What size tire to pick or when is the tire overkill..

[matty b]

Hey I guess this is more of a theoretical question that I already know relies on multiple variables but what is the best way to determine how much tire you actually need? I guess Im asking this cause there seems that tire size options fall into three distinct categories being: TOO SMALL, TOO LARGE and THE GREY AREA. I know you cant really expect a 225 width tire to handle on a 3500 lbs car and for all but the extreme a 335 is probably really pushing it as far as when the tire is making up for a lack of something other than traction. Where Im puzzled is seeing some builds and what would appear to be a rather small tire for a very high skid pad number pops up and Im left scratching my head. Art Morrisons Bel Air is what made me wonder since it has a 285 tire on it and came real close to hitting 1 g on the skid pad. For the size of that car I just cant get over thinking that it would need a lot more tire under there. This affects me cause Im in the very early stages of my build and my rear tire choice could potentially cost alot of money and time, both I would rather save if I can help it. So the question lies in being what do I pick? Is this a situation where you kinda guess and hope for the best or is there any kind of formula I can use to figure out a ball park as far as what tire width I should pick? This is fairly important cause I more or less get one shot at buying rims and building a rear end considering my budget isnt really allowing for major do overs. Any help on the subject would be awesome and Im looking for more of general rules of thumb than a specific tire for my car. I say that cause I have no idea how much power my engine is gonna make nor do I know what the final weight or other things like that affect the decision. I do know im going to run a 3 link rear end and coilover front and rear, beyond that nothing else has been spec'd. Let the discussion begin!!