Pneumatic trail or trail of the tire is a
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
-like effect generated by compliant
tire
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
s rolling on a hard surface and subject to side loads, as in a turn. More technically, it is the distance that the resultant
force
In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...
of
side-slip occurs behind the geometric center of the
contact patch
Contact patch is the portion of a vehicle's tire that is in actual contact with the road surface. It is commonly used in the discussion of pneumatic (i.e. pressurized) tires, where the term is used strictly to describe the portion of the tire’s ...
.
Causes
Pneumatic trail is caused by the progressive build-up of lateral force along the length of the contact patch, such that lateral forces are greater towards the rear of the contact patch (though less so when the rear of the contact patch begins sliding) and this creates a
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
on the tire called the
self aligning torque. Because the direction of the side-slip is towards the outside of a turn, the force on the tire is towards the center of the turn. Therefore, this torque tends to turn the front wheel in the direction of the side-slip, away from the direction of the turn.
Variation
Pneumatic trail is at its maximum when the slip angle is zero and decreases as slip angle increases. Pneumatic trail increases with vertical load.
See also
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Bike physics
Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics is the science of the Motion (physics), motion of bicycles and motorcycles and their components, due to the forces acting on them. Multibody dynamics, Dynamics falls under a branch of physics known as classical m ...
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Camber thrust
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Caster angle
250px, θ is the caster angle, the red line is the pivot line, and the grey area is the tire.
250px, Front suspension of a race car, the caster angle is formed by the line between upper and lower ball joint.
The caster angle or castor angle is t ...
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Cornering force
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Relaxation length
Relaxation length is a property of pneumatic tires that describes the delay between when a slip angle is introduced and when the cornering force reaches its steady-state value.
It is also described as the distance that a tire rolls before the later ...
References
{{Tires, state=collapsed
Vehicle technology
Tires
Motorcycle dynamics