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kingsley wrote:I have to admit, I've never really understood the width=grip thing because the greater contact patch would have less pressure against the tarmac by the same proportion which would reduce grip per unit area and I would have thought cancelled out the extra contact area, but getting more rubber onto the ground does seem to be a commonly strived for thing
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(eg slick tyres in racing) so I'd just accepted it.
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In a vastly simplified world, a wider tyre at the same pressure gives NO extra rubber on the road.
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It may not be that simple in real life, but simply widening the tyre and keeping the same pressure will give you very little.
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Slick tyres etc.
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are as much to do about tyre compound than anything else.
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Also the bigger the tread blocks
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(as you'll see on your Paradas) are good for dry grip.
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Tyres are alot more than just a size.
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kingsley wrote:Besides that, the car has had a 4 wheel alignment done already.
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I admit I haven't tried dropping the pressures in the rears
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- how will that help?
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That actually WILL put more rubber on the road.
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Lower pressure allows the tyre to deform more, allowing a greater contact patch on the road.
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kingsley wrote:The tyres are the same type all round.
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I'd never buy these again
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(Yokohama Paradas).
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They're OK in the dry but I think they're lethal in the wet.
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That's exactly what I say about Paradas
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- they are truly awful tyres! One of the biggest moments I've had was on Paradas in the wet when the car suddenly broke away around a corner and I had to catch a tank slapper before oncoming traffic hit me.
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The Nissan Micra I was following drove round the same corner at the same speed in the same manner and was absolutely fine!
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kingsley wrote:Aside from the arguments for and against, I had assumed that Toyota changed the tyre widths to a staggered setup for a good reason and this is why I was striving to do the same.
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Do a lot of MR2 owners not bother with the staggered setup?
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Most owners aim for a staggered setup, and I wasn't suggesting anything different for you.
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I wasn't aware you also had 215s up front too
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- I was suggesting a smaller stagger
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(205 F 215 R) given the lack of stagger on your alloys.
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My point is I'd rather have a reduced stagger with tyres that fit the rims well, than get the full 30mm stagger with tyres that bulge off the rim.
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(I don't exactly know what this will do to the handling and ride, but it clearly must have an affect as you'll be asking the sidewalls to take forces in directions hey're not designed to do)
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On my previous rev5 with 7J all round I moved from exactly your setup
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(215/40/17 Parada 2s all round) to a mildly staggered setup
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(205/40/17 F 215/40/17 R UniRoyal Rainsports) and found the wet weather handling was vastly improved and otherwise it was a match for the standard 15" setup I had been used to.
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I admit I've never had 235/40/17s on a 7J, but it looks so wrong, visually, that I didn't want to spend my money on it!
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So yes, I'm sure there is a good reason why Toyota fitted wider wheels to the back, but I'm sure there's also a good reason tyre manufacturers say not to but 235 width tyres on 7J wheels.
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