Quote:
Originally Posted by BGM
(Post 873067)
Out of curiousity, I wonder if there is a slight decrease in MPG on the 20" tires. You would think it has some adverse effects on MPG vs. the stock 19"s since they have so much more rubber contact.on the ground.
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They actually have the exact same rubber contact on the ground, just with a different shape contact patch.
As long as the two tires being compared have the same rolling circumference, meaning the odometer and speedometer are still accurate, then wider tires will have a negative impact due to increased frontal area, thus more air resistance. Not a big issue, though.
Many tires will have a different rolling resistance, in terms of efficiency, and it doesn't depend on width. If you think about the squirming that happens as the contact patch deforms, with each revolution, that takes energy, and thus causes an increased rolling resistance. The stiffness of the tire structurally plays into this, as well as the rubber compound. You can have narrow or wide tires with higher or lower rolling resistance.
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