Many do not ask the question where does the tire material go as your tire wears on your passenger car or suv. Well it is burned off by friction as you drive. If it did not burn off, there would be piles of material on the sides of highways that came off the tires.
If you go to a racetrack and have the ability to access the track, you will see material from the race tires at the bottom of the track. The drivers call this stuff “marbles” because it’s round and will cause you to lose control if you get into it.
Consumer tires wear their tread compound down with use; the stuff that wears off is so fine it becomes airborne then gets blown around by the airstreams of vehicles that come later. Consumer tires use tougher, harder compounds than race tires as well, which explains the difference. Harder compounds simply last longer than softer stuff. Race tires may leave 'marbles' 'cause the compounds they use are soft, sometimes so soft a single race is too long for a set of tires to last the full length of the race. Those marbles may be sticky too, so they tend to aggregate over time making them larger and easier to see where they gather.
Great article.
Many do not ask the question where does the tire material go as your tire wears on your passenger car or suv. Well it is burned off by friction as you drive. If it did not burn off, there would be piles of material on the sides of highways that came off the tires.
If you go to a racetrack and have the ability to access the track, you will see material from the race tires at the bottom of the track. The drivers call this stuff “marbles” because it’s round and will cause you to lose control if you get into it.
Lots of technology in tires.
I don't think so, no.
Consumer tires wear their tread compound down with use; the stuff that wears off is so fine it becomes airborne then gets blown around by the airstreams of vehicles that come later. Consumer tires use tougher, harder compounds than race tires as well, which explains the difference. Harder compounds simply last longer than softer stuff. Race tires may leave 'marbles' 'cause the compounds they use are soft, sometimes so soft a single race is too long for a set of tires to last the full length of the race. Those marbles may be sticky too, so they tend to aggregate over time making them larger and easier to see where they gather.