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Alex Nunez

When you install wider tires without changing anything else, the size of the tire’s contact patch (i.e., the rubber touching asphalt) stays relatively constant. That size is based on a tire’s overall diameter, inflation pressure, and the weight acting on it. Installing fatter tires widens the patch, but it also shortens it front-to-back. Because of this, cornering gains can be offset by diminished straight-line traction, including braking and hydroplaning resistance. The increased mass and friction can also translate to slower lap times and a drop in fuel economy.

If you want to improve cornering grip, you’re better off switching to a higher-performance tire of the same size. Buy right, and you’ll get a stiffer sidewall for crisper turn-in and steering feel, as well as a stickier rubber compound and a tread pattern focused on dry grip.

Width won't do it. Merely increasing the width of a tire doesn’t increase the area touching the pavement. It just makes it a wider, shorter patch.

A bigger donut. If other vehicular factors remain constant, increasing a tire’s overall circumference is the only way to enlarge the contact patch. Of course, your car’s body and suspension were designed around a specific tire circumference. Changing it might cause more problems than it solves.

Pressure and weight. Reducing air pressure or increasing the weight on a tire increases the size of the contact patch. But again, there are drawbacks. Some poor engineer has already fought this battle:  Keep the stock size  and just buy a more aggressive tire.

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