Are wide or narrow tyres best for a 4x4?

#tyres #widevsnarrow #4x4tyres

Which is best - wide or narrow tyres? Do wider tyres really give you a greater contact patch than narrow, and if so, how much more? And is the contact patch a different shape? Wide and narrow tyres are also known as fat and skinny, but the concept is the same regardless of the name.

In this video I measure some tyres of different widths and diameters, narrow and wide. and discover the truth about contact patch. And I explain the two types of grip, and how contact patch size affects grip.

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[neutronstorm]

And that is how you fit 4 hours of university lecture material into 20 mins.

[uncle_spanky]

"wider tires look better on your Instagram" perfectly stated. Great video, great advice.

[chavakano]

Finally I understans why military vehicles have tall narrow tires... Thanks !!!

[aaronsummerlin]

I've been saying this for years, trying to explain it to all my offroad friends. I'm so happy to see this video cause now someone with resources has proved my theory to be correct 100%!! Great topic! Great video! Great job!

[allanspindler]

The center of Australia was mapped by Len Beadel in a short wheel base landrover with standard wheels on it. He did it on his own without a winch or support vehicles. A lot of people have sat up probably at night or over a long period of time designing these off road vehicles for them to perform to their ability and to be able to manage a lot of different situations.

[bobibest]

Sidewall height is also very important. It will affect ride comfort as well as how much you can deflate a tire and still drive.

[Whoosh]

Just found this episode. Marvellous to see someone actually collecting facts on this issue. Thanks!

[zenriderx]

I've been running the thinnest tire I can get, and run a modified steel rim. It ended up being 7lbs lighter than the mag wheels it came with (3.2kg) each wheel, times 6. The performance deflated has been really impressive in sand, snow, mud, washboard, and mountain trails. I decided to go this route many years ago after a heavy snow and my 67 Micro Bus with stock (skinny) tires just sliced through the snow. But this video confirms my other experience of very competent grip when the psi is lowered, and why.

[allandelarosa]

Watched this during work. Made me feel productive

[midas]

thank you for your hardwork. this is one of the most underated 4x4 chanel

[MikeGun-hi]

I've run Dunlop 7.50R/16 on my old landrover and my Troopy for 36 yrs, never had a problem off road or on.

[applesbighatranch]

Purchasing today a set of five 255/80-17 Falken Wildpeak AT3 to replace the 285/70-17 presently clamped to the hubs of my F150. Been pondering this move for a year, now. I'm quite slow.

Thank you Robert! as always for your hard work and for your always in-depth analyses on topics we find interesting and important to our veehickular lifestyles. You are, quite literally, THE MAN. Happy Holidays.

[sombra]

This video was surprisingly informative and well presented. My early 4x4 experience was with militsry M151 jeeps and deuce-and-a-halfs. Relatively narrow tires. Never thought much of them one way or another. I worked for a few years for an employer in the southwest coastal area that maintained a fleet of Blazers, Broncos, and Ram Chargers. OEM tires got replaced with 78- series re-tread snow tires. Handled horrible on the road and weren’t great on the beach sand either. Ironically, some flirtation with Jeep Cherokees with the police package (Goodyear Eagles) were pretty capable on the beach or on trails. Didn’t even have to lock them into 4x4 or low range. The bigger SUVs started getting fat ATs and worked better on the beach although still required 4-low to get anywhere. Suspensions make a huge difference and the Broncos worked better when fitted with Rancho systems. Even worked off road better with OEM wheels and tires. I haven’t done much of any off reading for a while, but am going to rewatch this video and do some serious homework when my Tacoma 4x4 Sport is ready for new rubber. I previously had an Expedition with a Wrangler ATs and once got stuck in my driveway in 10 inches of snow. Of further mention is that early cars such as the Ford Model Ts/As had tall narrow tires. Unless one opted for a Marmon 4x4 conversion, they were all rear wheel drive. Add tire chains in mud or snow and they’d go anywhere. Especially interesting as my late granddad’s generation learned to drive in cars from them teens, twenties, and thirties, and even while living and working in rural areas complete with muddy roads never felt the need for 4x4. Always got around fine with open rear ends and mud grips.

[electrontube]

Best video I've seen on explaining the differences, very well produced and explained.

[thisoldjeepcj]

Happy you bring this to light. In the U.S. this topic is rarely mentioned since probably the 70's. It is quite difficult to find "tall skinnies". Manufacturers don't even offer you the choice.
Try finding 33x10.50r15 among manufacturers or even narrower. Good luck.

[naruttaanime]

Brilliant tutorial. I like the fuel savings, reduced road noise during travel, better snow and heavy rain traction, low carbon angle too. I learned more here in Under 30 minutes than 1.5 years of shop class and since i am one of two girls out of 26 in the class, i get a lot of guy students offering to help. Sort of a sisterly love, i return the care sort of as a nurse when they bruise & cut their fingers..

[davidgoliath]

Robert really thorough as usual :) Having spent 20yrs growing rice in NSW on both black and red clay I always removed the standard 750-16 wheels/tyres from the utes and fitted at least 31-10.5's or larger. Much less damage to the tracks/paddocks and when aired down to 10psi made the difference between walking or driving home. In those conditions flotation is everything you only have to see the duals or triples on tractors.

[Bennyboy-dog]

ASPW has been a fan of narrower tyres - his conclusion is from experience, now you laid some evidence down for that. I've always thought that narrower tyres were a better bet for offroad but only theoretical hunch - Thanks for the evidence based insight!

[toyotatreehugger]

Love your approach to off-road performance and hiw you break it down in your videos.. Especially great for those who understand the value of math and physics and want performance over appearance.

[Zickcermacity]

THANK YOU for being in my court, regarding wider vs narrower tires, even for the street! You have proven, in your contact patch analysis, what I already knew, and proclaimed on an automotive forum that I frequent, and was laughed at on there.