[ODE] Wheel Friction

[David Walters]

> I have tried messing around with the slip/mu properties with no luck.  I'm
> still a bit new, but I know I'm missing something easy.

Hi, ODE doesn't seem to natively support static friction, but you
could simulate it by setting the contact point friction for the wheel
cylinders to dInfinity until the wheel hits a small but definitely
moving velocity - at which point you lower the friction to a more
suitable value to get the desired wheel slipping, etc.

My understanding of real-world friction is a bit shaky, but I think
with this approach you're more accurately modeling the bonding that
happens when two bodies are at rest next to each other - in other
words, the tyre chemically 'sticks' to the road.

Hope this helps, or makes some small amount of sense.

Regards,
David Walters