cold weather traction vs warm weather traction.

[71LS1Vega]

This is so i can squash an arguement, im not going to put out my opinion just get yours.

Car: 472whp 05 gto.

Tires 19'' BFG KDW2's( i beleive 245/35/19's)

45-50mph roll 40 degree weather

vs

45-50mph roll 70-80 degree weather


i have tested the cold weather option. spun up to 85-90mph(not burning the tires off but enough to see black marks.


Will there be any difference in the warmer scenario? not heating the tires up, i had a slight spirited run 1 mile before i did the 3rd gear roll(spun a little in 2nd only.)

id like more than one opinion as well. As many as i can get!

[spyder_xlch]

I'm not sure what the actual question is but you'll get better traction in warmer weather than in colder weather assuming all other variables are the same.

[73Sedan]

Heat makes air/tires expand - Why would air and track temps be displayed during a serious event if they were not important?

Yes, tires stick to hot pavement better, and air temperatures make tires expand differently.

As Matt said...what is the exact question???

[71LS1Vega]

45-50mph roll 40 degree weather

vs

45-50mph roll 70-80 degree weather


i have tested the cold weather option. spun up to 85-90mph(not burning the tires off but enough to see black marks.


Will there be any difference in the warmer scenario?

^question right in the post
AKA will there be better traction with the same exact scenario just different temperature outside.

[73Sedan]

45-50mph roll 40 degree weather

vs

45-50mph roll 70-80 degree weather


i have tested the cold weather option. spun up to 85-90mph(not burning the tires off but enough to see black marks.


Will there be any difference in the warmer scenario?

In general, yes, warmer surface (road) temps will yield better traction. Your question seems to relate more to "Highway racing" as opposed to drag racing if I read it correctly - you are punching it from a 45-50 MPH cruise (i.e. Interstate racing????) With drag racing (from a dead standstill) you are after heat as well as a flat contact patch (where ALL of your treadwidth is in contact with the road surface) - like if you are over inflated it would look like a U from behind as opposed to evenly inflated looking like __ - likewise an under inflated tire would cup away from the road surface.

This is also why the "general tire inflation recommendations" are based on cold PSI - when you drive for 30-40 minutes the air in your tire gets hotter - making the air expand, and increases your true PSI. Just keep a pressure gauge handy - check PSI on one tire early in the morning, then check it again in the heat of the day after driving; you could see a difference of up to 6 PSI in extremes.

[Fasterthansome]

This is so i can squash an arguement, im not going to put out my opinion just get yours.

Car: 472whp 05 gto.

Tires 19'' BFG KDW2's( i beleive 245/35/19's)

45-50mph roll 40 degree weather

vs

45-50mph roll 70-80 degree weather


i have tested the cold weather option. spun up to 85-90mph(not burning the tires off but enough to see black marks.


Will there be any difference in the warmer scenario? not heating the tires up, i had a slight spirited run 1 mile before i did the 3rd gear roll(spun a little in 2nd only.)

id like more than one opinion as well. As many as i can get!

Uh yeah, cold tire on cold pavement has less traction than warm rubber on warm asphalt or concrete.

Squish an argument? Who would argue that?

[spyder_xlch]

OK, I understand the question now. I was thinking drag racing. Sounded like you were spinning the tires 45-50MPH during a burn out, then tried it at 85-90.
So you are driving down the road 45-50 MPH, drop the hammer and the tires spin until about 85-90. Sounds like fun
And you want to know if traction will improve when it's 70° or 80° as opposed to 40°. I'd say yes. How much better, all depends on what surface the road is I'd think. The tires will be warmer and the road surface will be too, but warmer concreate might not be any better than cool concreate. Asphalt will be more grippy when it's hotter.

[Dreamweaver]

for best tire to pavement traction

the tire should only be around 10-15 degrees hotter then the pavement on most tires

I find this to be more important when its cold I do smaller burnouts in the cold months to keep the ratio closer *very important**this can be very tricky driving on a cold surface* ,but it is actually worst driving on a cold surface with tires that are too hot sounds backwards I know
Unless you can do a 500 foot burnout that is so bad it can heat the track and stay in those tracks during the run its best to keep the ratio close between tire to pavement

so bottom line your best result should be to keep the tune up for the weather conditions and adjust tire presurre or rpm's to handle the power
now that being said evey car(even two that roll off with consecitive vin numbers) will be a little different and like different tune ups

I dont know if this will give you the answer you were looking for

[71LS1Vega]

my father was the one arguing with me about it.

spyder, you got it dead on. on the street just nailing it at 40-45

plus im talking about a street car, not a drag car with slicks.

all my life iv had to deal with cold weather and no traction im 10 min from the canadian border in NY so it deffinately gets cold here and driving even with drag radials traction would be very limited in cold weather.