Quote:
Originally Posted by orange4boy
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From what I have found so far, max sidewall reduces...
1) risk of rollover
2) blowouts from overheating
3) stopping distances
4) hydroplaning
5) slipping in snow
6) body lean in cornering
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I think this is exactly why there are debates about the subject - there is contradictory data:
Let's take item #1: There are studies that say that increased inflation pressure INCREASES the risk of rollover.
Item #2: Blowout mean rapid air loss - and overheating leads to belt separations - which usually do NOT result in air loss. Theses are 2 separate issues.
To be fair, increased inflation pressure reduces the operating temperature, so the risk of a belt separation is reduces, but what happen as you continue to add inflation pressure? Obviously at some pount the tire explodes. Which brings me to the "blowout" issue.
We also know that increased inflation pressure also increases the risk of an impact failure. So where is the crossover point between impact failure and belt separation?
Item #3) In the study posted:
FEA chapter III. tire pressure survey and test results
the inflation pressure is limited to a maximum of 35 psi. What happens beyond that? Does the data peak then drop off? This study doesn't say, so we need to be careful to make the distinction that we don't know what happens above 35 psi.
Item #5) Slipping in snow. Lots of folks have been debating this issue for years - and it always boils down to whether or not the surface is pure snow - or snow where is it possible to penetrate to the pavement. The former has lots of anecdotal evidence that lower is better, but the latter also has lots of anecdotal evidence - hence the debate.
But the biggest problem is that passenger car tires (with a couple of exceptions) are designed to operate in the 26 to 35 psi range. It makes no sense for the tire manufacturers or the vehicle manufacturers to test outside that regime. So there isn't going to be a lot of data to be found for pressures above that.