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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!mayer
From: mayer@rochester.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Another Tire Question
Message-ID: <10886@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5-Aug-85 18:57:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: rocheste.10886
Posted: Mon Aug  5 18:57:53 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 7-Aug-85 01:00:06 EDT
Sender: mayer@rochester.UUCP
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 25

From: Jim Mayer  <mayer>

I have another question about auto tires (responses are still filtering
in on my previous 'Tire Question').  One of the tire dealers I talked to
suggested that it probably wouldn't be worth upgrading to a better tire
of the same size, and that I should look at a wider tire.  He claimed that
a wider tire would give me better handling at no penalty in gas milage.

Another dealer said going to a wider tire would give me negligible
handling improvements and a 5 to 10 percent drop in gas milage.

To complicate things further, the car I'm talking about has 165/80R13
tires.  Apparently the only suitable wider tire is a 175/80R13 (this
number comes from the second dealer), which is not only wider but
taller as well.  My intuition suggests that a wider tire should give
more friction (and lower gas milage), and that a taller tire should
effectively lower the final drive ratio giving better gas milage (and
worse acceleration).

Alas, I am confused.

-- Jim Mayer					University of Rochester
(arpa) mayer@Rochester.ARPA			Department of Computer Science
(uucp) rochester!mayer				Ray P. Hylan Building
       (via allegra, decvax, or seismo)		Rochester, New York 14627