- #1
Gear Head
- 1
- 0
Homework Statement
So a car owner wants to change his current tires and rims to a wider set of tires and rims for increased handling ability. However, the owner does not want to lose any acceleration performance due to the increased friction of having wider tires. To combat this, the owner wants to know how much weight loss is necessary to overcome the increased frictional forces and maintain his current acceleration abilities. Assume a uniform weight distribution for the wheels.
All variables are held constant except:
New wheel width
New wheel weight
Given:
Coefficient of friction is 0.7
Stock wheel width is 6in. or 15.24cm
Stock wheel mass is 20lbs
Create an equation that compares wheel friction at a given width to wheel weight.
Homework Equations
I think I should use:
Kinetic energy = 1/2 Mv^2 where M is mass and v is velocity
Frictional force = coeff. of friction * F(n) where F(n) is the normal force.
Normal force = mass * gravity
The Attempt at a Solution
I[/B] am having a tough time with this one. I assume that if I can set the friction equation equal to the rotational equation, then I can use that same formula for the new wheel and the old wheel and can compare the forces easily. I just can't figure out how to set the equation up.