I am so doing this when I convert the DSM to track duty....

[BLINGMW]

its quite helpful for max contact patch on a street tire of that size. I don't really know enough about r-comps to know if the extra contact patch is worth the weight or not...

I THINK I have this right. Let me clarify. The weight of the car doesn't change. The tire pressure doesn't change. So no matter what the tire size, the same amount of rubber will be on the ground. If it's a narrow tire, the contact patch looks more like a circle. If it's a wide tire, it's stretched out. If a tire is spinning, like in a drag start, things work a little differently and I don't understand them then since it's operating more as a fluid than a solid. Wider is probably better in that situation. But I'm speaking about a tire that's on track. So while tire friction might not be the same, simple, high school physics friction where the surface area doesn't matter, in this case, the surface area doesn't even change.

Now if the wider tire means you run less pressure, then I'm not 100% on that one. The contact patch size would increase in that case, and the tire is going to build heat faster since it deforms more. Simple physics says it still doesn't matter..... but I'm just not sure yet. Need to do more reading. :dunno: No. dammit, I'm at work. Need to do work!

I'm also in the bigger=better camp, but I do realize that it also follows the law of decreasing return/negligible gain. I just think it looks hawt.

It's not just decreasing return. There's an optimum tire size for a car. Over, or under that, it's the wrong direction. Less grip. If a tire is cold, like on the street, and you toss it into one corner, I don't know. Maybe it doesn't matter then since neither tire would be up to temp. But if the tire's actually working, the correct size tire would have MORE grip than the tire that's too big.