Err perhaps you misunderstand the issue here and should re-read the thread. If you lock your tyres and get a spot on them really hot, that spot will "puff" a bit of smoke when it touches the road. No damage or crashing involved.
This isn't anything to do with tyres rubbing bodywork or being dragged sideways.
the original thread starter was asking why his wheels would be smoking on straights. its not actually about hot spots, that however is the most obvious reason. maybe you mis understood the issue .
There are real flatspots. Watch your F9 tire display after locking the brakes up. You will see, not only a patch of red flash from the hotspot, but if you look closely, you also see the patch just a bit smaller than the rest of the tire at that red spot. Lock them up often enough and you will see it easily. The thickness of the "tread" in F9 is tire wear.
You won't feel it in the FF because, as Tristan said, there is no longitudinal force exerted on the tires from a flat spot. You would feel it in the seat rather than the wheel, IRL.
for the question about how to hotspot without flat spotting.
easiest explaination...ever try doing a burnout? the wheels are spinning, and the slippage of the rubber over the pavement increases temperatures more than a rolling tire, and overheats the tires.
sliding, as in drifting, will also hotspot the tires without flatspotting them, unless it is an ebrake initiated drift, then there might be minimal flatspotting...but that is over complicating this
flatspotting is an uneven wear on tire tread from a locked tire sliding across the pavement, which shaves that spot of the tire flat, and causes the tire to not be round any longer.
hotspotting is basically an overheated tire. it can happen in a specific spot of the tire, or across the whole tire. what could cause it to happen in one spot and not another?
tire pressure for one. all things being equal, an over inflated tires will hotspot in the center because the tread surface has become convex and the edges of the tire have less contact with the pavement, which causes them to experience less friction, and heat less. the opposite is true for under inflated tires.
another setup issue that can cause hotspotting on a tire edge is camber. basically the same concept as tire inflation, but the camber affects the left/right tilt of the tire and can excessive camber can cause one of the tire edges to be lifted off the ground.
hotspotting typically accompanies flatspotting, but the reverse is not necessarily true...and if a flatspotted tire is allowed to cool, it will still be flatspotted but not hotspotted. so it is very much possible to have one without the other.
There IS a very subtle flatspot-effect, which you will only ever notice driving through a corner (it is like a tiny little bump)... But as I said, it is hardly noticeable and I think I'm right in saying you'd need a severe flatspot too...
but is it the only reasons why the tyre smokes on the straights, that is exactly why we are asking if it could be other reasons such as damage or crashing! Sheesh.
No, the only reason in LFS is tyre temp. Nothing else. The original poster wanted to know why he got smoke (thinking it might be engine damage), and we informed him about the tyre temp (hotspot) thingy.
Then we moved on to whether hotspots and flatspots require each other, and then onto whether flatspots effect FFB.
Edit: At one point one single person mentioned damage, and was quickly corrected - LFS damage doesn't create smoke *yet*. /edit
Call me humpy all you like. A question was asked, I contributed some background information (they did smoke a lot more in earlier versions) and then reiterated earlier correct answers regarding the cause. It was then suggested that I was wrong and there was another reason for it, even though multiple answers had been given (re-read the thread), and then you posted that the actual reason for the puffs of smoke (the hotspots/flatspots) has nothing to do with the puffs of smoke. So I corrected you too. You don't have to believe me/us, but suggest I'm wrong and I might respond.
I agree Danowat, I don't know what tristan is on about... generally heat can be created from a flatspot if the tire is locked for a long period of time. Srubbing generates heat, and so in the case of a flatspot being run for a long distance under braking, there would be constant scrubbing and the heat rises.
The different between a hotSPOT and a flatSPOT.... kind of funny to say one isn't caused by the other tristan Both are a specific area of the tire, and a flatspot SHOULD create a hotspot at the same time. I mean look at what slicks turn out to be when they get a flatspot. The tires are just 'melted' from high heat. The only incorrect issue is of course the smoke puffs in LFS. LFS is far too sensitive from mild heat on the tires, and it generates smoke. It doesn't handle it very well. Hell even a burnout in LFS doesn't create as much smoke like in reallife. So there is definitely a common problem in regards to the smoke.
Well, I always understood that a flatspot always has a corresponding hotspot, whilst a hotspot might not have a corresponding flatspot. I know I've got hotspots before lots, but it's very rare I notice anything that might be called a flatspot.
I am not sure how else a hotspot could be created, other than a very light-or-heavy flatspot being created. It's the only thing that I could think of that would make the wheel have one main area with a hotter temperature. And I'd think a hotspot may be created from an incredibly mild flatspot that you cannot even visibly see. I'd still call that a flatspot
I wouldn't call the situation u mentioned to be a "hotspot", but "overheating" the whole circumference of the tyres (either the whole, or just whichever side of the tyres)~ but I can see perhaps your definition of a hotspot is different from mine... u're refering to hotspotting a tyre equals to overheating the tyres, while I'm thinking that a hotspot would mean a particular spot on the tyres to be well... hot~
Please read this, this time, read it with your eyes. I am clearly telling you that the thread is not about hot spots. The thread is about why this guys tyres are smoking going up the road.
Hot spots are the most obvious reason, like I said. That doesnt mean we cant talk about what else may cause it. So stop telling people to re read the thread when they are clearly thinking about the original posters issue.
Richy hotspots/flatspots are the only reason atm. Because the only thing implemented into the gamecode atm that causes smoke is heat on the tyres(red blips with tyre rolling in F9 view), or wheelspin, as Kidcoda pointed out on page 1.
also the OP said he had a prob with flatspots at Aston so I am inclined to believe this has to be the only answer to his question : the tyres are puffing smoke because somewhere on the tyre is a hotspot (due to a flatspot) so in a way this thread is about hotspots after all
The hot spots are the source of creating the smoke puffs. So yes, the thread is about the hot spots
Get your tires really hot from doing a burnout and then coast/drive, the tires smoke like in Back To The Future! Except with the case of a flatspot, only one part is really HOT (ie hotspot), and that just creates a puff of smoke.
well someone has stated that they may get smoke from damage, i have asked a simple question does damage to the suspension cause smoke and this guy is saying read the thread properly. to me, that is hardly missing the point of the thread.
if asking a question, "does damage to the suspension cause smoke" is really missing the point of this topic then really. shoot me.
Bang bang! I don't think you are missing the point of the thread at all, it is full of questions.
No, suspension damage shouldn't cause smoke puffs. At least, the most common smoke puffs are from flatspotting the tires. If your car's suspension is incredibly out of whack and misaligned, then one edge of the tire could get really hot and create smoke, but not puffs really. But it sounded like this person was driving normally and curious to know where the smoke puffs came from. The answer to that is the flatspots, and nothing else really.
Many a time I have returned to the pits, got out, and stared at the smoke puffs coming off my tyres for a good 5 minutes. Although in fairness LFS' billboard puffs dont represent this, just making a point. You dont see it on telly, or notice it when the car is moving, but tyres do smoke under the stress of racing.
The puffs you see can be from a hotspot, but I also do think that LFS sometimes makes a puff because of body rubbing on the track or something because i'm reasonably gentle on tyres and sometimes I get in and within a lap or two the thing is puffing out the back, it seems setup dependant, so perhaps when the car is bottoming out LFS can give a smoke puff? I dont know for sure.
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Both are a specific area of the tire, and a flatspot SHOULD create a hotspot at the same time. I mean look at what slicks turn out to be when they get a flatspot. The tires are just 'melted' from high heat. The only incorrect issue is of course the smoke puffs in LFS. LFS is far too sensitive from mild heat on the tires, and it generates smoke. It doesn't handle it very well. Hell even a burnout in LFS doesn't create as much smoke like in reallife. So there is definitely a common problem in regards to the smoke.
I don't think you are missing the point of the thread at all, it is full of questions.