racing tyres only work inside a temperature window

How I got here

Started with

Why do racing tyres only grip at certain temperatures?

Ended at

Glass transition

The Trail

1. “f1 tyre graining vs blistering” (google.com)
2. Formula One tyres (en.wikipedia.org)
3. Racing slick (en.wikipedia.org)
4. Hysteresis (en.wikipedia.org)

   this is the actual grip mechanism, more or less

5. Glass transition (en.wikipedia.org)

   rubber's grip depends a lot on where it sits relative to this

What I came away with

Rubber grips partly by deforming into the road surface and losing a little energy each time (hysteresis), and that works best in a certain temperature range. Too cold and the surface tears and rolls into little balls (graining). Too hot and it overheats inside and chunks come off (blistering). Strategy is largely about keeping tyres in that window.

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