Can someone explain tire-stretching?
 

It would be appreciated, as I have zero understanding of this phenomena.

:thanks:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-afraid-to-ask

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LADnwQ3g9KY"]How to stretch a tire... and how you don't. - YouTube[/ame]

Point blank. It's where the tire is stretching.


If you have a 17x9 wheels and have a tire that's say, 215/40/17, it's going to stretch because it doesn't fit correctly. There's a lot of air inside those tires, so it's trying to fit and fill the rim, but it's too small.

you do it for the sloots

Maybe I should've been more specific in my line of questioning.


Let's try again.


Why?

This is the type of info I'm after. :cheers:

Not sure how accurate this is but reading the link I provided you says,

the whole thing started in germany/belgium, local laws required that the tire tread be within the fender line.
well that doesnt allow one to run wider or lower offset wheels, so they put narrower tires on the wheel to maintain legality
when you would like to run really wide or low offset wheels and keep the tire tread at the fender
when you would like to go really low and not rub

On the real I've heard multiple reasons
1. looks
2. run wider rims (fitment issues)
3. I've heard slide better (drift?)
4. Some stock cars run a tiny bit of stretch (bmws)

BTW all this,

for the sloots ;)

Its when you like to do something not recommended by the manufacturer and put everyone else around you in danger to look "cool."

Hellaflush yo!

stretch = form
proper fit = function

It's a symptom of being dropped on your head as a baby.

depends on the stretch, I'm sure people realize that the manufacturer also doesn't recommend making any changes (yes those chunkier/"safer"/stickier tires aren't recommended )

People do it so they can run wider rims and lower offset, mostly just so they can say they have 12" +20 wheels, regardless of how poorly they fit. With a stretched tire it won't rub on the body as much.

Kinda like this:

http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7218/...767e6114_b.jpg

Not necessarily true, from a tire engineers point of view. A slightly stretched tire is actually better (when considering a street tire, race tires are a whole different ball game) at quickly building cornering power since you do not have to deal with sidewall deflection (or at least reduced) during initial turn in. As a rule of thumb I always run my tires one size up recommended wheel width from JATMA, ETRTO, or T&RA. This of course only applies within reason, the aftermarket tire stretching you see is absolutely crazy in my opinion.

I wouldnt dispute any of that. apply the statement to street cars only, does that change?

Its done for ugliness.

It's a trick. They're saying,
"We have no desire to have sex with women. Ever again. We just want dudes to drool over our stance. And by dudes, we mean escaped tards."

Mostly. It's just ugly and pointless. Guys that refuse to "conform" to normality.

SO judging by all of the sources provided to explain this.... It is something you do if you own a VW :bonk:

Everyones hating! I do not personally enjoy this style, but if they didnt stretch their tires then my meaty tires wouldn't look so good by comparison. To each their own, instead of hating and saying its for people who never get p*ssy, just think of it as someone who has different taste than you, because who's to say what you think is actually good looking?

Minitruckers started doing this back in the late 80's, early 90's, and we called it the "skateboard look", since the tires resembled the wheels on a skateboard. Once minitrucks started to get body dropped and bagged, the trend quickly went the other way, so the tires and wheels could be tucked up inside the fender, and the truck laid out lower.

Mike Dominguez back in the day:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...MikeDtruck.jpg

I wish I could find pix of my buddies Mazda pickup, with 195-50's stretched on to 15x10 wheels. He had to use acetylene, and put them in a split rim cage, to set the bead, crazy.

Lowriders started to do it when they got into the "euros", many of which were Asian imports. 175-50's stretched on 13x8's, so they could run deep dish wires, and still get the car low, so the tire stuck out the wheel well. Today you'd call it "poke" or "mexiflush".
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...-wine-II-1.jpg

So there is your history lesson for today.

Various reasons people do it. I used to be all about it-to an extent. I was cool with a few degrees of camber and a bit of a stretch, like a 225 or 235 on a 9.5j, but over the past couple years, I've grown more fond of meaty setups, especially for this car the past few months. I still like the mild stretch and stuff some people are still doing.

People are getting crazy now though. They're pushing the boundaries of what people think is possible. Going as low and aggressive as possible. It's cool to see what people come up with and manage to do but a lot of the setups I see now are too wild for my tastes and I would never run it on my car. I commend them though cause some of these setups take so much work and effort to fit and even get them barely drive-able lol.

Depends honestly how you use your street car. I ran a slightly oversized tire on my dsm (for the wheel; a 245 on a 7.5j) as well as reduced pressure since that was a street "drag" car. For the frs, I run a 225 on an 8" since it's meant for taking corners and I'm at the stock power level.

In reality it format matte much for a street car, but my street setup=my auto cross setup so I just run the slightly oversized wheel.

It all depends on what your after with a stretched tire. Some do it because the wheels they want aren't available in smaller widths. Some do it for fitment. Running a stretched tire in drifting gives the tire more response. Since the sidewall can't flex, only the tread flexes when a tire is stretched. You can run larger wheels and stretched tires to give the illusion of more power from the car.

There is a BIG difference between slightly stretched, and the extreme stretching being discussed.

A 225 on a 9" wheel is a very mild stretch, 225 on an 8" isn't really stretching at all. A 195 on a 9"+ wheel is a big stretch, and has no useful purpose other than gaining fender clearance when the wheels poke too much.

Yes, this is exactly what I was going to say. 225 on your 8" aint exactly a stretch, I think 225-235 is OEM style fit. But I get your point.

I saw an Acura CSX on the way to work yesterday with a pretty extreme tire stretch and an F1 brake light in place of the JDM fog in an aftermarket rear bumper. Dude probably thought he was badass but as I tapped the throttle on my WRX I chuckled as I saw him look over. Kept thinking of someone's comment that some people like their assholes same way they like their tires...stretched. Lol