Thermal Imaging Makes Burnouts Even Better
Burnouts Are Cool, But Seeing Them in Infrared Makes This One of the Best Burnout Videos Ever
Burnouts. We love them, and we know you do, too. And as it turns out, there’s a science behind all of that freedom-scented tire smoke.
By using thermal imaging, FLIR — Forward Looking InfraRed — cameras let you see things that escape the human eye. Since the images are composed of heat radiation, you won’t see any tire smoke. However you will see how the tire heats up in a flash. The video above also highlights some other interesting facts about what heats up, and why.
CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Awesome FLIR Video
In this instance, the ever illuminating Jason from Engineering Explained is the man behind the burnout. He finds that the inside tread of the tire gained temperature more rapidly than the outside. That’s due to alignment, and how forces are spread over the contact patch. Racers have used temperature probes for decades to measure heat across the tread, ensuring that the load on the tire is being used to full effect.
What’s also interesting is how rapidly things gain heat. In just a few frames, the tire turns from the cold purple color to the hot bright orange. Hardly a few seconds pass before the whole tread turns bright white from heat.
So is this a new way to look at burnouts? You bet it is! And we can’t wait for the next FLIR video!
