NW WA Meet / BS Thread

Nice easy day putting through the woods. Should be interesting to go back with @PugetSoundTaco when he has a rear locker...and i have new tires

 

Who has knowledge of 36-37” skinny tires on either a 16” or 17” rim

 

I don’t, but I will say that I personally would use a 17” wheel if I were to use tires that big and heavy just so I could install bigger brakes that won’t fit inside a 16” wheel

 

I hope you find some, I would love to have a set of skinny 36’s for playing around. About the only thing I’ve found is a Michelin XZL 255/100/16

 

My goal is steelies in 16”, I’m already on 35’s and the braking isn’t the best but it’s not horrible.

And braking, schmaking i have metal attached/welded(weights irrelevant ) to my truck.

 

https://www.otrusa.com/shop/passenger-light-truck-tires/255100r16-126k-michelin-xzl/ O and they are pretty proud of them at $795 a pop

 

unknown price:

Sub $300 and all the road noise

 

That’s why when I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of skinny 36’s it quickly leads to a dedicated second set of I’m gonna go stupid shit tires.

 

Super swamper TSL in the size Q78, 36x10 IIRC

Edit: i quoted the post before i saw someone already mentioned q78's

 

Back in the day Buckshot made a skinny 36” that ripped it up in the snow, but I think those are long gone now.

 

Can you guys help out a poor ole noob? What's the benefit of skinny tires? I would have thought wider ones would give you more area on the ground and thus more traction.

 

Yes the 285/85r16!

 

If you need to float (sand, snow, etc) wider is typically better, outside of that it seems skinnies could be a better choice due to how long the footprint gets when aired down.

Edit - also MPGs if you care about those

 

Gotcha, does the longer footprint helpful with crawling or stuff like that? (I basically know nothing so I'm a sponge at the moment)

 

Yep, helps the tire mold to whatever you are trying to climb up/over

 

Skinny tires do NOT offer a longer contact patch.
But, they have less rolling resistance and are obviously lighter. That makes for worse cornering on road but less float which is sometimes what you want... eg, mud, so the treads can grab more solid ground below

 

That's not what I have read but I guess if that is true that goes to show you shouldn't believe everything you read....esp on the interwebs.

 

Every tire offers a longer contact patch when aired down. Someone here( i believe it was this thread?) posted an old Expedition Portal article about skinny Vs wide tires, that article stated that when you air down, only 20% of the expanded contact area(to the ground) comes from the sidewall, 80% comes from the tread pattern elongating on the ground.

 

Heres some info from the famous Scott Brady. Founder of expeditions west, expeditionportal.com and overland journal magazine.

Benifits of a skinny tire are:

"Less rotating mass- Easier to start and stop
Less reciprocating mass- Easier to dampen
Less wind resistance- Better economy and range
Less rolling resistance- Better economy and range
Easier to fit a taller/narrower tire with less lift
Lighter spare
Lighter tire
Lighter wheel
Less unsprung weight
Less weight and leverage on steering components, bearings, etc.

In terrain:
1. Less frontal resistance in mud and sand. Where is most of the increased contact patch (for flotation) gained? In the length, not the width. Tall and narrow allows for more length and greater deformation with less resistance.

It is as simple as understanding the coefficient of friction (COF), which is (Ff = Cf x Fv).

Ff= Friction Force
Cf= Coefficient of Friction
Fv= Force Vertical

As you make a tire wider, you reduce the Fv over a larger area, but gain Cf. As you make a tire narrower, you increase the Fv, but reduce the area of contact, which lowers the Cf. It is proportional, though there are times when the material interaction (lets say a drag tire on concrete) favors Cf, but those conditions rarely exist on the trail, on a perfectly flat surface. So, if a wide and narrow tires benefits with relationship to Cf and Fv are proportional, than the decision must be made on other factors, like weight, resistance, etc., as listed above.

Now of course, there are limits at both ends of the spectrum. Too narrow of a tire, and the torque applied to the surface, even with extremely high Fv (which a super narrow tire would have), would exceed the rubbers ability to resist tearing. Literally, burning rubber.

It is all a balance, with tires for most of the trucks we drive being ideal in the 9-11" wide range."

 

Love me some physics in the morning