While driving within the recommended speed limits is what is encouraged, sometimes, a person may wish to know what it feels like to attain a certain speed within or outside the speed limit.
The adrenaline rush may not be on the same level as professional car racers, it may however get you to feel in a way you have never felt. Your experience driving at a high speed is considerably dependent on the tire pressure to a great extent. So, does tire pressure affect speed?
Yes, tire pressure undoubtedly does affect the speed of the car. Except for professional drivers and persons with years of driving records, it is easy to lose control of the car when driving at a high speed.
For this reason, most persons rarely cross 100 mph when driving and have never known what it would feel like to do so. However, those who have dared to cross this speed limit are quick to notice the difference that exists when two cars of varying tire pressure are driven at this speed.
Without looking at the speedometer, what gives you most of the idea about how fast you think you are diving is the intensity of vibration felt during the driving. The higher such vibrations go, the more the feeling of fear that the car may lift off from the road.
Driving shortly after, a car with a different type of shock absorber system, tires, and tire pressure makes a whole lot of difference.
With such care, you may find it difficult to believe the reading on the speedometer even when it is known to function perfectly. This is because the speed does not create the same nerve-wracking experience as before due to the different tire pressure.
The primary culprit here is vibration. Irrespective of the speed at which the car is driven, once vibration is borough into the equation, it changes everything. The vibration will create a picture in your mind that makes you think the car may fly off the road at any moment and forces you to slow down in fear of this.
The tires and other components of the shock absorber system in cars such as race cars which can be driven for up to 200mph are in such a way that they prevent these vibrations and allows for the attainment of such a high speed without the associated vigorous or intense life-threatening trembling.
Ever wonder why the tires of mountain bikes and those gravel bikes are designed differently? Well, the terrain these bikes are driven is markedly different necessitating their unique design of large size tires and reduced air pressure in the tires to accommodate the bumpy road, increasing the grip of the tires on the road as well as the speed of the bikes.
The intense vibration felt when driving with an overly inflated tire can be quite deceptive, it could cause you to slow down thinking you are during too fast whereas were not. It’s about the difference between perception and reality.
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How does tire pressure affect speed?
Depending on your passion and your favorite subject back when you were a school student, you may have come across terms such as rolling resistance. Rolling resistance may be understood in layman’s terms as the force that impedes the forward movement of your bicycle, bike, or vehicle.
It is a force that must be overcome if the bike or bicycle is to move forward. It, therefore, has an inverse proportionality with the car speed.
Do not mistake what happens in the lab with the reality as this may not be the exact representation of what is on the ground. In the laboratory, for example, it has been noted that tire pressure varies inversely with the rolling resistance, that is, the higher the tore resistance the lower the rolling resistance. (Read Also: Does The BMW Warranty Cover Nails In Tires?)
The lower the rolling resistance the faster the car drives. The along resistance is in lay terms the opposing force the tires must overcome to make a forward motion. A decrease in this will allow the car to attain a high speed with the minimum gas pump.
You however understand that while this is what is obtainable in the lab, the situation is not the same when driving on pavement. The principle holds for some time until the decreasing rolling resistance gets to an endpoint beyond which it does not decrease further, rather, it makes a U-turn and rapidly shoots up.
Given that rolling resistance also maintains an inverse relationship with the speed of the tires and consequently that of the car, the new high rolling resistance will dramatically cause the car speed to become slower.
A fair warning was given earlier about physics terminologies abound in this article, so here is another one. The point where the rolling resistance gets to and refuses to go lower but turns the other way and starts going up is known as the impedance breakpoint.
It is important to understand what is truly going on at this point else, you will continue to have the feeling of moving fast whereas, the reality is that you are not.
At the point of the impedance breakpoint, the higher rolling resistance causes you to feel the exact intensity of every single bump you drive over, this vibratory impact causes you to think the car is moving at a high speed, whereas, it is slowing down in reality.
Except for an objective measure such as the speedometer, perception of speed may not necessarily translate to an actual speed. How smooth or rough the road is may also contribute to how you feel while driving, and create the impression of a highway speed while you are losing speed.
A car’s speed is judged based on its forward movement, Vibration, however, is an up and down motion, and not a forward motion. It is therefore a drag on the speed of the car as the energy needed to move the car forward is wasted in the way of vibratory motion.
The firm and constant grip of the tire on the road help to move the car faster, hence the tires are usually designed to achieve this. While vibrating, the tire in certain instances is off the road, this reduces the amount of contact the tire has with the road and consequently its speed.
What causes tire pressure to affect speed?
When it comes to understanding the mechanism through which the car’s speedometer measures the car’s speed, you will discover that the size of the tires matters a lot in this regard. The larger the tire the lower the speedometer reading.
This explains why the speedometer needs a recalibration when one gets larger or smaller tires installed.
Similarly, When the tire is inflated, the increased air pressure also causes the tire to increase in size, this of course will cause a lowered speedometer reading. So, you could be driving at a higher speed which is already over the speed limit, and remain unaware you receive those speeding tickets.
How do I prevent tire pressure from affecting my car’s speed?
When the tires are losing air pressure, it may be difficult to detect especially for slow leaks found in the tubeless tires. The rapid leak of tube tires and the associated hiring sound makes it easy to identify when the tire is losing air and to address the issue promptly.
Ensure the tires have the optimal air pressure at all times by inspecting the tires regularly, measuring the air pressure, avoiding puncture agents such as nails and tree branches, avoid driving over speed bumps at full speed as this could cause rim damage that may result in leakage.
The speedometer may need recalibration following tire inflation radically when the tires are salted beyond the recommended tire pressure.
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Is it safe to drive with low tire pressure?
When a car is constantly driven with low tire pressure, depending on the degree of deflation, this will put the tire at risk of rapid deterioration and a shortened lifespan.
This will also reduce the fuel economy, cause a dent in the rim when the car is driven over in pothole speed bump and deny the driver of full handling of the vehicle, especially in a life and death decision when sharp and tricky turns have to be made.
The tires can get easily damaged especially when the road is filled with potholes and speed bumps. Ideally, the car should be driven slowly in this state if there are no other options. The number of persons and luggage should be reduced and the driver must put on the emergency lights to notify other road users.
Can low tire pressure affect speed?
There was a time when cyclists thought tire inflation gave an advantage or had a role to play in faster speed, those days are long gone following the era of increased understanding of sciences and technology.
Low tire pressure ironically will low for a firmer grip and traction of the road and improve the speed. Rather than erroneously over-inflation the tire pressure to give the bike or bicycle a speed advantage, the air pressure in the tire should be kept at the recommended range.
Conclusion – Does Tire Pressure Affect Speed?
Speed, gas mileage, vibrations, and another aspect of driving are directly or indirectly kinked by the amount of air pressure in the tires. over-inflation of the tires will only raise the vibrations and produce a false feeling of speed without the actual attainment.
Low tire pressure on the other hand allows for a firmer grip and higher speed.
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I am passionate about all things automotive and have a deep understanding of the topic. As a mechanic, I use my free time to share knowledge of everyday challenges that any car owner can experience – helping you make informed decisions about tires.