There are two kinds of people. Those who look at the sidewalls of tires and say: “Wow! Nice Michelin”, and those who look at it and see only numbers, letters, and characters. If you’re one of the first, it probably isn’t something you care about or care too much about; all the more reason why you should spend a few minutes learning something. The numbers indicate three things: the rim width, followed by the side wall height and the Wheel diameter. For example, a normal compact fits in a 225/45 R18.

These numbers are essential for anyone looking to replace tires. But what if what you’re looking for is? increased traction capacity? You need to know the tread wear number, right? The standardized classification system for UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grading) works to determine: a static coefficient of friction of a rubber That number is the amount of wear that a tire can have, where the composition and construction of the tire is very important.

100 is the baseline, but most vehicles on our roads regularly use tires with 400 or 500 . wear. They don’t have the most grip, but their durability allows you to get more miles with them. For track application, you must use a tire of 200 or less. The lower the number, the more rubber the tire loses as it moves across the asphalt., but generates more grip. And now you will say, where does that wear coefficient come from? Because nothing has been invented.

According to Burton, tread wear is an estimate based on tests conducted by a company trying to persuade you to buy their tires. The rating means nothing in terms of the actual rubber compound. It may be a good indicator, but it is by no means an established fact. If you’re going fast, tires are only part of the equation. The rims you fit on the car also matter: just like tires, not all wheels are the same, beyond the infinite existing brands and designs.

And once you’ve chosen the right size, the main difference is the width and weight. Burton makes a clear point. One pound of a wheel is equal to four pounds of your car (0.45 kg comes out 1.81 kg). However, the rotation of that wheel exacerbates the effect of that weight. Therefore, a lighter tire makes the vehicle more agile when cornering because it can change direction significantly faster. Also, the drivetrain will require less energy to run them, resulting in: more effective power on the road.

Consequently, taking lighter wheels will improve the performance of your travel companion. That is, before upgrading the engine, just: you can increase the energy sent to the road by reducing the weight of the wheel. Wheels and tires are much more than just choosing the right set. Tire pressure is also an important factor when it comes to grip. If you want your wheels to make more contact with the road without changing their dimensions, you’ll have to play with other intrinsic variables.

According to Bakari Howard, racing tires falken, driving the tires with a lower pressure will eventually increases the contact area of ​​the tire. However, if we become overly motivated, it can have a negative effect on performance. You will likely experience excessive sidewall sag and some failure in the tire with the most pressure. It is important to note that two vehicles with the same weight and tire pressure have the same contact patch.

And that applies regardless of width. The shape of the patch is what changes. The contact patch changes from a rectangle to a triangle when you ride at a more cheerful pace and start cornering like a rally driver. This is because the outer edge of the rim does most of the work, as there is less contact with the track on the inside of the tire. To fix that, you can go to the adjust camber gain and suspension to get an optimal setup, but that’s another matter.