r-compound tires dont age well. age will harden them (6 months or more) and
they have a limited number of heat cycles of stickiness even if there is
rubber left. so used ones should be pretty cheap- they give their best
performance when they are young and fresh (unlike race drivers :))
wider tires are also heavier. but usually most will chose the widest that
will fit.
i am finally going to try some wider tires on the front on my car to get it
to turn better, and because i cant get even my 245 (on a 9" rim) rim hot
enough to matter. i think my competition uses a 205 size tire on a 10 inch
rim! they drive on warm tires.
-james c
OSP - Often Spinning, Perhaps
----- Original Message -----
From: <jake@codeworm.com>
To: <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2002 10:52 AM
Subject: Benefits of various tire sizes on my del Slo..
> So, I've got 14x5.5 wheels, and I'm considering the
> various Kumhos that will fit them.
>
> I understand that a smaller diameter tire is
> advantageous in terms of gearing, and I suspect a wider
> tire is good because more rubber is on the road. But I
> remember skimming a thread recently that mentioned you
> might NOT get that extra tread to the road if the wheel
> is too narrow. Are there bad side effects of this?
>
> Another factor: Given that my car has no camber
> adjustment and I'm hard on the outside tread blocks up
> front, is it better or worse to have wider tires?
>
> In the Ecsta, I could mount 225/50-14, 185/55-14, or
> 195/55-14.
>
> http://www.kumhousa.com/pages/pcr/ev700stats.htm
>
> In the Victoracer, I could mount 205/55-14 or 185/60-14
>
> http://www.kumhousa.com/pages/pcr/vv700stats.htm
>
> What does a wider tire to for me, versus a narrower
> one? If the narrower one is better, how much cheaper
> does a slightly used set of 205/55-14 Victoracers have
> to be to offset the lower performance. :)
>
> Finally, any data on which model is better for
> autocross?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jake Hodges
> Honda del Slo
> 35 HS
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