Wider tires on the stock rims will create a wider contact patch, but turn-in is slower right?

If so, which is more important?
Which would you chose, more contact patch, or faster turn-in?

 

you see alot of peops runnin the 225 V700 on the front.....never tried this however...

 

Be careful not to put on too wide a tire for the rim. Kumho's recommended wheel width for the 225/50-15 Victoracer is 6.0-8.0 inches, so it's okay for the stock wheels (15x6), but just barely - and will probably bulge out quite a bit. I'm not sure the sidewall will work as well as it would with a tire that's closer to the middle of that range. For example, the 205/50-15 is recommended for wheel widths of 5.5-7.5 inches. I think you might be better off with the 205/50-15. In fact, I think that's the size most folks are using for R compound tires on their ITR. I know I am.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 1:27 PM 6/22/2002]

 

I would stay with a 205 as the widest tire on a stock wheel for the street and even racing if you are lwoered.

I think not only does a wider tire see a slightly better contact patch but the stiffer sidewall of a 50 over a 55. I prefer them even on a 6" wide wheel.

 

I was thinking that since the ITR doesn't seem to be lacking in grip, that faster turn-in would be prefered to a larger contact patch.

 

A wider tire doesn't give you a larger contact patch. It gives you a wider contact patch. (I suspect this is what you meant to say, since you got it right in your first post here.) For example, an ITR weighs 2640 pounds. If you inflate all the tires to 33 psi (pounds per square inch), the size of the four contact patches will equal 2640/33 = 80 square inches. This will be true regardless of whether the tire treads are 225 mm wide or 195 mm wide. With 225, they are wider (side to side) but narrower (front to back).

I think it handles just as well with a 205 tire, but the differences will be quite minor in either case.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 4:23 PM 6/22/2002]

 

I have run both 225s and 205s up front, and while I preferred the 225s (this is autocross only), they are certainly sloppier. I got used to them very quickly, but it takes some adjustment because you have to stay one step ahead of them. They also required 5mm spacers to keep them from rubbing, and they do buldge quite a big.