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Originally Posted by Deslock
Your wrote "the FR-S/BRZ on 215s has more tire width per weight than the V6 Mustang on 255s". There are many other factors that affect grip, one of them being that bigger tires will also increase contact patch.
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1. Bigger tires don't necessarily give a bigger contact patch.
2. Bigger contact patch doesn't necessarily give greater grip
Bigger contact patch at the same loading per square inch will generally give more grip, but that means a heavier load hence commensurately greater grip is *required* just to pull the same cornering g's if all the load is coming from mass and not aero.
I had said that the FR-S/BRZ has more tire width per weight vs. the Mustang. You said:
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It's not just width. The Mustang's 255/40R19 tires have a larger diameter, so in addition to a wider contact patch, the Mustang also has a longer contact patch.
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Obviously there are other advantages to smaller tires; my point was simply that you really can't only look at tire width per weight.
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Wider tires o generate more lateral grip and it's not due to "increased contact patch". How much more is generally overstated and it is going to be something less than a straight linear relationship.
Taller tires do not inherently generate more lateral grip.
Generally, a shorter/wider contact patch is better for handling, and a longer/narrower contact patch is better for drag racing.
For a given tire construction, "contact patch" is a strong function of inflation pressure and weight, not so much tire width and diameter.