Gentlemen, the debate between tires and tracks have gone on
since the beginning when the track was "invented" as an alternative
to the tired wheels.
The track was supposed to perform as a "portable or movable" road
for the set of wheels that is carried within the track.
This is ideal for soft ground that allows the load of the vehicle
to spread over a wider load bearing surface area that the track
provide.
Compared to the tires, which has a small contact surface area with
the ground, the track certainly is superior in soft ground with the
large surface area in contact with the ground.
With new design development that allow the possibility of inflating
(for better weight carrying and speed manoeverability), or
deflating (to improve ground bearing pressure) the rubber tires
while on the move, it has open new possibilities in the use of
tires for armoured vehicles to overcome soft ground
conditions.
However, in conditions like sand, both becomes quite
vulnerable.
The track links are subject to accelerated wear of the sand, while
the rubber tires can stand up better to the wearing of the
sand.
The weak link of the tired wheel is the sand wearing the steering
ball-joints of the wheeled vehicles.
In very soft ground, the rubber tires can loose traction despite
the deep grooves on the tires; while the tracks provide better bite
onto the very soft ground as it "creates" its own road condition
for the wheels in the tracks.
In terms of vulnerability to explosive effects, when the tracked
vehicle has its tracks blown out, it becomes useless; while in a
multi-wheeled vehicle, the remaining wheels (of a 6 or 8 wheeled
vehichle) will remain mobile.
Incidentally, bullet proof rubber tires are available, and consist
of a multiple tubes (of the size of bicycle tubes) molded as a
whole, but are seperate tubular design.
Any single bullet travelling on a straight path, will puncture
those few tubes in its path, with the remaining tubes undamage, and
still performing the designed tasks.
Rubber tires allow long distance travelling at very high speed and
somewhat lower noise than the speed limitation and endurance of the
tracks.
So depending on intended operational conditions, each has its own
designed purposes and advantageous.
