since the tyre pressure and force (roughly 1/4 the weight of the car) are constant
ermm, it's blindingly obvious that the force on the tyres is not constant, and fwiw the air pressure is not constant either.
since the tyre pressure and force (roughly 1/4 the weight of the car) are constant
ermm, it's blindingly obvious that the force on the tyres is not constant, and fwiw the air pressure is not constant either.
I'll be honest here and say that I always thought it was down to a bigger contact patch.
At the same pressure on the same size wheel/tyre bar the width you get the same contact patch on a 225 as a 255 for example, as the wider tyre deforms less as the cars weight is spread over a greater area.
simple maths take a 50/50 balanced car of say 1400kg (3086lbs) 771.5 per wheel at 30 psi gives 25.7 square inches footprint per tire. That could be 10"w x 2.57" L or 8"w x 3.21" L
they have more grip because the contact area is bigger
*Smacks Biggles with an oversized tyre*
He is right, you on the other hand don't appear to have a clue
Now this will inevitably result in a rush of people claming that they have more grip because the contact area is bigger, but I'm afraid this isn't the right answer. The real answer is much more complex, I'm interested to what everyone thinks though as there seems to be a range of explanations! So why do you think wider tyres are grippier?
Erm no it isnt:
Place your thumb or one finger onto a carpet, press as hard as you can and try to drag it.
Repeat but not just one finger but your whole hand.
It is much harder to drag with the whole hand, because it has more contact area...
Yeh I agree, however it doesn't actually explain WHY length is good for longitudinal grip and width is good for lateral.
Erm no it isnt:
Place your thumb or one finger onto a carpet, press as hard as you can and try to drag it.
Repeat but not just one finger but your whole hand.
It is much harder to drag with the whole hand, because it has more contact area...