Smiley Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 I ordered my new edge with 17 inch wheels figuring less rolling resistance is best. My Q to you engineers out there is why do we need a wider tire cause I assume the diameter stays the same or somebody has to correct the odometer readings. At least that's what I do when I change tire sizes on my road bikes (bicycles). More contact surface with the road more rolling resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffreybehr Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 (edited) ...My Q to you engineers out there is why do we need a wider tire cause I assume the diameter stays the same or somebody has to correct the odometer readings. At least that's what I do when I change tire sizes on my road bikes (bicycles). More contact surface with the road more rolling resistance. I'm no engineer, but I can think of a couple reasons for wider tires. One is increased traction. Another is different appearance, and I think this is why most of us choose them. My barber just this afternoon asked me why I put aftermarket tires on all my vehicles. 'Becaue they look better' I told him. When I was searching for aftermarket tires, I specificaly excluded those with tread patterns similar to the boring-to-me ones of the original tires. I too calculate carefully tire sizes so I don't change the diamter (more than a couple percent, which is how different the original 17- and 18-inch tires are in diameter). My choice is the 275/45-20, which is the same diameter as the original 245/60-18 (?), and here's my choice of tire and wheel. I don't know, but I suspect that the increase in rolling resistance is so small to be effectively unmeasurable. Edited August 3, 2007 by jeffreybehr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 A larger diameter wheel with the same diameter tire should (in theory), have less sidewall flex... this would result in better handling, but at a less smooth ride (sidewall flex works sort of like a shock on bumps too). Honestly though... it's for looks for most people. Bryce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good_Hands Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 I have 275/45/20's on my Edge. You can check the gallery for the pics - one is taken from the back up close so you can see the width. www.1010tires.com has a "Tire Size Calculator" that allows you to put in different sizes and compare them to each other. The wider the tire, the better the grip; handling, etc. But with the Edge, it's pretty much all about looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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