NoPistons -Mazda Rx7 & Rx8 Rotary Forum

::And now for the ramblings of a madmad::

I'm just trying to say that wider rubber isn't always better. But there's still more traction to be had with those 245's with wider wheels and the right tire pressure. But all tires aren't created equal. Some car handle being too wide for the wheel, some don't. Mine are a good example of ones that aren't happy with the wrong sized wheel. The sidewalls of the Advan series are very stiff. Stiffer sidewalls make for nice turn in and a smooth transition from lateral traction to sliding sideways but when on a wheel that is too wide or too narrow, the contact patch gets way out of whack. I didn't even get into how tire pressure affects traction on a bowed out contact patch. With a too wide tire you need less pressure so it'll wear more evenly. Depending on the tire, less pressure might get a lot more traction. Most street tires will just get hotter than they should with daily driving usage. After x amount of time the rubbber goes downhill in grip no matter how much tread is left.

But throw this out the window if you have some tires made for drag racing. The soft sidewalls are made to give. But these types of tires suck for the twisties. Those Nitto drag radials are a good example. Just as the Advan A-032R's are a good tire to race on a road course with then be able to drive home on, the Nitto NT-555R are some killer drag radials that are decent enough to drive home on. Just don't get wild with the cornering while they are on. But if you want good corning, (aside from having the proper tires for good handling) then keep the tires even with the wheels or even a bit narrow.

Hell, I could get more traction with decent 185's compared to the 205's that my car came with. Those things, even though they were a perfect fit, were total junk. They were Grand Spirit's or something like that. Just no-name tires. Bahhh! https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/angry.png Cheap tires suck except for doing brake stands. Those old tires of mine chewed through some brand new asphalt (two decent divots scoured out of the road - thanks Ryan https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub... ) and still had plenty of tread left. WTF?!? https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/ohmy.png It took me forever to kill them. I can't remember how many burnouts I did with them just to get rid of them.

It all boils down to what direction you want to go. Straightline or corners. To have your car do it's best in each respect it requires different tires with different characterisics. Some tires do well at both to some extent. But they have to compromise one strength to be good at another.

The only time I see tires too wide for the wheels in a race situation where handling matter is in autocross. They only do this because in some classes the wheel widths are limited by class restrictions. And the tires are usually Hoosier slicks that weren't on the car when they drove in.

Holy crap! You read it this far? Good shop. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/bigok.gif