StingertimeNC
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hmm, interesting. I would search "do wider tires improve acceleration" and let me know what you find.
Grippier tires than PS4S after more power?
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Jayphil
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Wider tire, or tire with greater contact patch (such as cup 2 or drag radial) help accelaration if your car have enough power and weight on those tire to benefit form this additional contact patch.
Wider tire will usually help on dry (within reasonable size for the car) but reduce performance on wet road .
Wider tire will usually help on dry (within reasonable size for the car) but reduce performance on wet road .
I dont comment on posts without at least googling stuff to make sure Im not coming off completely incorrect: do wider tires help acceleration - Google Search
literally every result says wider tires help with acceleration (to an extent). Feel free to post your sources if you find something different
Bonus round! do taller tires help acceleration - Google Search
Search results = taller tire is worse for acceleration
literally every result says wider tires help with acceleration (to an extent). Feel free to post your sources if you find something different
Bonus round! do taller tires help acceleration - Google Search
Search results = taller tire is worse for acceleration
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StingertimeNC
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the internet is full of opinions. In all honesty, I don't know for absolute certain what the correct answer is, although I believe that my original thinking is correct. Here's a good article my buddy Darrin shared with me when I was researching this very subject a month or so ago, trying to decide what to do for myself...
one of the key takeaways from me was:
"when a vehicle is sitting at rest (easiest to illustrate) , regardless of the size of the tire, the same amount of tire will be in touch with the ground, given the same vehicle weight and tire pressure. The only difference will be the SHAPE of the contact patch."
and another:
"Wider wheels will give you a more rectangular patch, while thinner wheels will give you a narrow yet longer more square patch. The thinner wheels will therefore be better (and of course there are extremes in both cases) for straight line acceleration and braking. The wider ones, because of the direction of the forces on the tire tread in the corners, will be better for cornering at the expense of some straight line acceleration. Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple for say road racing as whatever gains you get in cornering, you'll probably give up in the ability to get back on the throttle early. Something you would need to test and tune for sure, no guaranteed rule of thumb there."
Disclaimer, I am no expert....
.... but if you don't add weight, and simply reduce your longitudinal contact patch with wider tires, I can't understand how acceleration and braking, or straight line performance will be improved.
Alternatively, something that always makes me think wider is better in many circumstances is, take a genuine sports car like a 911, or ferrari, etc., they are running huge widths on cars that weigh far less, and are able to accelerate much quicker. I guess this is where suspension tuning, front to rear balance of the car, tread compound, etc., make such a difference in putting down the power.
going back to my own thread, I really want definitive information as to what would perform better for my RWD car, a 255, 265, or 275 width tire. I guess that's tough to know without trying a bunch of options. Plus, my lighter rims and specific suspension setup also play a role. Ark springs and stock dampers, etc. etc.
One member who answered my thread said, based on those three options, it's like splitting hairs, so just go with whatever I like, or looks the best or whatever. Like it's really not going to be that meaningful either way.
one of the key takeaways from me was:
"when a vehicle is sitting at rest (easiest to illustrate) , regardless of the size of the tire, the same amount of tire will be in touch with the ground, given the same vehicle weight and tire pressure. The only difference will be the SHAPE of the contact patch."
and another:
"Wider wheels will give you a more rectangular patch, while thinner wheels will give you a narrow yet longer more square patch. The thinner wheels will therefore be better (and of course there are extremes in both cases) for straight line acceleration and braking. The wider ones, because of the direction of the forces on the tire tread in the corners, will be better for cornering at the expense of some straight line acceleration. Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple for say road racing as whatever gains you get in cornering, you'll probably give up in the ability to get back on the throttle early. Something you would need to test and tune for sure, no guaranteed rule of thumb there."
Disclaimer, I am no expert....
.... but if you don't add weight, and simply reduce your longitudinal contact patch with wider tires, I can't understand how acceleration and braking, or straight line performance will be improved.
Alternatively, something that always makes me think wider is better in many circumstances is, take a genuine sports car like a 911, or ferrari, etc., they are running huge widths on cars that weigh far less, and are able to accelerate much quicker. I guess this is where suspension tuning, front to rear balance of the car, tread compound, etc., make such a difference in putting down the power.
going back to my own thread, I really want definitive information as to what would perform better for my RWD car, a 255, 265, or 275 width tire. I guess that's tough to know without trying a bunch of options. Plus, my lighter rims and specific suspension setup also play a role. Ark springs and stock dampers, etc. etc.
One member who answered my thread said, based on those three options, it's like splitting hairs, so just go with whatever I like, or looks the best or whatever. Like it's really not going to be that meaningful either way.
MerlintheMad
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Which one LOOKS better to you? That's the bottom line: which tire makes the car look best.
The difference in performance is going to be nil on the open road. (If you drag race, the only "look" that matters, of course, is who's ahead at the end of the 1/4.) From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
"Wider wheels will give you a more rectangular patch, while thinner wheels will give you a narrow yet longer more square patch. The thinner wheels will therefore be better (and of course there are extremes in both cases) for straight line acceleration and braking." = this to me is someone explaining a car that is already at max grip. If your tires are not spinning, then you will not benefit from a wider tire.
If you are drag racing and doing more than just basic bolt ons then go wide as you want/can. If you are daily driving and just doing spirited acceleration runs, your best bet is to not compromise handling or anything else and go with OEM sizes and just stickier tires. Throttle control would be your best bet there.
Anecdotally I went one size wider on my previous RWD car while staying within the same class of tires. I noticed a slightly heavier steering feel, slightly worse gas mileage, and more grip during acceleration. All of these changes were so minor, that I would say that as long as you are only moving up 1-2 sizes you wont notice much. Any more than that and I bet you will. Changing to a stickier tire and staying with OEM is the direction I am going with this car, after that previous experience
If you are drag racing and doing more than just basic bolt ons then go wide as you want/can. If you are daily driving and just doing spirited acceleration runs, your best bet is to not compromise handling or anything else and go with OEM sizes and just stickier tires. Throttle control would be your best bet there.
Anecdotally I went one size wider on my previous RWD car while staying within the same class of tires. I noticed a slightly heavier steering feel, slightly worse gas mileage, and more grip during acceleration. All of these changes were so minor, that I would say that as long as you are only moving up 1-2 sizes you wont notice much. Any more than that and I bet you will. Changing to a stickier tire and staying with OEM is the direction I am going with this car, after that previous experience
StingertimeNC
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kind of agree with all that. I don't love the slightly stretched look I am getting with the oem tire size on the 1 inch wider rear wheels, so that makes me want to go up to 265 or 275, but I'm already traction limited and what's the next stickier tire past a PS4? maybe a Super Sport? or Cup 2? Can't imagine the treadlife on a cup 2, so maybe super sport, although that really just may be an older version of a PS4 so not really any better. I'll probably just go for looks and say screw it, just be a bit easier on the pedal input.
OP sorry to kind of hijack the thread. hope you are getting some ideas out of all this anyway!
StingertimeNC
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nice, thank you!!
PAdutch
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Agreed with most of what has been here. You may also want to consider the 200tw rated tires used for endurance/autocross racing. Most of these fall into the "extreme performance tires" list on tirerack. Note that most of them will have poor wet traction and wear quickly.
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
