weight of your car VS. how wide the tire you need

[nismo1003]

I recently got a 90 s13, I did some reseach on this forum. now I realize wider tire not always help for traction , so can I base on how heavy my car to determind how wide of the tire is?I'm going to run 400hp for straight racing most of the time. I want something that grip and even I had to do a shape turn, I don't want to fishtailing, i've seen those Vette put on some 275/40/19 on there rear? do I need something that wide? or they are just a heavy machine? can you tell me what is your setup?

I've a set of Spec V on my Altima, they are 215/45/17, they are ok griping with 350whp , I break traction at 4000rpm in 1st gear and 3000rpm 2nd gear. I guess mainly it's FWD , I just want to grip on the road in my 240.

[240marcuSX]

you have a 350 whp altima???

[ILikeMy240sx]

I dont think how wide the tires are has anything to do with the weight of the car.. Look at F-1 cars. Those cars are super light yet beefy tires.

[hannibal]

The weight issue referred to the fact that your contact patch doesnt grow larger with wider tires. With a constant weight, your trires maintain a contact patch of idnetical area. Wider tires give you a wider, but shorter (front to back) contact patch.

If you really want to get technical in choosing your tires, read some of Q45tech's posts on the subject.

[deezlins]

I dont think how wide the tires are has anything to do with the weight of the car.. Look at F-1 cars. Those cars are super light yet beefy tires.

F1 cars have tons of downforce which makes up for the weight (its about how much force is pushing down on the tires so more tire contacts the road, so really weight and downforce both do kinda the same thing in that sense). I imagine tire construction also plays a big role.

[AZhitman]

The only concern you need to worry about is load rating. This is a good measure for determining the strength of a tire's construction, but these are relatively light cars - a +2 fitment should be sufficient (inb other words, get what you want for appearance).

[nismo1003]

thank you everyone..