Advantages of larger tires?

[JEDI]

I miss the days of 13" tires.

smaller tires = cheaper to replace, and lighter (thus better fuel econ because car is lighter)

What are the advantages of larger tires?

 

[caspur]

Mo grip. And cars are heavier.

Need bigger tires to maintain load carry ability dues to lower aspect ratio....wider, shorter sidewall tires vs taller, fatter ones. That's the official reason. The other reason is because bigger tires and wheels look better.

 

[thomsbrain]

Less sidewall flex in corners, more room for big brakes. That's about it.

 

[Gibson486]

lol....i remember the sticker shock with my big tires. My Altima used 15 inch tires. i got them for under $50 a piece. My 3 has 17 in. tires. I was raped at the tire shop.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
Less sidewall flex in corners, more room for big brakes. That's about it.

Side wall flex only comes into play if you are running low profile tyres as standard, or are fitting larger aftermarket alloys (and therefore reducing the aspect ratio to maintain the overall diameter).

Example: 185/65 R13 and 185/65 R15 both have 4.7" (120 mm) sidewalls.

Load ratings are presumably more down to the carcass construction. Although bigger footprints tend to have more substantial carcasses and therefore higher load indexes...

 

[Kadarin]

More grip, more load, better handling, larger brakes, better appearance.

 

[bruceb]

All of what was said above is true of larger tires. The downside is they can aquaplane easier and they do not as good in the snow as a narrower tire. That said, I prefer the wider one.

 

[Zenmervolt]

What do you mean by "larger"?

Wider tires have better grip.

Tires to fit a larger diameter wheel have zero inherent advantages in grip or performance over tires for smaller diameter wheels assuming the same construction methods, the same widths, and the same sidewall heights.

The only reason to fit larger wheels, from a clean-sheet engineering perspective, is to fit larger brakes.

Now, if you have a car that has already been designed and don't want to deal with re-calibrating the speedometer then larger diameter wheels can allow you to use tires with shorter sidewalls while maintaining the same overall wheel+tire total diameter.

ZV

 

[DVad3r]

You get songs like "Throw some D's" from them.

 

[Soccerman06]

How many times a week does this get asked?

 

[Gillbot]

Depends on what you mean by "larger". For my car, 315/35/17's are wide but expensive to replace so I opt for the 275/40/17 instead.

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Tires to fit a larger diameter wheel have zero inherent advantages in grip or performance
ZV

A larger diameter increases the contact patch in the direction perpendicular to the width, as a result of reduced localized curvature at the contact point (eg: contact point with the ground is longer and flatter).

But that's not really a factor for why people go with bigger diameters.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Kadarin
More grip, more load, better handling, larger brakes, better appearance.

No, No, No, Yes, Subjective

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: bruceb
All of what was said above is true of larger tires. The downside is they can aquaplane easier and they do not as good in the snow as a narrower tire. That said, I prefer the wider one.

Low traction surface performance is pretty much a function of tread, not tire size.

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Kadarin
More grip, more load, better handling, larger brakes, better appearance.

No, No, No, Yes, Subjective

Wrong again. Correct answers (assuming "larger" means more diameter) are:

No, No, It Depends, No, Subjective.

Let's take em one at a time:

More Grip:

"Grip" is essentially a function of how much rubber is in contact with the road. This increases with tire width, but not tire diameter. Inflation pressure also has an effect here.

More load:

Mostly a function of inflation pressure and carcass construction, not tire size. Under inflated tires will carry less (at equivalent safety/performance levels), over inflated will carry more...until they explode.

Better Handling:

On road, larger tires typically move the center of gravity of the vehicle higher, increasing body roll/sway, suspension travel, etc. Most people would interpret this as "worse handling". Off road, larger tires, especially aired down, may help immensely in negotiating obstacles, although this typically only applies to vehicles equipped for off road travel anyway. This is mostly due to higher sidewalls and increased vehicle ground clearance.

Generally speaking though, people going offroad know what the fuck they're doing and don't have to ask tire questions on the web.

Larger Brakes:

Brake size is limited by wheel size, not tire size.

Better Appearance:

To each his own.

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Tires to fit a larger diameter wheel have zero inherent advantages in grip or performance
ZV

A larger diameter increases the contact patch in the direction perpendicular to the width, as a result of reduced localized curvature at the contact point (eg: contact point with the ground is longer and flatter).

But that's not really a factor for why people go with bigger diameters.

Depends entirely on a tire's construction and inflation pressure, so there are other factors at play. For some tires, your statement will be true. For others, false.

 

[jlee]

Bigger tires = more ground clearance.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: JLee
Bigger tires = more ground clearance.

You sir, are correct, and have good choice in vehicles:

Mine

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: bruceb
All of what was said above is true of larger tires. The downside is they can aquaplane easier and they do not as good in the snow as a narrower tire. That said, I prefer the wider one.

Low traction surface performance is pretty much a function of tread, not tire size.

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Kadarin
More grip, more load, better handling, larger brakes, better appearance.

No, No, No, Yes, Subjective

Wrong again. Correct answers (assuming "larger" means more diameter) are:

No, No, It Depends, No, Subjective.

Let's take em one at a time:

More Grip:

"Grip" is essentially a function of how much rubber is in contact with the road. This increases with tire width, but not tire diameter. Inflation pressure also has an effect here.

More load:

Mostly a function of inflation pressure and carcass construction, not tire size. Under inflated tires will carry less (at equivalent safety/performance levels), over inflated will carry more...until they explode.

Better Handling:

On road, larger tires typically move the center of gravity of the vehicle higher, increasing body roll/sway, suspension travel, etc. Most people would interpret this as "worse handling". Off road, larger tires, especially aired down, may help immensely in negotiating obstacles, although this typically only applies to vehicles equipped for off road travel anyway. This is mostly due to higher sidewalls and increased vehicle ground clearance.

Generally speaking though, people going offroad know what the fuck they're doing and don't have to ask tire questions on the web.

Larger Brakes:

Brake size is limited by wheel size, not tire size.

Better Appearance:

To each his own.

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Tires to fit a larger diameter wheel have zero inherent advantages in grip or performance
ZV

A larger diameter increases the contact patch in the direction perpendicular to the width, as a result of reduced localized curvature at the contact point (eg: contact point with the ground is longer and flatter).

But that's not really a factor for why people go with bigger diameters.

Depends entirely on a tire's construction and inflation pressure, so there are other factors at play. For some tires, your statement will be true. For others, false.

Pretty much true, with the same outside tire diameter, larger wheels will negatively affect ride, braking and acceleration with some advantages in handling.

On race cars, it's a trade off but even on F1, Nascar, Prototype racing etc, every team tries for the smallest diameter while st8ill being able to fit the required braking in as possible.

F1 wheels are 12-14" front, 14.3-15" rear
Nascar all run 15" diameter
Even endurance racers that have to deal with 24 hours of keeping brakes cool running full bore (R8/R10 and 908HTi) at LeMans use only 18s.

For all intents and purposes in performance, fitting the smallest diameter, widest wheels that fit over the brakes you need and fitting the most performance oriented tires is the best decision.

Big wheels, except few situations, is purely for aesthetics. Rotational, unsprung mass is more of a killer of performance than sidewall flex could ever be in a good tire.

You want crisper turn in? Put on DOT R compounds. Better braking? They sell grabbier pads and even carbon-ceramic kits with DOT 5 brake liquid. Using larger wheels in the name of performance is nothing but a joke perpetuated by the misinformed.