Originally posted by tboner:
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Yet the answer is neither, they will both put the same amount of rubber on the road. However, the shape of the contact patch will differ between the two. The wider tire will put a wider but short patch, while the narrower tire will have a narrower, but longer patch.
Ok, I think I need to reel you engineers back in the realm of cars
... That's where my original complaint comes in... You see I was neck-and neck with the SE up to the top of 3rd gear. Don't you think that when the stock rubber on the SE rotates at that speed, its contact patch diminishes because of centrifugal force acting on the tire, whereas the wide rubber mounted to my 18's still puts its "4in x 6in" of rubber to the asphalt? Factor in the aero drag because of the width and you see why that SE was able to pass me...
Agreed, we should have never been neck-and-neck in the first place
I will investigate the plugs/wires/fuel filter on my car for that issue.
How's my thinking sound??
