17" and 18" rim tire traction

[Takid455]

I was told that traction from a 17 or 18 rime w/ 275-295/40 tire will provide poor traction compared with a 15" rimw w/ a 275/50 tire. what gives. was I given false info? these will be good z rated street tires. Anybody here have traction issues with teh bigger rim/ tire combos due to less 'give' in the tire?

[JLM]

The sidewalls on the tires mounted on a larger wheel are less able to absorb shock.

Watch a slow motion film of a top fuel dragster coming off the line. That will help you to understand why that's the case.

[Nine Ball]

It actually has more to do with the brand/compound of the tire than the rim size. An 18" drag radial will have more traction than a 15" street radial, even if both are the same width.

[formulafr]

you just have to note that 275/50/15 is only around 240mm on the ground compare to 275/40/17 which is near 260mm. (for street tire)

15" are better for drag but not for the corner.

[chicane67]

How about some more... the following is true no matter what construction or compound is used.

A taller tire is better in longitudinal traction.

A wider tire is better in lateral traction.

TaKid- What you were told is correct... as long as you were dealing with "like" construction. However, Nineball's statement also holds true. The construction and compound have more to do with this than what it did in the recent years past... especially in dealing with street leagal compounds.

Now back to dealing with like construction... and JLM's statement is what describes the answer. For drag racing, its all in the sidewall... just as it is for a road racer. The tire and wheel is the point of "compliance" as used in automotive application for example. Next would be the suspension... next would be controlling the weight transfer... and so on.

But today, there are a lot more compounds that are sticky soft... and the short sidewall 17 and 18" packages are much more able to "hook up" than what they were in years past. So... as long as the point of reference in arguement is not a top fuel funny car with a 33x15" slick... you will now have something to counter that arguement.

[go-fish]

Yeah, what he said!^^^