Proposal for a Procedure for Evaluating Wet Skid Resistance of a Road-Tire-Vehicle System

Propulsion, decelerating, and steering control of ground vehicles using pneumatic tires depends upon road-tire frictional forces developed within a few square inches of the road-tire contact area. Tire and vehicle designers should, therefore, have knowledge of tire distortions and force development in the contact area, and should understand tire hydrodynamics in order to develop tire-vehicle systems with optimum performance on wet, slippery roads.

This paper discusses the following testing techniques: road-tire-vehicle system to evaluate skid resistance, skid trailer versus complete vehicle tests, effects of radial stiffness on skid resistance, etc. Data obtained from these tests make it possible to evaluate road grip of tires as a function of the type of tire, tread design, and tread compound.