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Wheels can also lose traction when surface conditions reduce available traction such as on snow and ice. As an open differential delivers only enough torque to cause the "weakest" wheel to spin, if one drive wheel is stationary on a low traction surface (mud, ice, etc.), the deliverable torque is limited to the traction available on it.
The wagon-wheel effect (alternatively called stagecoach-wheel effect) is an optical illusion in which a spoked wheel appears to rotate differently from its true rotation. The wheel can appear to rotate more slowly than the true rotation, it can appear stationary, or it can appear to rotate in the opposite direction from the true rotation ...
A burnout (also known as a peel out, power brake, or brakestand) is the practice of keeping a vehicle stationary and spinning its wheels, the resultant friction causing the tires to heat up and smoke. While the burnout gained widespread popularity in California, it was first created by Buddy Houston, his brother Melson and David Tatum II at Ted ...
Furthermore, automatically locking differentials can cause a loss of control on ice where an open differential would allow one wheel to spin and the other to hold, while not transferring power. An example of this would be a vehicle parked sideways on a slippery grade. When both wheels spin, the vehicle will break traction and slide down the grade.
A burnout is when a car intentionally locks the front wheels to hold the car in place while spinning the rear wheels. The dynamic friction of the spinning tire against the road causes significant amounts of the tire's rubber to be deposited onto the road surface, and increased temperature from friction usually creates dense white smoke.
The loss of friction between wheels and rail results in loss of tractive force: the wheels begin to spin, and in some instances the train is unable to move. In braking, substantial loss of friction results in reduced braking force. Braking distances are considerably longer, and in extreme cases the wheels may even lock up, causing the train to ...
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Depending on the driver, steering force and transmission of road forces back to the steering wheel and the steering ratio of turns of the steering wheel to turns of the road wheels affect control and awareness. Play—free rotation of the steering wheel before the wheels rotate—is a common problem, especially in older model and worn cars.