DDoyle9570@aol.com wrote:
> While I have never seen tabulated data to support this, I suppose the ground
> pressure is lower on 10 900x20's is lower than that supported on 6 1100x20
> (although the gross weight of the 6 wheeled vehicle is 410 lbs less than the
> 10 wheeler).
I think you're correct. According to my 1965 M44-series operator's
book, the recommended highway pressure for singles is 70 PSI, and it's
50 PSI for multifuels with dual tires.
I think that with pneumatic tires, the ground pressure will be roughly
equal to the tire pressure (ignoring support due to the rigidity of
the sidewalls, which I would guess is negligible for most common
tires). The air in each tire will apply an equal force to each square
inch of the interior of the tire, and the tire will flatten until the
area of the contact patch times the tire pressure is equal to the
weight supported by that tire. Thus, the ground pressure will roughly
equal the tire pressure, with the total area of the contact patch
varying depending on the load and the tire pressure.
I'm no tire expert... I'm just applying a bit of physics to the problem.
-- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK <mblair1@home.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://www.keyserver.net/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/ DO NOT SEND ANY UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL TO THIS SITE
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Dec 03 2000 - 20:29:51 PST