6
OPINIONS.. Wider tires? wider wheels?
- Thread starter Beans114
- Start date
Blaylock1988
Ready to race!
Tell that to this guy:
and this guy
and this guy
and this guy
and this guy
Why do they all use fat tires? More surface area on the road, which means more power transfer capacity. Why do they have special tires? Maximizing surface contact in a limited space for the given road conditions. If width didnt contribute to traction, they would all be using road bicycle tires (aka pizza cutters).
I'm sure he meant to a reasonable extent. There was a thread here that confirmed wider tires don't always have wider contact patches. A 235 really won't give any advantage to a 225.
Blaylock1988
Ready to race!
Tire material is probably the the most significant factor. Once you have the stickiest tire you can get, the next option is to increase contact area.
1cm is negligible with regular road tires (maybe a the Stig can tell the difference). Heck, going from a stock tire to a slick of the same size will get you way more return on contact area than widening it.
Still...discretion should be used when making large generalizing statements like the one above.
RacingManiac
Drag Race Newbie
If you are at stage 2 and you are still on stock all season, you are doing it wrong....
Minimum get a set of summer tires, cheap ones, expensive ones, they'll all going to do better in putting that power down. Not to mention help the car steer, corner, brake better.
Width is another discussion in itself. There are definitely benefits in going wider, whether its that necessary its up to how you use it...
dustinwark
Miesian
Reread the comment fellas, WHEEL width, not TIRE width. Of course running a wider wheel allows you to run a wider tire, but simply running a wider wheel won't do anything for traction.
jansonchan226
Banned
True, but you gotta look at the car we are talking about here.
wider wheel = more traction,but is not because the wheel itself is wider, its because you can fit wider tires.
225 vs 235 pretty much boils down to the compound of the tires. slicks? you will feel a difference. 10mm is a lot since its at all 4 corners.
but that doesnt mean that your car will run faster if you go 245 or 255.
Its all about the balance. at a certain point, the more traction you have, the more drag will produce. (especially at the rear wheel)
You have to remember wider the wheels = more weight as well.
Your tire is going to be the biggest factor here.
225 tires (good rubber) is going to be better on 8 width than 8.5 or even 9.
:thumbsup:
stingy people that are worried about your wheels don’t make friends
Tire compound, tire width are part of how you gain more traction.
The other issue is keeping that contact patch on the ground and insuring that the full patch is on the ground. That means proper alignment for the type of driving/racing you are planning. Quality suspension upgraded bushings, quality coilovers. All make a huge difference.
With the above mods my car (336whp) saw huge improvements in traction. However the addition of an LSD really was huge and transformed the way the car preformed on a road course.
So wider tires with softer compounds give you lots of potential, there are a number of things to do to take full advantage of the potential.
The other issue is keeping that contact patch on the ground and insuring that the full patch is on the ground. That means proper alignment for the type of driving/racing you are planning. Quality suspension upgraded bushings, quality coilovers. All make a huge difference.
With the above mods my car (336whp) saw huge improvements in traction. However the addition of an LSD really was huge and transformed the way the car preformed on a road course.
So wider tires with softer compounds give you lots of potential, there are a number of things to do to take full advantage of the potential.