Wide tires the great conspiracy.

[diesel_john]

IMHO wide tires have cost consumers billions of dollars unnecessarily. In fact i would go so far as to call wide tires a conspiracy. With all the money spent on vehicle control from 4WD to stability to compensate for wide tires being worthless in poor traction conditions when it really counts. The only reason cars are safer is because they crash safer. People will drive in over their heads no matter what controls are on the vehicle. Wide tires increase the difference in traction between dry road and poor conditions, thus causing the public to be lawed in to a false sense of security. IMHO

[Old Tele man]

...uh, the Formula-1 and Indy Car guys would diagree with you.

...of course, those drivers don't have to *pay* for those tires either (sponsors).

[UFO]

Wider tires, or at least tires with shorter sidewalls can give racer-wannabee drivers a false sense of performance and induce them to drive too close to the vehicles limits.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...uh, the Formula-1 and Indy Car guys would diagree with you.

But I bet they seldom drive in snow, or encounter gravel on the roads, or dirt roads... Indeed, I believe that they even change their tires when it rains.

Not to mention that few of us are going to be driving around in circles at 150+.

[Old Tele man]

...the right tool (tire?) for the wrong job?

[Varn]

I switched my VW from 205/60 to 155/90. I went with Firestone winter tires and run them at 45psi. Getting over 50mpg now. Handling is great as long as I keep them inflated to max. I realize that summer tires might last longer in the summer but winter traction is a big problem on my road.

[euromodder]

I can't feel much difference in grip between the 205/55/16 on my own car, and the 195/65/15 on the replacement car.

Actually, the 195's feel better on the road, simply because the suspension is better.

[zonker]

theres no conspiracy regarding any manufacturer trying to sell people wider tires. it's the general belief that if 10 is good, then 11 is better.

cars generally look better with a tire/wheel that fills out the corners of the car, as well as gives the appearance of being more aggressive.

conversely, mounting bicycle tires on a car in the effort of improving economy is a misnomer too...

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by zonker

conversely, mounting bicycle tires on a car in the effort of improving economy is a misnomer too...

You're sure? Has anyone ever tested it?

As I recall, most of the human & solar-powered vehicles use pretty narrow tires.

[zonker]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

You're sure? Has anyone ever tested it?

As I recall, most of the human & solar-powered vehicles use pretty narrow tires.

i guess i should clarify - on a production made passenger car, mounting the thinnest tires possible will help fuel economy but at a huge sacrifice to safety, braking, cornering, and general roadholding.