Why do race cars have to have their tires changed so often?

I just put new tires on my car, and they have a 50,000 mile warranty- so ideally it won't be until at least that many miles have been driven on those tires that I'll have to get new ones. In NASCAR, they only go like what, 500 miles in a race? So why do they have to change their tires so often? Is it like a couple times a race that they do?Why do race cars have to have their tires changed so often?
because you dont drive fast also they have no tread..

they wear down due to heat produced by racing
Because there purpose built racing tires and have a much softer rubber compound to provide more grip. Softer rubber wears out faster. Plus there running them hard at 3 times the speeds you drive down the highway on the way to work. 500 miles on a race car is said to be worth 1000's of miles on a street car as far as wear and tear. The tire's get abused. For example, Bolt your 50,000 mile tires on the rear of my Camaro and I could destroy them with one big 30 second smoky burnout!.......No problem.



I have street legal 'Drag Radials' on my Camaro. There is no treadwear rating on them because there purpose built tires made to grip accelerating in a straight line. Period.

When I bought them they had warnings that said....Do Not drive in rain or temperatures below 32 degrees. So I don't.Why do race cars have to have their tires changed so often?
I agree with the previous answer but also they are designed to wear down quickly. Because of the heat produced if the tires didn't wear then the tires would cure and thus lose all traction.



Here is a good article that explains NASCAR tire tecnology:



http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racin鈥?/a>
Race cars have to have their tire changed more often particularly in NASCAR, because the rubber is softer than regular production tire. Racing tires spin against the pavement from the accelleration of an 850 H.P. engine. They use a softer tire rubber compound to get more grip or traction. The cars have extreme camber angles which is that the tire is tilted either "in" at the top, on the the passenger side (right) and outward on the driver side (left) which makes them wear more also. The extreme camber angle is because the cars are turning left an an extremely high rate of speed. Also while they are going around corners, they are sliding. Kind of like drifting. The sliding of the car salso wear off more rubber on the tire surface. They use tires with no tread for increased traction and this creates more heat. But race car tires take much more abuse than regular production or passenger car tires. One of my favorite examples of how a racing tire wear out faster is the rear tire on a motorcycle. If you put a soft rubber compound tire you get better accelleration through grip, but if you ride hard all season long you can wear a tire out in as little as 2000 miles. On passenger cars you can easily get 50,000 miles on your tires, because your tire isn't spinning on the pavement, and the camber angle is close to 90 degrees with the pavement. Your not putting that much horspower to the drive wheels, and your not cornering as hard. In fact if you drive slower than average, and slow down before coming to a turn on the highway, or a clover-leaf, your tires will last longer. But race car tires are made of a totally different kind of rubber than passenger or production vehicles. Everything used in a racing application will not have any type of warranty, due to it's extreme and excessive use. So when you put a new set of tires on a race car, you have an instant performance advantage against the guys who have worn out tires. It's like wearing a new pair of shoesWhy do race cars have to have their tires changed so often?
Because fresh tires win races.







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The compound is so unique that a couple of laps on a decent temp track would increase the tire pressure becasue of the downforce + heat being applied to the tires.



Thats why they dont run wet races, the rubber wouldn't heat and would literally break apart like a small eraser in your hand.
For the speeds that the cars run and how abrasive the tracks the tires need replaced because they wear out. At certain tracks during a fuel run the lap times can be about 2 seconds slower, in racing that is a lot.