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Burnouts get even better with a thermal camera

Giant clouds of smoke are cool, but they get in the way, too.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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Andrew Krok

If you haven't done one before, let me tell you with absolute certainty that burnouts are fun. The smoke hides what's really going on, but thanks to a thermal camera, you can cut straight through the noxious aftermath.

Engineering Explained used his own Honda S2000 sports car to film a burnout with a thermal camera. The result is pretty interesting. Obviously, the tire heats up, but it's fun to see small things like wheel camber and tire pressure affect how the tire heats up.

It also shows you just how hot the specks of rubber flying off the tire can be -- trying to clean that rubber up after it dries is awful, ask me how I know.

You can also see the rear brakes heating up, likely because EE has his foot on the brake to prevent the car from rolling forward during the burnout. Technology like line lock can prevent the rear brakes from being consumed alongside the tires, but not in this case, since the car is relatively old and not built for the drag strip.