What tires for cars at an ice show?

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y_p_w

y_p_w

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Took my kid to a Disney on Ice show last week. However, they had a several cars there during the show, including one driven by Mickey Mouse that breaks down (as part of the story) and several representing the Pixar characters from Cars.

Now I was thinking to avoid crashing into each other, they might be using studded tires, but then again that would probably make some pretty nasty ruts for the skaters. Maybe something like studless ice tires? They did slide around a bit, but they were controlled pretty well. I didn't see a single crash. I don't think they were road-worthy cars though. I'm guessing most were lightweight fiberglass shell, remote-controlled electric vehicles. However, the tires looked to be fairly normal winter street tires.

disney_2.jpg


All the vehicles were out in the first scene, so I'm pretty sure they wanted to keep the ice acceptable so skaters aren't just tripping over their feet before the intermission. They did bring out a Zamboni during the intermission. Now I have heard that Zamboni operators prefer to stud their tires. However, they're laying a new surface of ice behind the tires, so that might not be an issue.
 
Normal tires work fine on ice if gently driven. I imagine some effort in the drive system to make them avoid spinning.
 
Ice isn't bad if it's not wet. IDK ideal skating rink temp-- they might want it near freezing so the skates work right. If they keep the cars cold and only drive them a few hundred yards the tires won't heat up to melt ice.

Shoot, as a human in street shoes I've walked on frozen lakes etc fairly normally.
 
This thread proves that we cover the universe of automotive topics on BITOG. Dare I say that no subject is too Mickey Mouse for our attention?
 
Originally Posted By: leeharvey418
I have to think that a skater making a sharp turn would leave grooves in the ice far deeper than you could ever get from a stud.

Toe pick. Those leave some pretty nasty holes in the ice. I've gone skating a couple of times, and there were some experienced skaters doing toe loops and axels, but they were leaving huge ruts in the ice.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
This thread proves that we cover the universe of automotive topics on BITOG. Dare I say that no subject is too Mickey Mouse for our attention?

I hadn't even gotten to the $12 price for cotton candy or popcorn. Or $13 for Budweiser. And yes - they were still selling beer during Disney on Ice. Probably for the dads who didn't really want to be there. I was OK with it since my kid was happy.
 
There are funny arrangements where the promoter gets most of the ticket sales and the venue gets most of the concessions or vice versa. So yeah beer in weird places.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
There are funny arrangements where the promoter gets most of the ticket sales and the venue gets most of the concessions or vice versa. So yeah beer in weird places.

All the walk-up vendors were selling show-specific items like light-up stuff. They had stands that were selling show-specific souvenirs. The cotton candy and popcorn all came with a souvenir item like a reusable shopping back or a cheap foam hat. Wasn't worth much, but I've paid $6 for cotton candy for my kid at a baseball game.

Most of the stands weren't operating - especially alcohol sales, but the regular food and beverage windows were open. I've been to this venue when they had regular season college basketball, and the beer taps were turned off at the request of the host team. I certainly understand that they're not going to sell a lot of alcohol, so I was surprised they even bothered. Attendance was maybe 5000 (hockey setup and they also put a big curtain with a third the ice surface behind the curtain), while an NBA game would probably sell out at 20,000.
 
Zambonis use street studded tires which actually don't rip up the ice much at all even in a nice controlled 4 wheel drift that most drivers do on the turn arounds. I'd assume they'd put a few studs in for the show car as a nice skiff of snow from a few skates on a piece of fresh ice is really quite slippery! Totally clean ice or really chewed up after a game isn't that bad to walk on though.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
This thread proves that we cover the universe of automotive topics on BITOG. Dare I say that no subject is too Mickey Mouse for our attention?


This is why BITOG is The Best Place On Earth.
 
Yup, check the Zamboni at the nearest ring and see what they use.
Skates melt a thin film of ice under the blade which acts as a lubricant. When ice is too cold the water doesn't form and the ice is "slow".
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Yup, check the Zamboni at the nearest ring and see what they use.
Skates melt a thin film of ice under the blade which acts as a lubricant. When ice is too cold the water doesn't form and the ice is "slow".

This is the best photo I could find:

135732962_dfede8cc29_z.jpg


Looks like Goodyear Wrangler RT/S, which are all-seasons. However, this was a special event where they took them on the street, so I'm thinking they're probably not what they use on the ice. Photos that I can find closeup are in motion, so I can't tell if there are studs. I'm assuming they do use studs since there's a lot of talk of them having studded tires.
 
I've never seen one with studded tires.

But the ice on a rink, in my experience, isn't wet. It's dry and cold. So there's no lack of traction, really.

Not like an icy road with the sun shining on it.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I've never seen one with studded tires.

But the ice on a rink, in my experience, isn't wet. It's dry and cold. So there's no lack of traction, really.

Not like an icy road with the sun shining on it.

The best photo I could find was this one from the ice rink used by the University of Michigan's hockey team:

zamboni-1024x768.jpg


Kind of blurry, but those look like studs.

Also - Zamboni says they have their tires studded, but then again the owner may decide to do otherwise with replacement tires.

Quote:
http://www.zamboni.com/about/fun-facts/

39. Each tire on the Zamboni machine is hand-studded, with around 400 Tungsten Carbide studs used for each machine’s full set of tires.


Also - the San Jose Sharks are going to be hosting an outdoor hockey game in Feb at Levi's Stadium. That's going to be interesting if it's unseasonably warm and sunny. It's going to be nasty wet if it's 65 deg F and sunny.
 
I found some video of the studs being mounted on the factory tires at the Zamboni factory.

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/30337-some-assembly-required-zamboni-tires-video.htm

Apparently they use bias ply tires, although replacements could probably be radials if the operator wants them. Also - the tires apparently never wear out, but the studs do. While I think there are some that claim that new studs can be placed in, I thought that it's supposed to be a one time deal.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Yup, check the Zamboni at the nearest ring and see what they use.
Skates melt a thin film of ice under the blade which acts as a lubricant. When ice is too cold the water doesn't form and the ice is "slow".

Finally got an up-close look at one at a mini ice rink at the Roseville Galleria in Roseville, California. It was a mostly indoor mall, but they had a small outdoor section with a play area and a rink setup during winter. Yup - the Zamboni tires were definitely studded. It was also a "rinky dink rink" about a quarter the size of an NHL rink. The Zamboni was one of their smaller models - maybe Model 446? I think it was propane powered (had an external tank) and I got a look at the manufacturing plate which said it was assembled in Canada. The other thing was that they were having a heck of a time trying to get it to work. The driver backed it up a ramp from the walkway and it stalled in reverse and he couldn't get it restarted by the time I headed back indoors. We were waiting for a spot for dinner and it was taking so long I thought I'd take my kid out for a look at the rink and when the Zamboni fired up I thought it would be cool for my kid to see it in action.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig

Skates melt a thin film of ice under the blade which acts as a lubricant. When ice is too cold the water doesn't form and the ice is "slow".


This isn't precisely true, there is a lot more going on. It is complex to the point that the physicists are still explaining how ice skates work and developing a more "correct" theory model even in present time (new research and theories and debates even in the 2000s)

As another more complicated then it seems mystery, Physicists still haven't been able to adequately explain how bicycles work and don't just fall over for a long time and still are discussing it to the present time(it's not only because of gyroscopic action).

Google if you're really interested.


At least it isn't as crazy as the Female IUD where they flat out says it prevents pregnacy, but we don't have a precise idea how it works, but put this up your hoo-hah and you don't get pregnant. http://www.mirena-us.com/about-mirena/how-mirena-works.php
 
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