Porous Asphalt
Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 12:18 pm
Question for the techies among you. Please reply as if to a ten year old as my tech knowledge is low!
Driving on the motorways in the rain in the Netherlands is generally a relatively stress-free affair as there is virtually no spray, even in the heaviest rainfall, due to the use of Z.O.A.B. (Extremely Porous Asphalt). It's very smooth, very quiet, and visibility is improved substantially over traditional asphalt used elsewhere.
So my question is: why don't they use this on race tracks? I appreciate street circuits would be different, but wouldn't permanent tracks benefit from a surface where even heavy rainfall would not present a safety hazard? Is there some other property that would make it otherwise unsuitable for the rigours of racing?
I know that it can be problematic in ice and snow, but AFAIAA most F1 tracks don't operate in those temperatures anyway. I understand it may offer greater dry braking distances, but again I should have thought tyres may compensate for that. Is there another technical reason, or is it basically cost (my understanding is that it needs replacing more frequently)?
Cheers in advance
Edit: I hope this is the right forum! Thought as it's technical it might belong here. Apologies to the Mods if not so
Driving on the motorways in the rain in the Netherlands is generally a relatively stress-free affair as there is virtually no spray, even in the heaviest rainfall, due to the use of Z.O.A.B. (Extremely Porous Asphalt). It's very smooth, very quiet, and visibility is improved substantially over traditional asphalt used elsewhere.
So my question is: why don't they use this on race tracks? I appreciate street circuits would be different, but wouldn't permanent tracks benefit from a surface where even heavy rainfall would not present a safety hazard? Is there some other property that would make it otherwise unsuitable for the rigours of racing?
I know that it can be problematic in ice and snow, but AFAIAA most F1 tracks don't operate in those temperatures anyway. I understand it may offer greater dry braking distances, but again I should have thought tyres may compensate for that. Is there another technical reason, or is it basically cost (my understanding is that it needs replacing more frequently)?
Cheers in advance
Edit: I hope this is the right forum! Thought as it's technical it might belong here. Apologies to the Mods if not so