Surely a wider tyre is a better thing as it has a bigger contact patch with the road surface,my vrs has standard alloys & tyres fitted & i have had no issues driving in rain,sun or snow in this country.I agree with the comment about poor ride quality on low profile tyres but mine are extra load rated sidewalls so no saftey issues there & if i wanted a nice soft ride i would of bought a standard low spec octy not a vrs.My wheels are heavy though,when i removed them as part of a service i was surprised how heavy they are.

It should be wider tyres are less safe, nothing to do with alloys! you can have alloys with same size tyres

In theory, a wider tyre is better in all conditions, providingit can get down to the tarmac, as the contact patch is bigger. Obviously a wider tyre has to shift more snow or water before it can make use of this though, which is why it's important not to scrimp on tyres! I'd rather be on Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 at 225 width than a Wanli or Nankang at 185 width in the wet. One area where all narrower tyres seem to fall down is grip in damp conditions (which we get a lot), whereas narrow tyres always do better in the snow and sometimes better in a very wet conditions. I owned a car on 165s and it was shocking for stopping in the wet, always use to lock up at the front!

Sidewalls are a different issue, I don't think lower profile makes a great deal of difference to the handling off the track, all it does it make the ride worse, the tyres more expensive and offers less kerb protection for pricey alloys. Obviously don't look as nice, but I would be perfectly happy to have my vRS on a 55 profile if it didn't mean changing the rolling diameter of the wheels.

I really don't trust these so-called eco tyres, lower rolling resistance means less grip - you can't loose one without the other and I prefer being able to stop and corner to lowering my fuel economy by 2-3% or whatever the improvement is.

well i'll chuck this video into the mix then

are the thinner tyres on the space savers safer than the alloys here? :wonder:

I think you are mixing two different things - alloy wheels vs. tyre/wheel size.

I've got standard size alloys on my Octy and there's no difference between them and steel ones.

What size tyres do you have? i.e. 205.55.15?

It should be wider tyres are less safe, nothing to do with alloys! you can have alloys with same size tyres

Find me a tyre at 195 width on 18" wheel for an octavia?

well i'll chuck this video into the mix then

are the thinner tyres on the space savers safer than the alloys here? :wonder:

Right so this plonker is advising people to have "fun" on the streets? Not very safe advice.

At least this proves the point small tyres=less grip even on that wet/damp track

Even if neven going to drive above 70-mph on the road you will need to fit tyres to a minimum speed rating (and load rating) or exceed that as decided by the manufacturer when they are getting their EU approval on that particular vehicle.

http://www.tesco-tyr...lp/speed-rating

george

Edited 25 April, 201214 yr by sk4gw

Do we need to cross post this thread on multiple sub forums?

Right so this plonker is advising people to have "fun" on the streets? Not very safe advice.

At least this proves the point small tyres=less grip even on that wet/damp track

well i'll chuck this video into the mix then

are the thinner tyres on the space savers safer than the alloys here? :wonder:

Those tyres have a max speed limit (of around 55kph), they are emergency only items. I suggest you don't use them for normal road use.

The limit for spacesavers in the EU is 50 mph by law. However some do have higher design speeds, found an Auto Express article on it at http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/230895/are_spacesavers_safe.html But they are the extreme example of narrower tyres, and they do illustrate the point quite nicely that width (or lack thereof) isn't everything.

Right so this plonker is advising people to have "fun" on the streets? Not very safe advice.

OH MY GOD?!

FUN?!

Noooooooooooo!!

Those tyres have a max speed limit (of around 55kph), they are emergency only items. I suggest you don't use them for normal road use.

But assuming they were a standard compound rather than an emergency one they'd be safer yes?

But assuming they were a standard compound rather than an emergency one they'd be safer yes?

Clearly, they are not on alloys.

Wrong?

check out a Audi R8 on wide alloys vs Octavia 1.4.

Spot on. My first car was an old Civic with 155/70/R13 tyres and it had more grip in the wet than any other car I've owned since (which have all had wider tyres).

LMAO Not really a like for like comparison there!

I think a wider tyre on the same car will have no adverse effect in the wet at all.

It will.

The limit for spacesavers in the EU is 50 mph by law. However some do have higher design speeds, found an Auto Express article on it at http://www.autoexpre...avers_safe.html But they are the extreme example of narrower tyres, and they do illustrate the point quite nicely that width (or lack thereof) isn't everything.

I disagree, they are of a compound designed for emergencies and run at 60psi and being so specialist and narrow bear little resemblance to a normal skoda (octavia for e.g.) road tyre.

Also this thread was not intended to discuss that wider/narrower tyres are better on a dry/damp track, I accept that wider tyres perform better on dry tarmac as per starting post. This is about more than grip on a track which is meaningless to most of us most of the time, although it clearly has unwarranted priority in peoples minds. I have heard little evidence to contradict any of the other points of the original post thus far with the possible exception of discussion around use in the damp, a very common condition in the UK.

Edited 25 April, 201214 yr by 1.4tsi

The average driver would be driving way inside the limits of a modern car's capabilities nearly all the time. If driving on the very limit, on ordinary roads, then the driver must be nuts. So it really comes down to looks.

I have seen alloys I can't stand the look of and, years ago, rather liked my steel chrome and black Ford Rostyle wheels.

I am happy with my bog standard Skoda Elegance alloys. But when the original tyres need changing I'll think long and hard about NOISE !!!

But how will you ever get the bitches with standard wheels?

They spinnin' They spinnin'

Spot on. My first car was an old Civic with 155/70/R13 tyres and it had more grip in the wet than any other car I've owned since (which have all had wider tyres).

Is there any scientific reason why you think that?

Having a big slow sensible family car, and a hot hatch, unsupprisingly the big slow car "feels" much much safer in the wet. Realistically, i just need to look at the speedo to realise the reason why its safer, is because its generally going a lot slower, and therefore very rarely gets to a speed where grip will be exceeded. Whereas my hot hatch is usually going a lot faster, and therefore a lot closer to its tyres limits.

Me, i'd wager the fat, low profiled alloy wheel having hot hatch would still outgrip my sensible car in pretty much every condition.

This is about more than grip on a track which is meaningless to most of us most of the time, although it clearly has unwarranted priority in peoples minds... I have heard little evidence to contradict any of the other points of the original post thus far

Personally I wasn't referring to track use, obviously I can't speak for others. I drove on 165s for the best part of 3 years and they were absolutely shocking for braking in the damp or wet; emergency stops happen to us all and grip can be the difference between a near-miss and an accident. They were also terrible for understeer in the wet, particularly on the exit of roundabouts (again, we've all needed to do an emergency swerve) and I could spin the wheels in second gear on a wet road from a engine with less than 60 bhp - which is not good for pulling out of blind junctions on hills when it's raining!

I'm not going to pretend the above constitutes evidence (save for anecdotal) but my personal experience is that if you have a wider tyre with a tread pattern sufficient to clear the water under it, it performs much better in wet conditions. I switched up to 185s of a similar price on a more powerful engine and braking and cornering were much improved in both wet and dry, and same goes for switching up to the vRS on 205s. Cornering I accept will be aided by suspension set up, but not so much braking.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/39003-best-tire-width-wet-roads.html

an similar debate on a sister forum, summed up-

if enough water is present to aquaplane (or exceed the capacity of the tread pattern) a narrower tread is advantageous, as it clears the water quicker.

if there is not enough water to aquaplane a wider profile has more grip.

Tread pattern?

On a day like today were it is p33ing down,

i will take Peter Picanto out everytime,

thats because it does not Aquaplane & handles great on wet roads with its 14" snow tyres that stay on all year.

That is even in preference to a 4x4 on a set on 235/80/16 tyres, just that the Picanto does not like wading quite so much..

george

Nice 110.

200Tdi?

G4 orange?

I think you are mixing two different things - alloy wheels vs. tyre/wheel size.

I've got standard size alloys on my Octy and there's no difference between them and steel ones.

+1

OP you seem to be confusing wheels, tyres and yourself.

Tread pattern?

tread pattern is the name given to the 'grooves' or pattern in the tyre grip area.