wider tires

[imported_Truenofan]

im not going to deny that alot of stuff is due to regulations and FIA restrictions, but its the fact that having such low profile tires is the shit, its all cosmetic, i see no reason as to put rims on that have such low profile...it makes the car ride so much worse on a bumpy road that its almost unbearable.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: Truenofan
im not going to deny that alot of stuff is due to regulations and FIA restrictions, but its the fact that having such low profile tires is the shit, its all cosmetic, i see no reason as to put rims on that have such low profile...it makes the car ride so much worse on a bumpy road that its almost unbearable.

Less sidewall can help with cornering due to less sidewall flex.

 

[RGUN]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: Riverhound777
More surface area for better traction.
Lower gas mileage due to increased drag.
Higher replacement cost.

This is debateable. Ideally you only want to run as wide of a tire as you NEED. Addind wider tires increases rolling friction and thus drivetrain losses.
Adding wider tires does NOT always improve lateral grip. If there is too much sidewall flex, a wider tire will still buckle in cornering.

Also, Plus sizing usually refers to adding to the rim diamater.

Stock on my car is 245/50/R16, plus one is 275/40/R17. The tires are the same overall diameter and height but the 17's are much wider in tread width.

Increasing tires width does not increase rolling friction leading to drivetrain loss.....

 

[mb]

Wider tires definitely are worse in the snow.

I went from 17x7" to 18x10" wheels on my 99 ML430.. I never had a problem in snow before, but last winter, if I wasn't extra careful I slid around quite a bit in just a couple inches of snow.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: RGUN

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: Riverhound777
More surface area for better traction.
Lower gas mileage due to increased drag.
Higher replacement cost.

This is debateable. Ideally you only want to run as wide of a tire as you NEED. Addind wider tires increases rolling friction and thus drivetrain losses.
Adding wider tires does NOT always improve lateral grip. If there is too much sidewall flex, a wider tire will still buckle in cornering.

Also, Plus sizing usually refers to adding to the rim diamater.

Stock on my car is 245/50/R16, plus one is 275/40/R17. The tires are the same overall diameter and height but the 17's are much wider in tread width.

Increasing tires width does not increase rolling friction leading to drivetrain loss.....

Increasing tire width can increase rolling friction. More tire on the road means more to roll. More friction will increase losses. Granted, most will be extremely minimal.

 

[imported_Truenofan]

"Less sidewall can help with cornering due to less sidewall flex."

a stiff sidewall will do the same exact thing, as i explained before, with formula one, you can have extremely tall sidewalls, and still be as stiff as a regular low profile tire. the sidewall is also there to dampen road bumps, i will never drive a car on the regular road, with low profile tires because driving on the regular street is NOT demanding enough to require low profile tires, the honda civics out there with the spiffy low profile tires and extremely heavy "chrome" rims are only for show.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: Truenofan
"Less sidewall can help with cornering due to less sidewall flex."

a stiff sidewall will do the same exact thing, as i explained before, with formula one, you can have extremely tall sidewalls, and still be as stiff as a regular low profile tire. the sidewall is also there to dampen road bumps, i will never drive a car on the regular road, with low profile tires because driving on the regular street is NOT demanding enough to require low profile tires, the honda civics out there with the spiffy low profile tires and extremely heavy "chrome" rims are only for show.

You cannot buy tires with sidewalls anywhere near as stiff as F1 vehicles. They do not make them. If they did, you wouldn't want them anyway, because they'd be extremely heavy (or costly), especially if they're meant to last as long as normal tires.

 

[imported_Truenofan]

actually f1 tires cannot be heavy, if they were, they would tear themselves apart at high speeds. kinda like the semi truck with its jet engines on the back, it goes so fast, because the wheels are so large, they have to trim off a good layer of rubber otherwise the weight would be so much, it would tear itself to pieces. yes it would be costly, but then look at how some runflat tires are designed, they have extremely hard sidewalls that can support the whole weight of the vehicle.

http://www.automedia.com/How/R...s/Work/ccr20060401rf/1

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: Truenofan
actually f1 tires cannot be heavy, if they were, they would tear themselves apart at high speeds. kinda like the semi truck with its jet engines on the back, it goes so fast, because the wheels are so large, they have to trim off a good layer of rubber otherwise the weight would be so much, it would tear itself to pieces. yes it would be costly, but then look at how some runflat tires are designed, they have extremely hard sidewalls that can support the whole weight of the vehicle.

http://www.automedia.com/How/R...s/Work/ccr20060401rf/1

No one is claiming F1 tires are heavy. They're definitely light. However, they're extremely expensive because of the design constraints and materials necessary to make them work with those kind of forces while keeping that stiff and staying light.

Runflats are heavy in comparison to non-runflats, and while stiff, do not give you the kind of handling normal tires do. That's one of the biggest complaints on the C6 Z06.

There's no way you're getting anywhere near f1 tire stiffness on a passenger car tire. That's why larger diameter wheels give you greater performance in an apples to apples comparison. There will always be exceptions to this rule (ie. wheels too large for the chassis design, picking heavy wheels, etc), but baring any lack-of-common-sense choice issues, larger than stock wheels will tend to increase your overall performance envelope.

 

[imported_Truenofan]

oh no doubt that run flat tires are very heavy, but the technology is there, it just needs more financing by enthusiast/sport tire companys. larger tire diameter can help you only if you have the torque to accelerate with larger tires. because basically adding larger tires decreases the gear raito(kinda like going from 4:1 to 3.8:1 or so). because by adding larger tires, your engine isnt rotating as many times to complete one rotation on the tires, thus requiring more torque to accelerate. like i said, those civics that have huge rims/tires, are for show, because they usualy(i mean usualy, there are the true tuners that have 200-300+whp on them) they dont have much more than an fart can and a "cold air intake" which doesnt help them by more than i would guess 10-20hp. and as always i have always liked the quote which i have taken from a sport compact car book "no replacement for displacement".

but wider tires give you the larger contact patch. those are the ones that will increase gripping performance. you can have 15 inch rims with super wide tires, and that would help you more for gripping than having 18's with not much wider patch than stock tires. then again here comes the compound type. having a r compound tire will increase grip considerably over most compounds, and picking the right manufacturer can help even more. but of course you know this(not doubting this, just putting it out for everyone else). nitto, hoosier, dunlop, goodyear ect ect... not all r compound tires are created equal. the biggest thing in most modern cars thats overlooked now, is tires. its a sad fact honestly.