Quote:
Originally Posted by KevRyd
We talk about the difference in ride height and its effect on the COG and body-roll. If tires extend the footprint of the car making the stance say 2" wider, would this not make cornering more effective? Surely this could be as big a factor as 1cm of ride height? Given that Xdrive is basically RWD 90% of the time.
Kevin
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Often, wider factory tires do not create a wider contact patch...it tends to grow inward - or expand equally. The outer edge of the tire and wheel are usually pretty close to the same position, regardless. Now, on some models, they add bumpouts or fender flares and do move the patch out, but that puts HUGE loads on the bearings, and takes changing other things if you want any long-term reliability. IOW, the contact patch is designed to be centered under a specific point of the vehicle...if you make it wider, it tends to widen symmetrically, or move inward, not singularly move out. The idiots you see with huge offsets on their wheels, pushing the tires way out to the sides are just asking for problems.