Car acceleration?

Question

Can someone tell me if what I am thinking is right or correct me or give feedback: Ultimately the limiting factor in how fast a car can accellerate is the tires. If the tire increases in speed too rapidly the tire will lose traction and the car will not accellerate. So in theory if we had a weightless 2 million horsepower engine in a car it would not accellerate any faster than a weightless 1 million horsepower engine in the same car. There is a maximum possible acceleration for every car considering its weight and body design. Eh?

Answer 1

It is generally believed that tire friction is the limiting factor in car acceleration. The maximum acceleration is a complex calculation, since tire friction will vary depending on type and size of tire, and road surface material and conditions. A good example is a car on an icy surface. The car will not accelerate no matter how powerful the engine is (many of us have experienced that first hand). A more powerful car will be heavier; this produces two opposing effects: the higher mass will reduce acceleration, but frictional force on the tires will also be higher, increasing max accleration. Which one wins? you would have to have specific numbers for these factors to tell.

Answer 2

Yep, that seems to make sense. That's why if you accelerate (or decelerate) too quickly, your tires will skid, which is a loss of traction. That's why drag racer tires are made differently than regular tires. They are made of different material that allows them to flex and bend more, allowing better traction during a drag racer's phenomenal acceleration. There are cool videos of drag racer tires in slow motion. If you gunned the engines of your hypothetical million hp cars, the tires would probably shred and neither car would go anywhere.

Answer 3

Now, just to throw a curve ball, what happens if you put indestructible square tires with that engine...