[karan561]

Mercedes-Benz patents water-cooling system for car tires;



This system could use water to keep car tires at the correct temperature.

Usually Wet tires are bad because they offer less grip, but what if careful application of water to your car’s rubber could actually improve performance? This is what Mercedes thinks to achieve & suggests that using sprayed water could help better control tire temperature

Their patent envisions a way of using water stored in a tank to cool tires that are too hot. Sensors would monitor tire temperature & if temperatures exceeded a certain threshold, the system could apply cooling water to the tires. The idea is to prevent rubber overheating in strenuous situations or on excessively hot days, which could cause tire failure.

Similarly warm water could be sprayed on a tire to reduce ice/snow buildup, or to prevent under inflation in cold weather conditions.

It is still not confirmed if this invention will actually go into production.

Source

[v12]

This is very much similar to water cooled brakes which come on Formula 1 or WRC cars - I don't remember exactly which one.

One question - with so much electronics aids on the Mercedes - would spraying of water on the tires result it any of the other sensors/aids kicking in?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by v12

This is very much similar to water cooled brakes which come on Formula 1 or WRC cars - I don't remember exactly which one.

Hey, Look at this excerpt from the Tata Prima Racing Truck review:

Brake Cooling System: The Prima gets drum brakes on all four wheels, which tend to get really hot. Heat can hamper braking performance during the race. To tackle this, racing trucks have a brake cooling system, wherein water is sprayed on the brakes every time the driver lets go of the pedal.

These two cylinders carry 120 liters of water. The water spray operates pneumatically:*



The pipe that carries water to the drum brakes:



Sorry for the direct copy paste.

[dhanushs]

This might work beautifully for race cars or cars on track, but dont think production cars will have this due to added weight, space constraints, and I'm wondering how they can keep the nozzles from clogging when driven in slush.

[SmartCat]

Looks like Mercedes patented James May's idea!
http://topgear.wikia.com/wiki/Icelandic_Volcano_Hilux

[IshaanIan]

My only gripe with Mercedes is, shouldn't there be a better more elegant solution? It seems like automobiles are just getting more and more complex with more electronic systems to handle subsystems to handle basic processes, and more chance of failure that could prove harmful in other ways as well.

Originally Posted by v12

This is very much similar to water cooled brakes which come on Formula 1 or WRC cars - I don't remember exactly which one.

One question - with so much electronics aids on the Mercedes - would spraying of water on the tires result it any of the other sensors/aids kicking in?

WRC I believe used to use liquid cooled brake calipers. Where liquid was recirculated within the calipers. Those systems became banned (not sure why). Nowadays they use a water mist/spray injected within the air cooling ducts for the brakes that opens in the front bumper. This is used not just in WRC but even Nascar racing and a few other sports.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

This might work beautifully for race cars or cars on track, but dont think production cars will have this due to added weight, space constraints, and I'm wondering how they can keep the nozzles from clogging when driven in slush.

How would it work beautifully for race cars? One needs the tyres to be hot for optimal grip don't they?

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

......
How would it work beautifully for race cars? One needs the tyres to be hot for optimal grip don't they?

Tyres need to be in optimal temperature. Not hot.

[GTO]

Completely agreed with Dhanushs. Unless you drive at 200+ km/h for an extended duration on the Autobahn, you don't need to worry about tyres overheating.

I've never faced an issue with hot tyres, but I have with brakes, especially in cheaper cars. The Honda Accord V6 too suffered from brakes overheating.

On a related note, some Mitsubishi EVOs & Subaru STis have water jets for the intercooler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEmcO-gEzfs

[VeyronSuperSprt]

And then there's the problem of hydroplaning.

Not externally induced either.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

And then there's the problem of hydroplaning.

Not externally induced either.

Hydroplaning occurs where there is a contiguous film of water beneath the tyres and the chances of this happening in this scenario is almost nil. That is because the sprayed water disperses and becomes tiny water droplets when it falls on the typre, thus chances of having contiguous film of water in such a scenario is almost nil.

[tbppjpr]

I wonder how much the wet tires will contribute in making the car body dirty around the mudflaps area! Or they have better idea to implement this technique to prevent the car getting unduly dirty?

[TheStranger]

I have big doubts as to how this system would be useful in our Indian scenario.

On our dusty roads, this system would lead to the tyres covered in a film of mud / slush all the time. This can lead to braking issues like sudden skids on panic braking. In the rainy season, this will magnify the braking problems to an even bigger extent.

Again, all the mud flying about in the wheel well can cause problems of corrosion of the metallic portions of the body (specially since areas of cladding in the wheel well are decreasing exponentially !)

[centaur]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Looks like Mercedes patented James May's idea!
http://topgear.wikia.com/wiki/Icelandic_Volcano_Hilux

IIRC, his tyres were still on fire even after being water cooled. Guess it was just one stream through a pipe, than a spray as such

[srishiva]

I have seen people in villages throwing water on tractor tyres when they are on long trips quite frequently. Having seen that so much, I throw water on my car wheels during break in my journey.
This is just automating that process I think it could benefit trucks that carry heavy loads and run without breaks.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by v12

One question - with so much electronics aids on the Mercedes - would spraying of water on the tires result it any of the other sensors/aids kicking in?

Car components are designed to work in all conditions, including water-wading etc. A little spray of water on the tyres probably isn't going to cause any issues. (See the diagram above for the rough location of where the water is being sprayed)

At most, something like adaptive-braking would kick in to clear the water from the brake pads.

Originally Posted by GTO

I've never faced an issue with hot tyres, but I have with brakes, especially in cheaper cars.

The thing is, you'd notice overheating brakes due to tell-tale signs of brake-fade etc -- but you probably wouldn't notice over-heating tyres.

Higher than operating temperatures for tyres are what causes tyre damage in a slow process, the same way as under-inflated tyres tend to fail because the additional flex in the sidewall generates a lot of heat, which causes damage to the tyres.