After making a comment on a fellow GIDBlog site, I realized that it would make a good topic of discussion. The original comment I made was that, by playing Gran Turismo, I’ve learned quite a bit about cars that I didn’t know before. Obviously, it’s a game so a lot of real life aspects can’t be duplicated exactly, but much of the premise of the simulation is still applicable.

For example, I never realized how much tires affect the car. It makes sense though. The tires are the only part of a vehicle that actually interact with the environment, in this case the ground. Having poor quality tires means your are more likely to lose that precious ground contact. Once you lose good contact, you no longer have control of the vehicle. This means not just when your tires actually leave the ground (like when you go over a cliff) but when you lose any type of traction. If you brake too hard without anti-lock brakes, your wheels will lock up and you lose control. If you go over a “washboard” road or hit a speed bump too fast, your tires will momentarily lose contact with the ground and you just can’t drive on air very well. > more <