Size Matters

[Suberman]

Bigger wheels or wider tire do not affect the size of the contact patch and it wouldn't matter if they did. Friction doesn't work that way.

Changing tire or rim size has very little effect on grip.

Sidewall stiffness does because the tire slip angle will be less for any given side force as sidewall gets shorter.

Contact patch width changes as sidewall height decreases.

Basically, tire grip is related to compound not tire size or shape. Handling characteristics are altered by tire profile.

Large rims with very low profile tires are mainly a fashion statement. Bear in mind that the shorter the sidewall the more viciously the rear end will toss you into the weeds if you overdo it.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by ???

are there any benefits to a larger diameter?

thanks for all the responses by the way

Larger diameter wheels with a tire the same overall diameter means a smaller sidewall. This will reduce flex and improve responsiveness. But you will lose comfort.

Like most things, this can be taken too far. Massive wheels with thin little tires that look painted on will hurt performance as the tire will be unable to conform to imperfections in the surface of the road. With this car that started with 24" tires, 18" wheels are pretty much as big as you should consider going if you don't want to hurt performance.