<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" When you install wider tires without changing anything else, the size of the tire&amp;#039;s contact patch (i.e., the rubber touching asphalt) stays relatively constant. That size is based on a tire&amp;#039;s overall diameter, inflation pressure, and the weight acting on it. Installing fatter tires widens the patch, but it also shortens it front-to-back. Because of this, cornering gains can be offset by diminished straight-line traction, including braking and hydroplaning resistance. The increased mass and friction can also translate to slower lap times and a drop in fuel economy. If you want to improve cornering grip, you&amp;#039;re better off switching to a higher-performance tire of the same size. Buy right, and you&amp;#039;ll get a stiffer sidewall for crisper turn-in and steering feel, as well as a stickier rubber compound and a tread pattern focused on dry grip. Width won&amp;#039;t do it. Merely increasing the width of a tire doesn&amp;#039;t increase the area touching the pavement. It just makes it a wider, shorter patch. A bigger donut. If other vehicular factors remain constant, increasing a tire&amp;#039;s overall circumference is the only way to enlarge the contact patch. Of course, your car&amp;#039;s body and suspension were designed around a specific tire circumference. Changing it might cause more problems than it solves. Pressure and weight. Reducing air pressure or increasing the weight on a tire increases the size of the contact patch. But again, there are drawbacks. Some poor engineer has already fought this battle: \u2028Keep the stock size \u2028and just buy a more aggressive tire. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/videos/a4835/thing-you-thought-you-knew-points-of-contact-tire-patches/>