Does wider tires = better traction
 

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/sho...-true-or-false

Figured I'd share this thread I found regarding tires and traction. I guess I always just assumed wider tire = better traction. Making more power, get a wider tire on there to help plant the power. So if you're making 700hp and think slapping 275 wide tires on all 4 corners will help reduce wheel spin in a drag race, definitely read this as it will make you think again about that. Maybe I'm just the idiot and everyone else already knew this, but figured I'd share in case there's any other 'idiots' on here that thought the same as me :)

Cliff notes:
Wider tires = wider contact patch = better lateral traction
Taller tires = longer contact patch = better forward traction

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

We went through this exact scenario in my college physics class and he left out one important point. The COF is not exactly linear with the weight placed on the tire in the real world. A wider tire will give better traction, but it does suffer from diminishing returns. A taller tire also gives better traction, both are increasing the area of the contact patch.

Post #15 nailed it:

"Raven is correct. However the traction diminishes when you go to either extreme.

A narrow bike tire will not deform properly enough to increase contact patch size.

And a very wide tire properly inflated with a poor sidewall height will not have a large enough contact patch.

So again they are usually a balance. It's going to matter at that point tire inflation, the ability for the sidewall to deform. Even if both tires are of the same material.

So for us stock going wider would be better. Usually though that means eliminating anything that resembles a sidewall, which which case the tire will adhere very poorly.

Thats why when I see people with wide tires and no sidewalls immediately I think (no traction).

Look at drifting, you want controlled tire spinning... "

Just look at drag racing, there is a 10.5" tire class. Those same guys run faster when they put 12+" tires on them.

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

So thats why stance guys go with skinny tires!

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

Yeah, to me it makes sense how they said it's more of a bell curve. At either extreme end it diminishes, don't go out and try and run a bike tire.

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

It's a very difficult topic. As each cars specific suspension geometries affects the outcomes as well. Then you have to consider how lowering the car has changed the angles/geometries etc.

Don't want to get into an argument, but if you look at tire sizes on sports cars from companies who spend a ton of time on suspension technology(not as wide), compared to companies who don't(much wider), they use drastically different tire sizes for relatively similar results. Which leans toward wider helps generally speaking as a simple way of increasing grip.

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

from my experience with road racing, everything is a compromise. I think you guys hit that point, with every tire/wheel metric there is an extreme - sidewall height, width, diameter. Typically going to one extreme will cause a drawback to get multiplied and become a serious issue.

Another thing you have to think about that we learned the hard way, is the handling impact of weight on acceleration/cornering, and diameter on gearing. I actually think our car was faster with 205/50/15s than 245/40/17s because of this.

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

After reading every article on the new z28 and how they essentially designed the car around 305 width tires front and rear, I tend to disagree a bit. GM has put ungodly amounts of money into developing this and it beats almost anything it's been tested against including a new 911 turbo. This is all handling of course, it's not exactly fast in the quarter, but it's not meant to be.

I think developing the overall package for handling is more important than just throwing the widest tires on a particular car, but it definitely plays a roll in the outcome.

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

Yeah, american cars typically have a 'brute force' method to handling, so i'm not surprised :)

Although I don't think it is unreasonable to believe that a 305 is an appropriately sized tire for a big, heavy and powerful car like that.

Re: Does wider tires = better traction
 

It's the widest front tire ever put on a production car.