[s-cars] Tires/Wheels

[CyberPoet]

You know guys, I've been thinking about this whole tire/wheel obsession
that everyone seemingly has, and I have a few questions and a few
statements.

1. It is given fact that the lower the unsprung weight, the better the
handling and performance. Among other things, lower unsprung weight
means that the wheel returns contact the ground faster after moving
over anything that causes it to move upward. This translates into
serious value for potholes, snow and poor-/off-road surfaces.

2. Conversely, the bigger the footprint of the tire, the better
traction is established any moment of contact if the read/tire
interface is clean (in snow, rain, a smaller footprint exerts more
force on the area and therefore helps move away or crush the
interference agent). This is in general relevant only in situations of
high traction requirements (high speed turns, very hard acceleration,
extreme braking).

Traditionally, then, for dry weather driving, the ideal would be to get
as light a tire/wheel combination as possible with as big a footprint
as possible (within reason). Now comes the question(s):

A) How come wheel manufacturers rarely place the weight (mass) of their
wheels in their listings, and no one on the list ever makes any
comments about the weight of their wheels? Ditto for tires...

B) Why do you all automatically assume bigger is better (since bigger
usually means more weight... "More Weight!" cried Giles Corey)?

Just some little thoughts... anything better than another tirade by the
list's incoherent childish member(s)...

Cheers!
=-= Marc Glasgow