OB Racing Tales: WET WET WET

Attempted karting in wet weather tyres today.

Familiar with slicks performing as their names suggests at the slightest hint of moisture on the ground, I was pleasantly suprised at the amount of control i was able to regain with wet weather tyres.

Shah Alam, city karting......

After a work trip to KL, i organised a karting session for my collegues.
All that anticipation over the work week and in accordance with Murphy's law, rain clouds came rolling in as soon as we arrived.

Kudos and appreciation to City Karting who showed us that driving in soaked Y fronts can be an utterly enjoyable experience.

The performance was great, no puddle could wrest control of my vehicle from me.

So, lets have a look at the kinds of tyres available and find out more about them. Upon first glance, we notice that they are about the smallest tyres one has seen on any vehicle. Smaller than a car, smaller than a scooter...

The rims are made from aluminium or a magnesium alloy. There are various choices of tyres to suit diverse weather / track conditions. They are:

1) SLICK TYRES (for dry weather)

2) WET TYRES (for wet weather)

3) INTERMEDIATE TYRES (for conditions between dry and wet)

4) Other specialised tyres ( for ice, etc etc)

Tyre compounds are what the tyres are made of. The compounds are constructed from very hard to very soft. The manufacturers are Bridgestone, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Maxxis....

The patterns on the tyres itself are known as grooves and determine the usage of the particular tyre.

1) Slicks are smooth with no markings at all. They are designed for optimum contact with the surface of the track. On a dry track it provides the maximum traction possible. However the amount of traction is reduced in the presence of moisture and will hydroplane as water cannot escape the space between the tyre and track. Slicks are constructed of soft rubber but not as soft as wet weather tyres.

2) Intermediate tyres are generally used when there is a little moisture in the air and on the track, but not soo wet that wet weather tyres are required. These tyres are also used when there is likely to be low amounts of traction. As a substitute, worn wet tyres can also be used to serve this purpose. The rubber that they are made from is softer than slicks, but not as soft as wet weather tyres.

3) Wet weather tyres are used when the track is very wet or if there are puddles on the track. They are constructed of very soft rubber and thus should never be used in dry weather where they will break off and disintegrate in a short time. These tyres are grooved tyres, and offer much more traction in the wet than slicks, they offer a lot less traction in the dry. The grooves are designed to wick water away from between the tyres and track, thus creating better traction. It allows more contact with the track surface and maintains its grip.

Here are some pictures of tyres which i have found.

Turf