---
title: "Here’s What Happens When You Spin a Tire Faster Than the Speed of Sound"
description: "It turns out Y-rated tires hold up to a lot more speed than you'd expect, but 800+ mph is a bit much for any rubber."
date: "2021-06-21"
modified: "2021-06-21"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/41193/heres-what-happens-when-you-spin-a-tire-faster-than-the-speed-of-sound"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
---

# Here’s What Happens When You Spin a Tire Faster Than the Speed of Sound

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/06/tire-at-speed-of-sound.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Tires may all be black, round, and good for driving down a road, but beyond that, different tires are less alike than most people realize. Specialty vehicles like the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ need [purpose-built tires reinforced with carbon fiber](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29854/record-setting-bugatti-chiron-used-michelin-tires-with-carbon-fiber-during-300-mph-run>) in order to crack 300 mph. Yet even those tires, despite costing [thousands of dollars per corner](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31277/bugatti-veyron-basic-maintenance-can-cost-upwards-of-50000-a-year>), are only guaranteed safe up to a certain speed. What happens when you push a tire past that—*way* past that—like, beyond the sound barrier?

Russian YouTube channel [Garage 54](<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCydCOEgfcXAQnkRaLCTsAQ>) figured it'd find out, which it did by building a custom rig to spin wheels at extreme speeds. The testing rig is assembled from a 2.5-liter Toyota V6 producing about 200 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque, which travel through an automatic transmission to a modified differential from a minivan. With an electronic throttle actuator installed to allow remote operation for safety's sake, the rig was ready for testing.

![message-editor%2F1624290682471-tireatsoundbarrier.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1624290682471-tireatsoundbarrier.jpg>)
*Tire approaching the speed of sound, *YouTube | Garage 54**

Garage 54 took its creation to a nearby shooting range, where it mounted a 235/40R18 tire with the second-highest speed rating, Y, indicating tolerance of speeds up to 186 mph. Because early tests indicated the tire would warp enough at high speed to de-bead itself, they stuffed it with an inner tube to maintain its shape. Once installed, they ran the rig through its paces, achieving a maximum indicated output speed of 10,437 rpm before the tire exploded so quickly that even the slow-mo cameras couldn't catch more than a frame of its carcass flying off-screen.

https://youtube.com/embed/YUh3LzMkfhM

Given that tire size's 79.8-inch circumference, we calculate that it reached a maximum road speed of 789 mph. While the speed of sound varies with altitude and temperature, it generally falls in the mid-upper 700s near sea level. So yes, they indeed broke the sonic barrier with a tire.

Their math, however, indicates a top speed of 1,332 kph, or 828 mph—they might have recorded a higher speed than shown on camera, or accounted for tire deformation that increased top speed. Whatever the true speed, we don't disagree that they sent a tire supersonic, and in the process no doubt made the ghost of [Chuck Yeager](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38027/chuck-yeagers-love-for-speed-led-him-to-pace-the-indy-500-twice>) proud.

*Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com*

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)