Originally posted by Silversvt:
Ok, I think I need to reel you engineers back in the realm of cars 
Sorry for getting off topic
...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?
When you are going through 3rd gear during this acceleration your entire contact patch is under pure rolling (i.e. no slip is occuring). It's therefore actually ideal to have as small of a contact patch as possible (before slipping begins to occur again) to minimize your rolling resistance.
Factor in the aero drag because of the width and you see why that SE was able to pass me...
Aerodynamic drag caused by the tread or width of the tire accounts for only a small portion of the overall rolling resistance of the tire. This would not have a significant factor in your performance here. The texts I've seen always neglect this drag when speaking of rolling resistance. Unless you're talking about the added drag from your 18's making your car sit up higher...is that what you're talking about?
