Do wider tyres give you more grip? The differences between tyre widths tested and explained.

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Do wider tyres give you more grip? The logical answer would be yes, the wider the tyre, the more rubber in contact with the surface, but it actually isn't that simple.
As a tyre gets wider, the footprint of the tyre changes. While the footprint does get wider, it also gets shorter, and how the tyre changes under camber and load is altered too.
Instead of worrying about the theory of wider tyres, I decided to actually do the test and let the results speak for themselves. It was a complicated test, and after nearly a years planning, and a large amount of help from Goodyear, the resulting video should tell you all you need to know about fitting wider tyres!
Tyre sizes on test are 225, 255 and 285 wide 19 inch tyres. Each tyre has a slightly different profile, so the final sizes are 225/40 R19, 255/35 R19 and 285/30 R19.
Any questions please ask below.
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Further information and the full data from the test - www.tyrereviews.com/Article/Do...
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[@tyrereviews]

To celebrate this video, we're giving away a set of the excellent Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 tyres, including fitting! All you need to do is subscribe and follow this link - www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Win-a-set-of-Goodyear-Eagle-F1-Asymmetric-3-Tyres.htm

[@oktav]

I have a proposal for you: a non-runflat similar test on xDrive BMW (3er, 5er). It seems that not only me, but others also, have a problem with the ESC(ESP) setup for the xDrive, that it's a bit too sensitive, because I guess they only consider the runflat tyres. When I activate the DSC, I'm not having any problems

[@GuysThatDrive]

Nice one! Already sub’d

[@vodifitrardi6324]

@Tyre Reviews giving away set of tyres sounds great but what about with your international viewers where fitting is pretty much impossible, you lads not gonna send the tyres to overseas isn't it?

[@drsm7947]

try 155/70/R19 tiresize.com/tires/Bridgestone/Ecopia-EP600-155-70R19.htm pls try the rest tiresize.com/tiresizes/155-70R19.htm

[@princesssolace4337]

Tyre Reviews Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 do not have 215/40/17...that spec only sold for Directional 5.

[@s2korpionic]

You guys are underrated. Seriously. This video about the effects of tire width is gold.

[@tyrereviews]

Really appreciated :)

[@zerolukas]

totally agree :)

[@F1h0]

+1 to that

[@mas921]

TOTALLY AGREE!

[@lesterarellano6563]

Gives you knowledge on how to fidle with the cars handling via tires even without touching the suspension and etc. Great video

[@vladen14]

1:56 "so what setup u rockin?" " Got myself some 790/35 R19"

[@tyrereviews]

I would like to see that.

[@boaz.bananas]

Hahahaha Gold, made my day!!

[@nothingsurprisesmeanymore]

What you driving a mini steam roller? 😆

[@conanobrien1]

790/ *12* R19" not a *35*

[@1uzfe]

Craig Ferguson good catch

[@Throughphoenix]

As a 15 year tire professional, BIG THANK YOU for your honest and thorough testing information.

[@anthonywalsh2520]

Don’t know if you did. maybe next time think about putting tyres on and not telling driver what tyres are on, this might eliminate subconscious bias or hesitation.

[@tyrereviews]

We run blind for full tests, but for this test there was no bias worry

[@JoeAchilles1]

After spending a small fortune on tyres today, I found this video interesting and healing 😂👌🏻

[@tyrereviews]

What did you get?!

[@15october91]

Joe Achilles Main man Joe!

[@Pidroe]

I thought he was going to have all the wheels on at the same time like the thumbnail suggested. Needless to say I'm leaving this video disappointed.

[@tyrereviews]

You know that there's no way that would ever actually work right? IT would vibrate itself to pieces before you got past 10 mph!

[@NonLinearFunction]

Then why do you put it in the thumbnail of the video? Isn't that lame?

[@motorooster25]

You're lame

[@McKay_92]

Tyre Reviews prove it, it would make for an entertaining video!

[@Maurice_Moss]

@@tyrereviews obvious sarcasm

[@acefighterpilot]

I would be very keen to see this test conducted with a performance FWD vehicle such as a hot hatch. It seems that in dry conditions, increasing the front tyre size slightly for a FWD vehicle would be a universal good, providing better braking and handling while also allowing more contact for the drive wheels. I really enjoy the scientific approach of this channel and I've been consuming a lot of these longer studies since I've found it. Well done.

[@sussolus]

The front tires in a fwd or awd car are taxed differently and make a different contact patch than in a rwd car. You can see the difference in skid pad tests and it always comes down to the tire width.

[@Uno_Floydd]

​​@@sussolus not tire brand or model. Because you can have the best tire in the world but if its not the right size well thats worse than any bad tire in the right size

[@JaZoN_XD]

Super underrated channel. This kind of analytical testing is exactly what I'm looking for.

[@tyrereviews]

Thanks, glad you enjoy it!

[@sid12345678910]

Underrated channel. Amazing production value, super informative. Keep it up!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you so much :)

[@Cyba_IT]

Impressive how you could remember all that while driving

[@armurak]

He do quick run 🏃‍♀️ every morning

[@Norbury90]

Very slick. You have come on a long way! I really hope the other tyre companies are watching and taking note... this is great advertising and great consumer advice at the same time. More of this would be great.

[@tyrereviews]

Thanks man, appreciated

[@niihmalheiro]

2 years later and this is JUST the video I needed.. so much love for this channel!!

[@tyrereviews]

You are so welcome!

[@Cajundaddydave]

Such a useful video for anyone who wants to better understand tire dynamics. Thank you! We reached very similar conclusions while running a pair of Spec Boxster cars in Time Trials over many years. In the dry on fairly technical tracks with a lot of cornering and lateral G forces, the 255 square had the edge in times with both cars. On a long Super Speedway with fewer corners and long high speed straights, the 225/255 stagger was a bit quicker with higher speeds at the end of the straights. On a very wet track day with a lot of standing water the 225 square managed to shed water, avoid hydroplane, and make better contact with the track surface as we put down comparative laps.

[@CeeStyleDj]

255 squared seemes the best imo since you have the second best track time But then you also get to rotate all four tires.

[@markuskainrad2094]

10:50 Now thats a bad example of screwing bolts on. I am mounting 15 000 Tires a year and i would ruin many bolts if i dont start turning them by hand first.

[@snorman1911]

"Doesn't matter if it's cross threaded or torqued to spec, tight is tight!"

[@poochakahful]

Make sense;)

[@connivingkhajiit]

Yea that was painful to watch

[@steffenkawa8374]

I did the same mistake in the past. I ruined 1 wheel hub that way.

[@fang75429]

Fantastic video! Thank you! The only thing I'd like to see now would be 8", 8.5", 9", 9.5" wheels with a 255 width tyre to see how it goes with sidewall stretch

[@tyrereviews]

I'll add it to the list!

[@RobertKarlBerta]

I agree with Brad....many people don't consider the effect different wheel widths have on choosing a tire width. I have always gone by the rule that the tread width on the ground should be no greater than the wheel width or very slightly less which is called a stretched setup. Once the tire gets wider tread width than the wheel width it will start lifting up the edge and squirming around reducing steering precision and turn in for tracking or autocross. Looking forward to a future video about this.

[@fang75429]

What I find interesting is what BMW have done with various stock M cars lately. I have an F13 M6 hence my interest in this. It runs 9.5" and 10.5" wheels with 265 and 295 tyres. The F10 M5 has the same tyres but on 9" and 10" wheels. But where it gets more interesting to me is the F8x M3/M4 have 9" and 10" wheels but either 255 and 275 tyres on the 18" and 19" options, but then 265 and 285 on the optional 20" wheels which are still 9" and 10". Then you have the new F90 M5 with the same wheel widths as the M6 at 9.5" and 10.5" but they run 275 and 285 tyres. Surely they could have used a 10" rear with 285 tyres but they decided not to. I suspect they are tuning the handling characteristics and comfort by doing this, but the differences must be slight and will really only be noticed by expert drivers.

[@tyrereviews]

"but the differences must be slight and will really only be noticed by expert drivers" I feel like this will be the overriding findings from the test, but I'm still happy to try :)

[@fang75429]

I agree the differences will be slight, I think I'm mainly interested because of what BMW have done in the last 5 years with their M cars and some of the different widths they've done. I didn't mention the M2 but that has 245 and 265 tyres but with the same 9" and 10" wheel widths that the M3, M4 and F10 M5 have.

[@carlbarber76]

Would be cool to see a similar test done on a FWD car. Keep up the awesome vids.

[@communityonline]

There's good video on this topic by Andrew White, the guru of offroading. The video is titled "TIRES. FAT OR SKINNY for Overland Touring?" at kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5mWhZKHnsiFp8k

[@communityonline]

Someone's comment on Andrew's video had some helpful tips: Yvonne Wood says: I am lucky to have travelled in remote parts of Kenya and am good friends with a safari guide. His opinion was wide tyres in sand tends to float more than a narrow one (affecting stability adversely), but because it builds more of a 'wall' in front of the tyre, drag is increased quite dramatically. With a lower powered vehicle, it can be to such an extent that the vehicle may be unable to overcome the increased drag and become stuck. It is all down to tyre physics. A tyre when deflated has a much longer foot print, not much wider at all. Therefore, a wider tyre may not be very good on a lower powered vehicle. I have a Land Rover Series III and I have a 5.50" x 16" wheel with 7.50 R16 tyres for this reason. If it had more than 69bhp, I may look at a 235/85 R16 on 1-Ton 6.50" x 16 wheels, but it doesn't.

[@saiiiiiii1]

You run all 4 tyres the same size, the max you can fit in the front determines the size for the rear axle. In a reasonable way, if you got 100hp you don't need to fit in 255s ;-)

[@rickhunt3183]

I know I'm coming late to the party, but everything you said is spot on. I drove a Trans am and went from a 225 50 16 and moved to a 255 50 16 and it made a huge improvement on dry. When driving on wet roads especially where the water might puddle on the edges of the road. Having one wheel hit the water while the other was maintaining traction produced interesting results for me. I would have to have a very firm grip on the wheel or the car would try to rip the steering wheel from my hands and hydroplane or steer itself. The brand of tire and the compound makes a noticeable difference also. When water is pooled on the road it's best to drive like an old woman, and stay alert, especially if you have the ability to put some power down. Just my experience over the years. You'll notice more if you drive with a set of tires for a few months, and then switch to a different tire compound and width. Good presentation.

[@memo90frost]

It's mind boggling how this channel isn't at 100k subs. I guess not many people find tyres as interesting as we do.

[@tyrereviews]

Thanks, hopefully we can grow it into a larger channel, just gotta keep making the videos :)

[@900108Chale]

Exactly! Especially when Tyres are a *Critical Key Part* of your car... Done it myself: try ANY average street car, fit if with better tyres. A world of difference! (Honda Accord, VW Passat 2.5 & 36R, Toyota Corolla & my "oldies"); managed to make them MUCH better performing cars with above average tyres: handling, breaking, road noise, riding comfort, in the wet... Nowadays I concentrate a LOT on tyres, hence avoiding some other mods that can be expensive and cumbersome. And NO wider and taller is often not the answer...

[@elizbararchvadze7619]

I was looking for this type of review for years. Finaly you made it. Thanks

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@ALMX5DP]

I personally like square setups for their ability to be rotated around the vehicle, for neutral to oversteer capacity and for initial cost.

[@tyrereviews]

I agree, I prefered the balance on square, probably not the safest on the road though

[@mat_v]

Plus you can rotate and keep them longer 🤘🏼

[@stephenpato5524]

@@tyrereviews Even with only 180bhp??

[@jamdc2000]

gti owner?

[@Buflonob]

always keep the best tread on the rear axle to stop car rotation in loss of traction conditions! (i.e. tyre rotation is not a good thing, especially on FWD)

[@funitoo]

Love how thorough these test are. Good job.

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@ConfusedGeriatric]

People can complain about the thumbnail and that’s why I initially clicked it, but I’m just glad you guys did the comparison under practical conditions! Plus the results I imagine would be the same even if a setup like in the thumbnail was actually feasible. Thanks as always for your thorough testing and informative content 🙏

[@tacticalninja7815]

I did this on my Audi I went from 225/55-16 8inch wheel to 245/40-17 on a 9inch wheel and I found wide tires hold straight line stability but dont like to turn as much as the thinner tires :) as always the quality of the rubber is massively important I find that even bald premium tires are grippier than any of the Chinese ditchfinders you can buy! Michelin is great but conti Dunlop pirelli and the like are amazing too, I highly recommend Uniroyle for UK roads though they are my favourite by far but actually running Michelin pilots right now lol Edit - forgot to mention iv never had Goodyear's but I hear good things from people who use them so you should totally send me them :)

[@JP-ug1xr]

On my e36 M3 (U.S.) with staggered 17s, went from 225\45 & 245\40 to 235\40 & 255\40... Helped the front end so much. Very consistent feel, neutral balance. I feel like the extra width on same rim helps prevent the sidewall from rolling under in higher corner loads. The rear didn't change much, stock clutch might complain with extra traction. Plus that extra curb protection is handy for parallel parking.

[@boranbori]

So width helps you in strong corners and reduces oversteering ? I would appreciate your answer 🙂

[@Willadin]

Been waiting for this, thank you so much for the very informative video! It's really hard to do such an experiment and I really appreciate all your efforts! Keep it up!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you for the thanks, appreciated.

[@haldunyurtal6465]

Probably the best informative youtube channel. Thanks for all the videos

[@tyrereviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@ntone7]

Excellent comparison. Love your videos and thanks for your suggestion for the Goodyear F1a3 I got them and indeed running very quiet and comfortable, probably better than my previous Michelin PSS. The only downside is that it is not as connected to the road as PSS which I can certainly live with for the comfort yet still sure-footed.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you're enjoying the AS3 :) You're right, they're not quite as responsive as the PSS, but they'll outperform them in the wet.

[@Wilkkid1]

They any good bud I’m that close to purchasing the good year f1a3

[@Natuh21]

Great job as always, you deserve much more than 20k subs! Looking forward to seeing the new chapters of this :p Could you test front wheel cars as well ?

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you so much :) FWD is on the list!

[@joshuadoliveiro]

There’s that video about wheel/rim sizes featuring a GTI

[@drsikandarkhan9708]

i love this video because i just love how he explaind about tyres.

[@codylujan]

Excellent video. I've got an X5 with the factory 255/50/R19 wheels and tires, but I want to go up to a 285/35Z/R21. The 20's only come staggered with 315's in the back and 285's up front. I think that's way too big. This video cleared up a lot of questions I had.

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

I never thought of the wider tires' footprint getting shorter, which makes wider tires not have a much greater contact surface. What I remember from my physics classes in school though is that grip only depends on the friction coefficient (which depends on the materials) and the force applied (in this case, the weight on the wheels). According to that, more rubber in contact with the ground shouldn't make any difference in grip, however I also know that two important issues in tires are deformation and (as the guy in the video says) overheating, and a bigger tire suffers less from those.

[@Yinas]

yeah these were roughly my thoughts when i considered getting tires for my car (Audi A5 FWD). went with 245 square, nice middle ground i thought, and has worked out quite well for me in all conditions.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad it worked out :)

[@misterGeekerdotcom]

Finally a new video from Tyre Reviews! Very great comparison, good job Jonathan :)

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@charliebrown8670]

Informative, comprehensive and entertaining. Two thumbs up!

[@PoorCoyotee]

On a regular car the best reason to run a bit wider tires is just the look of the car. Not quite so much on newer vehicles that come out with wider tires anyway but any older cars that run like 185-205 tires gets a nice refreshing touch with running something like 215-235 wide.

[@papatorr3669]

Excellent video, really. I was surprised at the results as I think the 255's all way round were the best all around performers. I say this even though I have converted mid power (~200 HP or Torque) sports cars to staggered configurations for years (decades). I find that I have more precision steering feel in the turns on twisty two lane mountain roads. I don't drive on a track. I went down to 205's on my Supra Turbo and my Z3s. Both had 225 rears. And I went down to 225's on my Z28, keeping the 245 rears. My Boxster came staggered with 205's up front, even though it has 255 rears. I did however like 225 all around on my T-Bird Turbo Coupe, and my 330cic. I may actually go up to 245 rears on the 330cic next summer. All those cars started out between 200-225 HP or Torque. (The z28 grew to 550 HP) The Miata is the funniest, after playing around with bigger, taller, wider tires, I went back to the original 185 14". Just not enough power there, more fun to slide around on the narrower tires, haha.

[@johnwidell8092]

I want to come play in your garage.

[@akbarpashtun]

Good collection

[@boranbori]

So more narrower tire more slide correct ? I would appreciate your answer 🙂

[@papatorr3669]

@@boranbori Yes, But... There is an ideal width for every given model. There is a long list of factors that affect your decision. The weight and power of the car, keeping the tire model/compound the same, may be the next most significant factors. I remember a friend had a front engine 67 mustang with cartoonish oversized Mickey Thompson tires and he couldn't get traction at all on the street. Plenty of power but not enough "pounds per square inch" weight on the rear tires. At another extreme I considered putting spare donuts on the rear of Miata just so I could learn how to drift. So that at the end extremes you could have a tire that is too narrow, or too wide to get the proper amount of traction. The 275s on my Z28 got plenty of traction on a hot dry day, but they slid around when it got wet or cold. One day it started snowing on my way home and after stopping for a red light it wouldn't go across an intersection, they often have a slight high point in the center to allow water runoff to the corners. To me it's a Goldilocks equation: Not too narrow, not too wide; not too short, not too tall a profile. Not too sticky, not too hard a compound; not too slick, not too many sipes. 😁

[@watchingdanny]

This was exactly the video I needed. Thank you. I was contemplating on downsizing both wheel diameter and width. I'll make a more informed decision now.

[@andrewkb5211]

A great explanation of pros and cons of having a square set up and an asymmetric set up on a rear wheel drive car and why BMW fit the latter. As mentioned a more powerful rear wheel drive car would highlight rear grip advantage of wider tyres.

[@LawrenceTimme]

Really high quality informative video as always!!!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you!

[@STMK3]

one of my favorite shows to watch. so much to learn. thank you.

[@Twobarpsi]

Given a constant vehicle weight, and equal tire pressures, the tire contact patch does not increase in size with a wider Tire. All that changes is the shape of the contact patch. A lot of people do not understand this concept.

[@aaronhall7740]

Twobarpsi I suspect alot of the difference in this test is down to heat management too. Being more rubber on a wider tyre there is less heat to deal with than a narrow tyre. Theoretically the closer to square the contact patch the more area there is contacting the ground so that would suggest a narrower tyre.

[@GraveUypo]

the AREA doesn't change, not the perimeter. so it doesn't matter much if it's a square or a really stretched rectangle. they're both going to have the same area.

[@Twobarpsi]

GraveUypo that's what I said, not sure if you're agreeing with me?

[@GraveUypo]

Twobarpsi with you, yes i'm agreeing, but i'm correcting Aaron.

[@Mike-oz4cv]

Agreed. Also: Theoretically the surface area doesn’t matter for friction.

[@joshuadoliveiro]

Best tyre videos on KZbin by far. My kind of content!

[@tyrereviews]

Best, and perhaps only :)

[@JwcubTHS]

Your reviews are very interesting and provide great information for car enthusiasts! Thank you! 😊

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you like them!

[@craiglitchfield791]

Excellent review, very interesting, cheers

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@_J.P._]

There is a little more to that issue. Continue reading only if you are really interested into this toppic or else you'll be bored until the end of this sentence :) Wider tyre means more weight since you need to have more metal on your rims and more rubber on your tyres. That added weight will reduce your overall power output. Including the fact that more rubber means more friction resistance (if this is the correct term in english for that). For an optimum setup you need to consider your overall power of the car and accordingly choose the proper tyres, rims and dimensions of both. And to top it up consider weight too. Rims do not weight the same. Usually OEM wheels are lighter then some aftermarket set of rims but that is not always true. There are brands who specialise in lightweight alloys like OZ and their Ultraleggera and many others. Also if you take two tyres, same size and you put them on a scale they will weight differently. If you put top brands in your digest along with optimal dimensions of rims and tyres you probably end up with only a few options to run with. Also if you wish to add more performance to your steering, acceelerating and braking then consider some sport coilovers. The stiffer ride will allow you to transfer acceleration and braking power faster to the wheels since the car doesn't have to fight too much movement caused by weight transfer. That is the moment when you for example accelerate and the front goes way up high and the rear goes really deep down. Until this movement reached its limit you won't have maximum power transfer to your wheels. Last but not least: tyre pressure. Too much and you slip, too little and you'll stick to the ground like driving on glue. To start somewhere take your existing setup of wheels and simply put them on a scale. Note the weight, take off one tyre and weight both separately and note the weights again. Then take that scale and visit some shops who are willing to allow you to weight their rims and tyres and then get yourself an overview of what is possible. For example a combo of 17" rims and wheels should be around 20kg if the rim has 8" and the tyres are 205/50. Bigger sized rimms will have less unsprung weight making them heavier thus reducing your power output. Same size rims and larger tyres means more material thus more weight. Wanna lose more weight? Skip using runflats. They are even heavier, stiffer and they are noisy too. What is so important about wheels? It is a mass the car has to turn to start going somewhere. Rotating a mass is more power consuming then just simply pushing weight forward (i.e. the rest of the car including you in it). For that reason go cart racers jump up and down in their seats after start. They remove their body mass for a sharp moment allowing the cart have more power for a slight cut of a second. You do not need to do that in your car since your weight gain would be close to zero in comparison to the overall weight of the car :) but you can do it for fun... and crash your car seconds after as you'll be all over the pedals and such :) As I mentioned "just pushing weight forward" then you might reconsider what you really need to carry along with you. Spare tyre? Leave it at home and gain some weight loss. Lots of crap in your trunk and other compartnents? That is weight too. Choosing a new car with or without a sunroof? Well that comfy thing is high up and has a massive ballance and weight impact on your car. You can do a lot to your car to keep it daily and make the most of it. You can also take it a step forward and going for some lightweight racing seats in the front, remove rear seats completely etc etc... but that is kinda not my thing. But it may be yours :) Don't belive what I am writing here? Then be my guest and use Google all the way to check for yourself :) Take this as a starting point if you like and be ready to be surprised what else you can do to improve performance and still keep yourself road legal and daily usable. Cheers

[@communityonline]

John Crusader, really helpful points. Thanks

[@b.saulius3916]

true true :-)

[@spektrograf]

Excellent write-up all around! 👍

[@kay19833]

BMW E 46 compact 1.8 petrol engine. 115hp 17" wheels. I run 225 both F & R. What do you advice I go for Goodyear asy5, PS4, Conti PC6 and what combo, 225, 235 or 245 square or 225 235 or 225 245 F&R combos? And for those who want to talk shit about an underpowered car, I don't race sport hatchs like Megan rs with 250hp I am pretty fast for everyday cars with 150hp with their 2ton boats.

[@Monster33336]

I don't mind losing some power for improved comfort ride. The 205 50s are TERRIBLE! Feels like driving on nails.

[@SubZeDiZeD]

I am about to go from 245 front / 265 rear to a 265 front / 285 rear on a RWD Q50 Red Sport 400, and this was exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Very informative, thank you!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you!

[@techevo]

Another excellent vid, lots of great info, which really helps inform the viewer with the facts. Well done to all involved.

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you, really appreciated :)

[@Bugattivitesse]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you!

[@exoroxx]

Thanks for your research! 👌 I have driven some 3series and 4series with 225/255 and I wasn't really happy with their understeer (in 19" it was 328i, 428i and 435i). 225/225 (18") is in fact slower, but it makes (me) more fun to drive as you feel some kind of oversteer if you like to. I loved it - it felt more neutral overall. That was even my option in a 440i, what is the best you can get beneath the M4.

[@boranbori]

So you are saying that 225/255 doesn't slide on corners more than 225/225, and you stick with 225 so you can earn some more oversteer right ? I would appreciate if you answer 🙂

[@exoroxx]

@@boranbori I prefer 225/225, because there is less understeer and a more agile feeling. I think 225/255 is faster and you'll have better traction. If necessary you can't switch from rear to the front to get better tyres at the back. I'm driving now 225/255 in the summer and 225/225 for the winter. I would prefer 225/225, but in my case I can only get 225/255 with 18 inch wheels (so called "Mischbereifung" in Germany). I never was a fan of it and I think a normal BMW works better with 225/225 or 245/245. But I really like a more agile rear.

[@FootageFactory]

This is nerding out to the MAX. I Love it!!

[@stephenpato5524]

I know you said something like an M4 would show the differences more distinctly, but I'm glad you did this with a 320i (I have one you see lol). I'm going to move from the factory 225/255 front/rear to square 245s (I have 19" wheels). Thanks for this video!

[@keysersoze2435]

I do enjoy informative videos like yours. But may I ask what is the HP on the BMW on your test? You mentioned that more HP like the M3 could benefit more with wider tires.

[@tyrereviews]

I plan to re-do with more power

[@d0718]

This channel deserves so many more subs. Keep uploading! The potential is there :) and thank you!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :) I'm trying my best, these videos are super expensive to make so I sadly can't get out 3 a week like some channels, but I'm trying to be more frequent!

[@erlendkristiansen4664]

The time, money and effort really shows in the end product. This is excellent and great consumer advice. Thank you!

[@paulsmallriver6066]

Nice to have an answer to the question that has been rolling around in my head. Thanks.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad it was useful :)

[@dmytroi735]

I miss your reviews already!!! Keep the channel alive

[@tyrereviews]

Trying my best during these difficult times :)

[@ilikepienurma]

I'd like to throw in my experience of of changing tyre sizes. I have an e46 330 (228bhp) which came with 225/45/r17 all round. the rears were eagle f1s with over 4mm and i found it quite easy to get them spinning pulling out of junctions and on wet days. this kicked in the traction control and killed all power. very annoying whilst trying to pull into a gap in traffic. I bought new alloys which are F 235/35/r19 and R 275/30/r19. the rears are nexen with 5mm and the increase in grip is fantastic. I now have to rev aggressively high and drop the clutch hard to get the TC to kick in. before it was something always in my mind whilst pulling away. I've had these 4 months now and summer has been very good in the south of england here so i'm yet to see what a true wet performance is like but day to day it was a great improvemnt. The car was very oversteery with the old setup and now it feels slightly biased to understeer but its hard to notice as i don't thrash it often. i also get a bit of tram lining with the new setup. I'd like to see a 0-60mph test with different tyre sizes in the future to see if you can get a better launch. I know I do from my experience but didn't measure. I just know i can rev 500+rpm more when dropping the clutch. great channel and keep up the good work.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you're enjoying them! I did try acceleration tests but getting consistent results proved to be very difficult in the cars we were using. Braking is like reverse acceleration I guess

[@ilikepienurma]

"Braking is like reverse acceleration" that's actually a great analogy now i think about it. perhaps it doesn't decrease time but it certainly makes launches easier

[@Liveforeever]

@@ilikepienurma don't forget to realise that your sense of extra grip is not entirely down to the wider setup of tyres like you think, it's partially down to the bigger diameter wheel hence lower torque output to the ground so you will think you have more grip..

[@hidconceptcom]

This is the most professionally done review I've ever seen. Outstanding!

[@tyrereviews]

That's very kind, thank you

[@1petulko]

My W218 CLS350 came with 255/285 19" as standard. I'm very happy with the way car drives and behaves. Always was wondering about the different sizes. Good video.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@qx4n9e1xp]

Extremely comprehensive video! Thank you for your test work. I bet it took all day to do.

[@tyrereviews]

weeks of planning, 2 days testing, and weeks of editing! Thank you!

[@MrTurbo_]

Great video, i was considering widening my car and suspension to fit bigger wheels, but seeing the little difference it actually makes i'll just stick to how it is right now

[@ashscott6068]

Mathematically, the difference is zero. But if your wheels are a bit heavier, of course you get a bit more grip

[@zelowatch30]

​@@ashscott6068Interesting take. I think it depends if you can get the right balance of weight to width ratio. I prefer heavier wheels, it makes the car feel more grounded.

[@strokeracer]

Excellent test mate!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you! :)

[@Xterminator4i]

Excellent review, I have wondered this for a long time. Keep up the good work.

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you!

[@MrLiamconnors23]

Very informative review, keep up the good tweets

[@tyrereviews]

A good tweet to you too sir.

[@hakinen4000]

Excellent video. Definitely a redo is on order with a better car. Thanks a lot for sharing

[@tyrereviews]

100% :)

[@sambacko4188]

Thank you for doing the test

[@tyrereviews]

Thanks for watching :)

[@mthuncher1718]

Hi, I got to say thank you for all the work you do.

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@thomas316]

There's something else I might suggest which is the shoulder of the Tyre. Some cars will handle better with a rounded shoulder because of the suspension geometry (typically light weight sports cars and classics) while others favour a square shoulder (modern cars and those that tend to be heavier.) My brother purchased and a 90s sports car and when he switched to a rounded shoulder tyre (which the guys at his local tyre shop talked him into) it really made the car come alive in corners, the car just danced beautifully afterwards whereas before it was just snappy at the limit. Vast improvement!

[@tyrereviews]

Good information :)

[@NineEleven1]

example of a round shoulder tire?

[@Mitchelly7]

I'd like to see the results with an xdrive bimmer

[@Frank-ed7hj]

I remember reading somewhere that a narrower tire sheds water better than a wider tire; you've proved that with this video. Thanks for that, and everything else :D

[@Gilamang]

Fantastic concept and video. Thank you for this.

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@oneniceboi]

Didn't expect 225 to be that good in the wet - but not that surprised though. In DH skateboarding which I practice, narrower wheels tend to function better in the wet.

[@tyrereviews]

That sounds fun! I imagine in skateboarding the wheels have no tread so narrower is better

[@inbloom08]

Yeah buddy!

[@icommandoi145]

I'd love to see you perform the same tests except with a more powerful vehicle like the 335i :)

[@tyrereviews]

I'm hoping to do this with an M4 tyre vehicle soon!

[@rampage3337]

@@tyrereviews yeah m4 whould be coo. i think it's hard for you to see mutch gains from this car becaus bmw allredy has decent tires on there and it don't have the power to realy use that extra grip. the extra grip is just more energy lost.

[@leeberesford4535]

Excellent video with lots of interesting ideas!

[@adampatterson4857]

Interesting video. Ive goodyear f1 3's on my widetrack sti 235/45/R17 thing sticks to the road like rails and its seriously quick in the wet obv with the AWD mixed in aswell great all rounder.

[@15october91]

Thank you, very informative.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@Vultite]

I went from 245 square stock setup to a 275 square setup with lighter wheels running the Goodyear Eagles. grip seems about the same but lighter wheels seemed to make the most difference with braking and acceleration. I cut 36lbs of rotational mass.

[@XtremeCoke]

This is a great video which demonstrate the manufacture choice on size of tyres in a visible/comparable way. manufacture settings are always the most balanced to suit a wide range of applications , temperature rate etc. taking from the video you know what you can optimize for your own need. thumb up

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@spencerali1659]

Great test, thank you! Would you happen to know the wheel specs used on the different setups?

[@tyrereviews]

There's a link in the description to the website that has the wheel info on :)

[@SoulTouchMusic93]

10:50 how not to bolt your wheels back on!

[@DuBstep115]

Yeah you do, impact gun with low setting then torque it down with torque wrench.

[@dabraka681]

He meant damaging the rims ...

[@robbybahnsen_15R]

I think the reason why BMW puts narrower tires on the front of the car from the factory has to do less with performance and more with safety. Most road cars are engineered to understeer by design so that they are more manageable in situations that result in loss of traction. Understeer is far less scary than oversteer for the average driver.

[@veetijaakkola1200]

Its also considered safer since you can see the direction youre going while understearing

[@thomasgirard9966]

Wider tires also wear slower. Since most power is sent to the rear wheels on that car, it makes sense to put wider tires so that tires wear more evenly.

[@helixworld]

225 Front and 255 rear will be less likely to aquaplane than having 255 all round.

[@jamesjannell8706]

Fatter front tires doesn’t always mean better handling. Look at Porsche and Ferrari an& how they achieve great dynamic steering .a narrow tire can actually turn much quicker in the right car.

[@z33tanner]

This is what I have been told about my 350z have 225 out front instead of the 245 square I went with.

[@Crosshead1]

I think many people come at this from the other direction. By that I mean many people start by looking for a new set of wheels, often for cosmetic reasons, which, in many cases, will be wider than the stock wheels. It’s then a question of deciding whether the stock tyres will fit, without too much stretch, or whether wider, but lower profile tyres will be required.

[@FritzRamos]

Thanks for making this video! Super helpful

[@956FivePointOh]

Just found this video, super awesome info great stuff! Would love to see this video redone with a mustang gt and seeing the stock 255 275 compare to a 275 all around and finally a 305 in the rear! I know a lot of mustang guys would love this info

[@user-jh6vt8vx4v]

I was wondering how you manage to pull a 12 mins video for a grip test because usually this is done by skip pad and few break test and then compare the result be done with it. Then you go the long way... 😁 And I just realized it sucks pretty hard if you get this BMW a set of directional tire (usually high performance tires are directional). The direction of the tire prevent you switch left to right, and the different size in front prohibit you switch back to front. Wow...🤔

[@tyrereviews]

Many tyre companies have given up on directional tyres now, even the latest track day tyres are asymmetric!

[@gavineyles1130]

Excellent video. Found it very interesting using the different tyre sizes. I’ve personally always kept my tyre size as stock. But would always use tried and trusted manufacturer such as Michelin or Goodyear. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to your next vid 👍🏻😎

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you for the kind words :)

[@roadrash76]

Thank you for your time and efforts

[@tyrereviews]

My pleasure

[@Willbemeful]

I would love to see this test again in something more powerful like you said. Next time around can you please include 0-60 runs.

[@narancs5]

I think the biggest take-away from this is, that if you go 20% slower, you will stop 30% earlier. 100km/h on dry = 34m 80km/h on wet = 24m Mind blown.

[@smoothbraindetainer]

Braking distance correlates to speed squared, so that's pretty close

[@shadowblade2149]

I didn't think watching a video about tyres would be interesting. Good video!!

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@paulk3681]

Interesting review... I wonder if the extra weight of the wheels affects things. I have found that it is not just about surface contact of the tyre on the road, it is also about the pressure.... how much is that rubber squashed into the tarmac.

[@TheWatchman1893]

Gave a thumbs, but this wasn't the video we wanted :( slow car wrong tyres. Probably would have been better doing a comparison of say 205/215 & 225 that all fit on a standard 7.5 rim on a car without staggard fitment as many FF and 4 wheel drive cars are. But as usual a well made video with goid format and information

[@tyrereviews]

I don't disagree, the first draft of the test was using an M4, but we couldn't get the wheels. This was meant to be using a 340i / 335i but there was a last minute car problem and with the track time booked way in advance, we made do with what we had. IT does mean I can now do it again with both a powerful car like the M4, and as you've requested, with something FWD!

[@TheWatchman1893]

All we want is a Golf R, GTI or Focus RS one fast front wheel and one fast all wheel drive with 4 of the same tyres pitting the PS4S/PS4 Vs what are prob's going to be the Stock S001 and a cheap tyre :)

[@tyrereviews]

Fingers crossed I'll be using a Golf R or GTI next month to finally shoot the PS4 vs PS4S vs Cup2 video, as long as the British weather is kind to us!

[@mat_v]

@Mark Filby • it’s called physics and it rules the world we live in.

[@mcspikesky]

I love this shit. Continue good Sir!

[@tyrereviews]

I'll try my best :)

[@g2e1d1d2y]

I'd be curious to learn how vehicle weight and balancing played into this as well -- a front engine car will have more weight over the front tire, whereas a mid-engine car will have much less. I'd also be curious to learn if this test would have played out differently in a front engine / front wheel drive car, if any difference at all (thinking about picking up a Honda Fit for autocross, and some people I've seen are running reverse-staggered) Thoughts? Any links to related resources?

[@kalanajasenthuliyana]

I've always wanted to know more about this. Thanks a million. Great video.

[@tyrereviews]

Thank you :)

[@kalanajasenthuliyana]

Your welcome.

[@GS218]

And here I am, realising how daft I was to have even thought about moving from 195 to 205 for my 1.2L LPG Corsa D.

[@redlined4493]

GS218 i went from 185/55/14 steelies to 205/45/16 alloys on my 1.2 ibiza. Does help on back roads and felt safer and lot less understeer.

[@Smiler7]

Great review! Have you every done a test for the best Electrical Vehicle tyres?

[@tyrereviews]

There was a push for EV tyres a number of years ago, but the tyre companies seem to have dropped them in favour of just making their "normal" tyres as low rolling resistance as possible. It's something I'll look into more later this year though.

[@Smiler7]

Thank you! Henry.

[@hijaazpeerboccus6231]

Good explanation. Helpful for those buying new alloy wheels and/or new tyres.

[@tyrereviews]

Glad you found it useful :)

[@07wrxtr1]

Great video!!! Seems like priority would be alignment choice, then tire brand, then tire width...255/285 pss on my 370z. Stock was 245/275... I just like the look of the 255/285 as they fill out the wheels better. Gives me a decent balance for both off the line grip and cornering approaching the limits for public road usage. Amazing channel, deserves a TON more subscribers as there's just an insane amount of misinformation and marketing bs involved with tires and tire sales. Would love to see a cold vs warm vs hot tire comparison if it's possible to reproduce.

[@tyrereviews]

I love the idea of cold vs warm vs hot but the reality is nearly impossible as a modern tyre will warm up super quickly on all but the coldest of days.