vehicle weight
>and tire pressure? Through simple calculations, it looks like the
>size/width is irrelevant, and weight as well as tire pressure are all that
>matter,
This is correct if your tires are as flexible as balloons, with no stiff
structure. The structure of the tire intervenes, though, and the size of
the tire patch is not equal to the weight on the tire divided by the air
pressure in the tire, but rather the size of the tire patch is LESS than the
weight on the tire divided by the air pressure in the tire.
>but experience would suggest otherwise. Anybody know of a good
>formula for determining this? Thanx!
Tire Patch < Weight on the tire patch / Air pressure in Tire
Follow the units:
Square Inches < Pounds / PSI
Phil Ethier Saint Paul Minnesota USA
Lotus Europa, VW Quantum Syncro, Chev Suburban
LOON, TCVWC, MAC
pethier@isd.net http://www.visi.com/mac/
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