370z MEATY TIRE THREAD

[VinceThe1]

Originally Posted by RBfastback

thanks for the info, u changed my mind.

I've just been reading so much about ppl not having any problems even with track cars and drag cars that I figured it was fine.

but for tire width going from 325 to a 345
I guess it's the same reason ppl go from 285 to a 305.

wider wheels more traction after super chargers installed for me but so far I think I'll still go with 325 on a 12" wheel just because I don't want the fluffy balloon look

If you prefer not to bubble yes, 325 on 12" wheels will be a good fitment.

Widening will work, especially for racers that are generally crazy and do things on a low budget. For regular street use, you might not only have safety issues, but vibration and wobble issues, since wheels are orininally machined into their final form on a lathe to ensure perfect roundness...once cut and weled, the rear part of the drum won't ever lign up with the front perfectly as when it was cast or forged from a single piece of aluminum and machined into shape.

Also, if you widen wheels, that changes the offset, it makes it more positive (a higher offset number, tires further into fenders and towards the car).

Wider tires providing more traction is a misconception, the contact patch/surface area doesn't really increase, it just changes shape from a more square patch to a more rectangular one, unless with lower air pressure...and even then the only thing that happens is you have less weight per squate inch of contact patch, so it's good for mud and deep snow so you can stay on the surface without sinking in, but the weight per square inch is what gives you the traction in the first place...so it equals out, more surface area but less weight per unit means equal traction either way. Where wider tires do have a traction advantage is heat dissipation over longer track use or while doing burnouts, so it saves the tire, that less weight per square inch means the compound is under less stress, so wider lasts longer in general. Think of it as brakes, any disc brake small or large will stop your car from 100 equally as fast...once, because the brakes are strong enough to overcome the tires and the tires start skidding so they're the weakest link while stopping. Do that a handful of times however and the smaller brakes with less surface area and more pressure per square inch the pads exert on the disc means they will start overheating and fading sooner than the larger brakes with less pressure per square inch needed to stop the car.