abdywgn
dismantler
M&H 9x25.5 14" or M/T 8X26 14" slick. Both on recommended rim size(maximum width) with tubes and "regular" tire pressure. Not 6 lbs. but the starting point pressure. And how would a wider rim affect the contact area patch?
which has bigger contact area?
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yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
M&H hands down. Not even close.
Contact area is a function of tire pressure and vehicle weight, period. The tire size is not a factor, in that the area of the contact patch will be the same for any tire size, given the same pressure and loading. On a tall, narrow tire the patch will be longer front to back, and on a shorter, wider tire it will be longer side to side, but the square inch area of the patch will be exactly the same. That's just science. That said, other factors come into play, such as sidewall stiffness and tread thickness, mainly at very high or very low pressures. But the point is, drag racers get a larger contact patch by lowering tire pressure, but that applies to any size of tire equally.
Gotta disagree with that. It’s not just science. It’s also the construction of the tire and materials there made of.
yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
Hayup.
For some reason, the M&H tires will wrinkle and flatten out with higher pressures than any other tire I've used.
For awhile it was hard to get them.
Bought my first set in 1980.
Damn I'm old.
But the question was “ Which has the greatest contact area”. Not which gets better traction.
Trick question ? measurements of rim widths are needed to give a half *** answer.
yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
True, different wheel (rim) widths will yield different tire widths.
True, but, compound plays a roll.
abdywgn
dismantler
my first pair also. after the first burnout and "dry hop', my leg was shaking so badly I could barely push the clutch pedal down.
Obviously, different setups (widths, compounds, treads, sidewalls) will provide different TRACTION. But you can't argue with the laws of physics. Contact Patch Area DOES NOT EQUAL Traction. That's all I'm going to say.
I want to adjust my curt reply and agree with most of what mvh said. I should have said that in my initial reply.
Interesting note. Is the OP’s car a manual or auto?
What kind of tire is preferable or best for each?
I know that was a very general question..... but a note worthy thing to ask....
yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
I tried running stiffer sidewall tires with my stick cars and it's a nightmare. The worst tire I ever used was the Firestone. Almost cost me the car.
Back then, I didn't roll out my tires. I don't know that Firestone was notorious for sending out tires that would have 2-3 inches difference in diameter. And they rolled out even worse with weight on them. At that time, that was supposed to be THE stick tire. I was running low 11's at that time...1985.
Put them on the car and nearly ran over the tree. Thought I had something on the tires. But decided to move to left lane just in case.
Let the clutch out and nearly hit the guard rail. I peddled it, because I wanted to see what they were like in the gear change. Dumb. Stupid. Ignorant. Foolish. Retarded. I got it rolling and caught second. It went left so quick o couldn't believe it. I was so close I could hear the spectators screaming "he hit the wall".
So I went home and started looking for broken chassis parts or something. Couldn't find anything. So I called the guy I bought the car from. He said "Firestones"? I say yes. He says roll them out. He explained it and they were almost 4 inches different in roll out.
To get them the same, I ended up with a 2 pound difference in air pressure. And the tire still hated the stick.
To my life long shame, I went with Goodyears and not M&H's. I even called Marv and talked to him. It was all I'd used. All the talking heads said GY was the schizznizzle. They weren't. I scrapped the Firestones, sold the GY's and called Marv.
yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
None that I know off but I’ve been out of the game a long time raising children.
Hummmm, ‘85? Around here? Hard to remember. Late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s were gooooooood... LOL! There was the McCleary in the streets, M&H or Hoosiers at the tracks. For us light weight not so fast guys at least.
Which tire has the best contact area "WHEN"? Tire contact patches CHANGE as the car applies torque to them, ESPECIALLY drag tires that are DESIGNED to do so. So, the only real way to test them against each other is at the strip. Since the one with the smaller static contact patch may well be the one with the biggest contact patch when power is applied.
yellow rose
Overnight Sensation
I was ASSuming we were talking about contact patch with the same sized wheel and such and that we are talking about at the launch when the chassis and suspension are loading the tire as hard as it will be in the run.
Ideally, you only want the contact patch to be as big as possible at the hit. In 20-30 feet or so you want the tire getting off the wrinkles. Take a lot of power to drive the tires when they are wrinkled.
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