A3 6 Hot Wheels: A study into extreme tyre degradation

Abstract

The authors of this paper sought to investigate the reality behind the popular franchise "Hot Wheels" and if it is possible to cause a car's tyres to catch fire purely from high speeds. We found that auto-ignition should be reached at $315\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ but the required velocity was heavily dependent on vehicle's mass. An average motor vehicle of 1600kg was found to have its' tyres catch fire at 1487 kph provided regular linear travel or a slightly more reliable and achievable value at 991 kph if the tyres became fully locked. The implications of this were then explored for safety purposes in high speed vehicles, stating a minimum safe braking distance for an average car weight at these extreme speeds of 4.29 km.