How much does tire width affect traction?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,241
Likes: 47
From: Noblesville, IN
How much does tire width affect traction? Hello all,
I'm currently building my motor to make about 450rwhp. Right now I have a set of corvette sawblade rims (17x8.5 front, 17x9.5 rear) with bfgoodrich sport comp 2s all around. I was thinking of replacing them with some of the c6 5 spoke rims, in a 17x9.5 up front and an 18x10.5 rear.
my question is, will this extra inch of width provide me that much more traction? Or is my tire selection more important?
I'm currently building my motor to make about 450rwhp. Right now I have a set of corvette sawblade rims (17x8.5 front, 17x9.5 rear) with bfgoodrich sport comp 2s all around. I was thinking of replacing them with some of the c6 5 spoke rims, in a 17x9.5 up front and an 18x10.5 rear.
my question is, will this extra inch of width provide me that much more traction? Or is my tire selection more important?
While there are other factors that play into traction, width of a tire is one of the most important in my opinion. Looking at it from strictly a scientific standpoint, the more rubber you can apply to the surface, the more traction you are going to have. That's why big tire guys can do what they do.
Or is my tire selection more important?
But width also plays a factor, as in a 11" drag radial is going to hook slightly better than a 10" especially if you have the power.
For your setup, you probably won't notice much improvement going from a 10" tire to something slightly bigger and with a good compound and an 11" tire is going to be overkill for your power. A 275/40/17 slick or DR will deadhook.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,241
Likes: 47
From: Noblesville, IN
Okay. I'm not planning on drag racing the car, if anything some freeway pulls, but moreso than that I wanted to build the car more for handling and corner carving than just straight line. I figured on top of the suspension upgrades widening the tires would help as well.
Tire compound is infinitely more important than width. A 285mm drag radial will pop a wheelie, a 335 summer tire can spin the wheels through 2nd and 3rd gear. From the sounds of it a sticky street radial in a 305 may be best.
Okay. I'm not planning on drag racing the car, if anything some freeway pulls, but moreso than that I wanted to build the car more for handling and corner carving than just straight line. I figured on top of the suspension upgrades widening the tires would help as well.
I know when I went from 275's to 315's I noticed a huge improvement in grip and braking.
