Why don't we make rubber streets and concrete tires?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/GameboyPATH]

Concrete tires on rapidly spinning wheels would crack easily, and their weight would massively slow the car down.

Rubber streets would warp and bend, and we'd run out of materials quickly.

All for zero benefit.

[u/gettin-hot-in-here → u/GameboyPATH]

Crashes and panic stops would do a lot more damage to roadways if roads were soft and tires were hard.  Oh and to make the ride anywhere near as smooth for cars as it is now, you'd need pneumatic roads with air cells inside the rubber everywhere. Because nobody is going to invent compliant, air filled concrete tires. 

[u/ul2006kevinb]

Because people would be bouncing every time they walked down the street, duh.

[u/Personal_Bit_5341 → u/ul2006kevinb]

They're asking why NOT though.  

[u/bloody-pencil]

Because instead of potholes you’d get pot tyres

[u/SellAmzSell]

They sort of use “rubber streets” in playgrounds. The ground is made of rubbery stuff that is bouncy. When kids trip, the fall doesn’t hurt as much. But that stuff gets really hot in the sun

Concrete tires would be too heavy to roll around. Keep in mind that regular tires are filled with air.

[u/ResponsibilityNo8309]

Because that is stupid and has no engineering advantage. Concrete tires would increase the weight of vehicles excessively, concrete couldn't stand up to the forces of a rotating wheel and will break up fling pieces of concrete in every direction and if not kill seriously injure anyone nearby, and mostly likely write off the vehicle. Rubber roads would require significantly more maintenance. Would wear unevenly a rutt worse than a concrete/asphalt road

[u/fedput]

The road needs to stay put and the tires need to spin in a controlled manner.

[u/HelpfulSeaMammal]

Because concrete is fucking heavy and you don't want to move it every time you need to go somewhere

We just move it one time to put it on the road the way that it's setup now

I think that's a good compromise lol

[u/belugiaboi37]

This is why I keep coming back to this sub

[u/FalconLover05]

Because asphalt is sexier than concrete.

[u/ProctologyExplosion → u/FalconLover05]

I'm more of a boobphalt guy myself

[u/Dapper-Scientist-137]

Centripetal force would likely tear a concrete tire apart

[u/Sofasurvivor]

Softer materials break down faster, and it is easier to change tires than to build a new street.

[u/bangbangracer]

Because it would be a bad idea. Moving on.

[u/squirrel9000]

You ever seen how road lines need to be repainted once a year or so? Durability is a concern. Plus, it' expensive,

Vehicles handle better with minimum unsprung weight.

[u/wivaca2]

Unsprung weight has a lot to do with a vehicle's handling. The forces on spinning concrete would probably blow it apart with huge flying chunks of concrete. Lastly, rubber is expensive vs concrete.

[u/MetaCardboard]

Concrete would make the vehicles a lot heavier, which would make everything more expensive. Also, wheels need to be a bit flexible, and concrete isn't really known for that. I'm sure there are at least half a dozen other reasons.

[u/Barnabas_Stinson17]

First off, roads are made of asphalt not concrete. Rubber can become very brittle in the winter which asphalt can tolerate.

Then if your tires were made of concrete or asphalt, a small crack would make your car completely un-drivable. You can at least drive on a flat carefully enough to get your car to safety. Every time you drive on a concrete tire that has a chunk that broke off, it’s going to keep breaking.

Lastly, good luck making concrete smooth enough to drive on. Concrete is made with some sort of composite material combined with water and cement.

[u/ResponsibilityNo8309 → u/Barnabas_Stinson17]

No there are concrete surfaced roads, they have fallen out of favour and will generally get resurfaced with Asphalt but there are certainly still sections of road that are concrete. 

[u/StevieTV]

They did try rubber roads in the UK in the 1950s. My gran told me about it when she was alive and she said it was when they were trying different surfaces to replace the old cobblestone roads. The rubber road was removed as it turned into an ice rink when it rained and everyone was skidding on it.

[u/primalnatured]

A failure on a rubber tire would be way more handleable than a failure of a concrete tire.

[u/clintj1975]

Concrete tires would be terrible in ice and snow

[u/547217]

Well the problem with rubber streets is when they catch on fire. When I was a kid I remember my grandfather burned some tires out in his field and they burned for 3 days straight at least.

[u/TheFrogEmperor]

Good luck containing a rubber street fire