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General Engineering Science Fair Project

Tire Stiffness and Speed

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Tire Stiffness and Speed | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Are you ready to race? Let's find out if the type of tire you use affects how fast you can go. We'll be testing different tires on a go-kart to see which one is the fastest.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that softer tires provide better traction and therefore enable a go-kart to complete laps around a go-kart circuit in a shorter time than hard tires.

Method & Materials

You will be testing 3 different types of tires (soft, medium, and hard) on a go-kart. You will measure the time it takes to complete 3 laps on each type of tire.
You will need a go-kart car (80cc, approximately 9HP), 3 different race circuits with almost equal lap distance (1.0 km to 1.3 km), 3 different sets of tires (soft tires, medium tires and hard tires), racing attire for the driver, a stop watch to measure the time taken to complete the 3 laps, and an experienced go-kart race driver.

Results

The results of the experiment show that the go-kart equipped with the soft tires will finish the 3 laps in the fastest time followed by the medium tires. The hard tires will produce the slowest time. This is possibly because of better traction produced by soft tires.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how the type of tire you use can affect your speed. It also shows how important it is to choose the right type of tire for the right conditions.

Also Consider

Variations to consider include testing the experiment on wet tracks, testing different tire widths with the same hardness, and testing how the temperature of the track affects the results.

Full project details

You can find additional information and details for this science fair project here. Have fun exploring!
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