DmcL

i know all about tyre stretching but i was wondering whats to stop me putting rubber thats about an extra inch wider than the rim on? shouldnt that give me more grip since there would be more ruber making contact with the ground? anyone done this? got any pics?

Slopoke

Lots of people put wider tires on.
Putting a wide tire on a skinny rim will decrease your contact patch a bit, compared to putting it on the proper size rim.

For example.
Rim on the left is 5.5"wide rim on the right is 7"wide. Both tires are 205/50/15.

There is a full inch more tire on the ground.

DmcL

yea but i mean would the contact patch not be wider with a wider tyre than with one thats the same width as the rim its going on? basically is there any benefit to fitting slightly wider tyres?

old man neri

The size of the contact patch is a property of the combination of tire pressure and vehicle weight.

The shape of the contact patch is a property of the width of the tire, assuming you are going in a straight line.

Wider tires don't give you more grip, better tires give you more grip. Also, for every tire there is a list of 'approved rim widths', stick to those widths.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DmcL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> basically is there any benefit to fitting slightly wider tyres?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Less chance of curb rash on your rims.........

nsxtasy

Tire manufacturers provide specs telling what range of rim widths their tires are approved for mounting on. Stick to a rim width within that range. (I like to avoid the lowest approved width, for which the tires might have a "bulging" appearance, and the highest width, for which the tires might look "stretched".)

ED3_FTW

ideally you want to run 1/2 an inch less wide rim then the maximum with said tire can be mounted on