Why wider tyres are better

Most passenger car tyres are between mm wide, while hypercars can run rear tyres above mm. A Bugatti Chiron runs mm tyres on the rear wheels. Should you get wider tyres? By Darren Cottingham. Tagged with: tyres Posted in Advice. Do you fit wider tyres to increase performance in the dry but reduce wet weather performance?

You also have to factor in if they will actually fit! Increasing the tyre width may cause them to hit the wheel wells and your turning circle may be reduced as the tyres come into contact with suspension components that the factory-fitted tyres did not.

If your vehicle is your weekend track toy, fitting larger tyres is almost a no-brainer. However, for your average Joe Blow, fitting wider tyres to the grocery-getter to increase your chances of winning the traffic light Grand Prix could be considered a waste of money.

Yes, those four bits of rubber are your only connection to the ground and they keep your car moving in the direction you desire. Most of us think that a wider tire is better, and if it's more grip you seek then you're probably right. This is why. Jason from Engineering Explained is ready to break it all down.

Basically, you want an evenly spread load across your tires. If you make your tires wider, it becomes easier to achieve this. A larger contact patch on the ground will allow you to accelerate more quickly, stop in a shorter distance, and handle higher cornering speeds.

Now, that's if you compare a vehicle with one set of tires to the same vehicle wearing a different set. Here are some things to consider when deciding what kind of tires you should purchase for your car:. Car weight — For some vehicles, buying a skinnier tire is not realistic because the weight of the vehicle will put too much pressure on the tire. If you were to mount a thin tire on a car that was too heavy, you would run the risk of the tire exploding while you were on the road.

However, if you mount tires that are too wide on a vehicle that is light, you may experience wheelspin, which can damage other internal systems in your car. So make sure you purchase the appropriate tires based on the weight of your vehicle.