Since When Did We Think Low Profile Tyres Were Cool?

"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey) 04/07/2014 at 07:07 • Filed to: Tires, fat tires, big wheels

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The way of the world is that everything we use and consume changes and gets better. Trouble is I'm not sure tyres really needed to shrink and wheels to grow.

Here's my argument as to why skinny tyres aren't as good as fat ones.

No doubt some will disagree, but if you do is it on purely visual grounds?

samssun > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 07:15

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Bigger wheels and lower profile tires are better, up to a point. Low profile means stiff sidewall and higher lateral grip. High profile is really only worthwhile if you need offroad compliance, or low-psi windup to launch harder.

The correct wheel size for virtually all road cars is 18".

Mattbob > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 07:17

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The race car comparison is apples to oranges. They are race tires on very light race cars. As for some reasons why reasonably lower profile tires are good: Bigger wheels fit bigger brakes, stiffer sidewall, and possibly less unsprung weight if you can get a wheel that is lighter than the rubber that would be on a bigger tire. I have 225/45/17 on my car over the old stock 205/60/15 and they drive noticeably better, slightly rougher over bumps, but much more crisp steering.

Meatstick62 > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 07:34

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In the autocross world we like shorter sidewalls because of their more responsive nature. Less sidewall to deflect about the tire's vertical axis means that turn-in feels sharper. More info is described in this article HERE.

That said, there are downsides to short sidewalls, namely ride harshness. Also, shorter sidewalls are often the result of stuffing big (heavy) wheels and tires into wheel wells. Using your Porsche for example - you could upgrade your 15" wheels to a set of relatively massive 18" wheels and rubber band tires but chances are you'd find that your car's performance is no better. The added unsprung mass and large increase in ride harshness would be to blame. The better solution would be to go with some lightweight 16" wheels with smaller aspect ratio tires (keeping the same tire OD or maybe a bit smaller). Not rubber band tires, but something a little thinner than what you have pictured. That change should be noticeable.

All that said, I'm oddly attracted to the pudgy tires that the base model Cruze's come equipped with.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > samssun 04/07/2014 at 07:42

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18"? For me, that look massive. It's not even that I'm that old (23), but it just looks ridiculous in most applications that aren't massively bloated modern large saloons.

Hell, on most classics 18" rims are bigger than the entire wheel.

I'd argue that 16" is a sweet spot for most cars. 18" might look better on some cars, but that's outweighed by the number of cars they look faintly silly on.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 07:49

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Low-ish profile can be better on a smooth track on a car with suspension set up for them. The rest of the time they just look out of proportion and make road use more uncomfortable. Some race cars even use high profile tires as suspension on a really stiff car so the "because racecar" argument isnt always correct.

N/A POWAAAHH > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 07:56

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Less sidewall roll. I can feel a significant difference between my summer 18" and my winter 16" (relatively the same size with tires on).

f86sabre > samssun 04/07/2014 at 08:14

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I thought I heard 17 was the best balance of grip and weight for most cars. Regardless, the grip question holds up for high performance cars, but 95% of cars out there don't fit that bill and would be fine with bigger sidewalls.

duurtlang > samssun 04/07/2014 at 08:29

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There are more upsides than that. Higher profile tires add a lot of comfort, result in lower unsprung weight and tires tend to be cheaper.

thebigbossyboss > samssun 04/07/2014 at 08:33

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I embiggened my wheels two sizes and they are 17"

pfftballer > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 08:35

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The biggie is the wheel weight. Many people slap on larger rims with low profile tires and their cars are noticeably slower due to the fact you've added unsprung mass at the worst possible place. By moving this mass outward from the wheel center it becomes more difficult to rotate.

McMike > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 08:41

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There are performance advantages to a shorter sidewall, but I feel the same way about them. There is NONE reason to put 17-19" wheels on a passenger car. I would like to see this trend go away.

....and the racecar analogy isn't exactly fair. F1 cars have 13" wheels because of rules.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 09:22

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Anywhere with a lot of potholes, a market bias toward providing low-pros on everything needs to DIAF. Wheels need a little bit of protection, mmkay?

I'm also a fan of the older appearance, to a point.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/07/2014 at 09:28

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I'm going to 15"s on my alleged classic, up from 13"s. That's mostly because virtually every wheel on the market for 5/4.5 and 5/4.75 is 15", as opposed to 4/4" (front hub change, Jag IRS swap). I'm going fairly narrow as a result, and anything larger than a small-ish 15" would be too big to even change the rear tire.

The Landy's got 16"s, as that's an option upgrade from 15"s on a SWB.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/07/2014 at 10:47

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See that's more like it. I've seen 15" Jag snowflakes on an MGB GT and they're about as big as you can get away with without them looking massive.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Speedmonkey 04/07/2014 at 13:29

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I love me some meaty tires.

Philbert/Phartnagle > samssun 04/08/2014 at 03:13

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Another way to look at that is,

Low profile means stiff sidewalls and a higher lateral grip. Lower profile tires are really only worthwhile if you need offroad racetrack type lateral grip or you spend most of your time canyon carving.

For most on road purposes the higher profile tires provide a smoother ride and a lesser chance of curb damage to your wheels. They will also provide a great "slingshot" effect with the proper tire and pressure on the dragstrip.

The correct wheel size for any road car depends on the car's requirements and the owner/driver's taste.

samssun > Philbert/Phartnagle 04/08/2014 at 06:02

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It's funny, I expected responses defending the increasingly-common 19-20" wheels, and instead everyone came out in defense of 15-16s. On the one hand that makes sense, as Jalopnik is full of people driving old piles and who love nostalgia, but on the other hand everyone here wants a car with a decent chassis and severely undersized engine.

If you're driving a Miata, Toyobaru, or "midsize" (now huge) German with a 4-banger or diesel, you certainly don't need sidewall to wind up for your launch, and since grip is all you have, low-pros make much more sense.

Philbert/Phartnagle > samssun 04/08/2014 at 17:16

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Yes, I can see where what you own would influence your decisions and likes.

P.S. I'm one of the oversized/overpowered engine guys myself, so I prefer the sidewall wind up and a very good set of brakes to slow down for any corners. ;)

Speedmonkey > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 04/10/2014 at 13:31

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Same here. My Porsche wheels are 15 inch!

Speedmonkey > duurtlang 04/10/2014 at 13:32

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Agreed. And the cheaper argument is valid. New car tyres are ridiculously expensive. My old Golf had 200bhp and decent tyres were £70!

Speedmonkey > Meatstick62 04/10/2014 at 13:33

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Pudgy. Good word

Speedmonkey > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/10/2014 at 13:34

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Many used cars with large alloys are ruined due to the driver kerbing them. Smaller wheels are often protected by the tyres

Speedmonkey > N/A POWAAAHH 04/10/2014 at 13:35

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Winter tread adds a lot more slip though. Tried the 911 Turbo on winters and summers and the winters added lots of extra slide (in a fun way!)

Apollon > duurtlang 04/20/2014 at 09:30

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A low profile tire usually is a bit wider than its high-profile counterpart. On my car, an additional 20mm in width make driving in rain unpleasant as hell, while the narrow-tire-smaller-rim combination works so much better. Both wheel sets are factory stock and fitted with similarly good tires. So, this season the alloys will rest in my garage, and the steelies get a tire upgrade...