svxsti
svxsti Reader
8/5/20 2:59 p.m.

svxsti
svxsti Reader
8/5/20 3:02 p.m.

So I have a friend from enhancedstreetperformance with an LS swapped Miata and I'm pushing him to install a dualie for drag racing. The point is, maybe 4 smaller drag tires are more efficient than 2 big drag tires, as commercial trucks and vans demonstrate. 

2002maniac
2002maniac Dork
8/5/20 3:29 p.m.

Wasnt this car used on a top gear special?

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa Dork
8/5/20 3:30 p.m.

In reply to 2002maniac :

Pretty sure that's the orangutan behind the wheel

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/5/20 3:47 p.m.

Yeah, a Top Gear car in one of the bad specials. Most are good, there are a couple that are atrocious and this was one of them.

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa Dork
8/5/20 3:51 p.m.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Eh, they're all good for something, even if that something is knowing which special to watch next.

Driven5
Driven5 UltraDork
8/5/20 4:44 p.m.
svxsti said:

So I have a friend from enhancedstreetperformance with an LS swapped Miata and I'm pushing him to install a dualie for drag racing. The point is, maybe 4 smaller drag tires are more efficient than 2 big drag tires, as commercial trucks and vans demonstrate. 

Dually's aren't about improving grip, at least not dry grip, but rather failure redundancy and increased sidewall strength/stability.  It seems to me that the former is not a consideration for drag racing, and the latter is rather detrimental.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
8/5/20 5:09 p.m.
Mr_Asa said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Eh, they're all good for something, even if that something is knowing which special to watch next.

I am usually one to defend bad Top Gear, but there are two specials that are pretty awful. India and Jerusalem, IIRC. Even Richard Porter's book throws the former under the bus. This car was from the Jerusalem one, where the boys were playing the part of three wise men.

svxsti
svxsti Reader
8/21/20 4:36 p.m.
Driven5 said:
svxsti said:

So I have a friend from enhancedstreetperformance with an LS swapped Miata and I'm pushing him to install a dualie for drag racing. The point is, maybe 4 smaller drag tires are more efficient than 2 big drag tires, as commercial trucks and vans demonstrate. 

Dually's aren't about improving grip, at least not dry grip, but rather failure redundancy and increased sidewall strength/stability.  It seems to me that the former is not a consideration for drag racing, and the latter is rather detrimental.

SMH......I do believe 4 contact patches make a difference no matter where they are, as AWD cars have demonstrated with short tires, as it is taller tires that improve traction. Lets use the ultra common 225/50/16 for example, maybe good for 250hp max, make it AWD then 500hp, same goes for a duallie!

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 UberDork
8/21/20 9:45 p.m.

There's a guy local that built a Subaru powered Porsche 914 with dualies on the back. He calls it the Porscharu.

dps214
dps214 HalfDork
8/22/20 8:03 a.m.
svxsti said:
Driven5 said:
svxsti said:

So I have a friend from enhancedstreetperformance with an LS swapped Miata and I'm pushing him to install a dualie for drag racing. The point is, maybe 4 smaller drag tires are more efficient than 2 big drag tires, as commercial trucks and vans demonstrate. 

Dually's aren't about improving grip, at least not dry grip, but rather failure redundancy and increased sidewall strength/stability.  It seems to me that the former is not a consideration for drag racing, and the latter is rather detrimental.

SMH......I do believe 4 contact patches make a difference no matter where they are, as AWD cars have demonstrated with short tires, as it is taller tires that improve traction. Lets use the ultra common 225/50/16 for example, maybe good for 250hp max, make it AWD then 500hp, same goes for a duallie!

Straight line is the one place I could see it maybe working out. But it's going to depend on tire construction and how that scales with tire width, and maybe sizing constraints as well. Yes, four contact patches are better than two, but two at double the width is just as good unless there's significant tire construction compromises made to allow the tire to be extra wide or that size doesn't exist. Otherwise you're just dragging around extra weight in both wheels and tires for the same contact patch. Also semi trucks have started moving to super singles, I'm honestly not sure the logic behind that move, but if even the situation where duallies make the most sense is moving away from them...

svxsti
svxsti Reader
8/27/20 1:21 p.m.

In reply to dps214 :

The contact patch is not square, so a 450 wide tire would not have the same area as 2 225 wide tires, not that you would easily find a 450 wide tire in the same height as the 225 wide tire. Dually engineers have known this for a long time and will never go out of production, especially on ambulances. The trucking industry on the other hand has become a dangerous game of cutting costs.

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