FW: [NAC] wide wheels with rather narrow tires

[Theron J. Bliss]

Look at what I wrote.  I said "You may gain more contact patch by different
brands, but comparing the same brand of tire..."  I was using the example of the
same tire.  If you put a 195/60-15 of THE SAME BRAND, versus a 205/50-15 of THE
SAME BRAND, the 205 will be 10 mm wider!!!!!

Peter Berrevoets wrote:

> Ah, therein lies the rub. That is not en-tire-ly accurate! (sorry for the
> pun)
>
> These numbers were taken from the Yokohama website for this very reason. The
> profile, aspect ratio and shoulder design all affect the contact patch /
> inflated width for tires of different design.
>
> That's why wheel offset and tire profile fitments vary by manufacturer. the
> variance in contact patch for a given size ie. 205/60-15 can and does vary
> considerably from tire to tire. This is one of the reasons that particularly
> on the quattros you don't want to mix different brand tires of the same size
> on a car, or for any car on the same axle.
>
> Picking the right tire/wheel combination can lay much more rubber on the
> road in a 215 width than some do in a 225 width.
>
> I wish it were so simple.
>
> What you say below is *mostly* true for tires of the same manufacturer,
> model and year! Ask anyone who bought Pirellis made in their Italian plant,
> had a flat and replaced it with a Pirelli made in Brazil! Looked the same
> but were very different on the road. (This was many moons ago btw)
>
> Tires can vary greatly from model to model from the same manufacturer
> depending on their intended use. Check out the sizes at
> http://www.yokohamatire.com they have an excellent list of tire details that
> show large variances in tread width for tires of the same 'size'.
>
> Funny about that site as well, I had Yokohama A520s in 15" sizes, and know
> that they are still available, yet no listing.
>
> HTH
>
> Peter Berrevoets
> 1990 200TQ
> Toronto, Canada
>
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >From: Theron J. Bliss [mailto:tbliss at mestek.com]
> > >Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 1:30 PM
> > >To: Peter Berrevoets
> > >Subject: Re: FW: [NAC] wide wheels with rather narrow tires
> > >
> > >
> > >Tread with is in correlation to tire width.  A 195 tire is
> > >195 mm.  A 205 tire
> > >is 205 mm.  Thus, a 195 will have 10 mm less with and less
> > >tread width then a
> > >205 tire.  You may gain more contact patch by different
> > >brands, but comparing
> > >the same brand of tire, you will have less tire contact with
> > >a 195 then a 205,
> > >regardless of aspect ratio.
> > >