I think most folks agree that bigger looks better, but I've been told by my pops for years that the wider you go, the worse wet weather performance you will get. Rain and Snow.

Two questions then:

1) Is that true?
2) If so, what is the largest size you would you recommend to somebody who wants to go as big as possible without losing too much wet weather performance....and who currently has P265/70/17's installed?

Thanks for your help!

 

Can't help you much with the second question. My pop moved from sunny So. Calif. to Colorado couple of years ago. Those big meats that look so cool on the street are a nightmare for the snow. The bigger foot print sits on top of the snow and you start sliding all over the place. He uses a stock tire in the winter and has great performance

 

Same reason why you see narrow tall tires on the large 4x4 military trucks. They go through the soft stuff and find the harders stuff to adhear to in the mud.

As for my tires, never tried them in the snow, but guessing they wont grip all that well.

 

A wider tire will have less force per area (pressure) than a narrow tire. Thus, it would tend to float over incompressibles such as water (hydroplaning over a puddle, etc.). On the other hand, a wider footprint has more rubber on the road, and rubber equals traction. I think it's six one way and a half-dozen the other. On a wet road, a wider tire should actually be better because of the increased surface area. In the snow, a narrow tire should work better, because it will dig down to terra firma.

Anyway, I've run these 35" BFGs and haven't noticed any sort of wet weather performance change. I think it's more a function of the quality of your tire than size.

Mike

 

So I suppose I should start listening to my pops after all these years! Thanks for your help fellas.

 

The narrow tire will work better for snow. It cuts down through to the harder packed material giving you traction. Wide tires end up plowing the snow and not allowing you traction or worse steering control.

 

I'm afraid your pops is right. there was a good point made about pressure = force/area. It is kind've like ice skates. Once they get dull they loose traction and start slipping whereas freshly sharpened ones glide effortlessly along the slippery surface. I had mudders on my old jeep yj and it was a nightmare driving that in rain or snow. I did a 360 degrees turn one frosty morning taking a slight curve going at about 40mph! As for more traction, yes wider tires would provide better traction IF your tires were on pavement. Unfortunately, when it rains or snows, a thin slippery layer seperates your tires from the pavement.

 

Thanks for y'alls help. I decided to go with P265/70/17 Bridgestone Revos (the same size I had before).

 

In the rain, the only difference you may notice between two tire sizes on the same tire would be hydroplaning. Otherwise, the wet traction difference would be unnoticable.

Given the same air pressure, all tires wil have about the same contact area. They just have a different shape. The wider the tire, the less length of the contact patch.

I would really focus on buying a good tire, as that will have more of an impact of wet weather performance than varying the tire width by 10%. The Revo is an excellent tire - had them in the same size.

 

My dad always said the same thing about using skinny snow tires on all of our cars when we were kids. Think about it this way: If you were riding a bicycle on a sandy beach, fat tires ride on top of the sand, and skinny ones cut thru the sand. On a snowy road like the ones we have in the Northeast, I'd rather have the skinny ones that cut thru the snow down to the pavement. Maybe an overly simple explanation, but one that seemed to make sense to me.

 

i agree with the general consenus here. this is making me glad i live in Southern California. what is this 'snow' you speak of?

bring on the big fat mudders for me!

 

I run 255x85x16's in the snowy months, and 285x70x17's the rest of the year.

Tall & Skinny is much better in the snow and still excellent on wet roads if you have a good tire.

 

Brewmaster

Here is a small sample of that "thing" called snow!

 

Wow that can't be fun. I used to live in NJ awhile ago and enjoyed the snow (the little we got) back then. After 10 years in Florida, I can hardly bear to see the thermometer go below 60! Yup, I'm a cold weather wuss...that's why I now live in Houston!

Mike

 

I use siped and studded 235/85/16 in the snow. They run great! The rest of the time I am still on the factory tires - 255/70/16.