When choosing tires, you can often hear from sellers (especially if the right size tires are out of stock), it is not necessary to install tires of the original size; you can change it. So, for example, instead of wide tires 185/60 R14 you can install 175/65 R14 or instead of 205/55 R16 you can install wide 215/50 R17, and the outer diameter of the wheel will change very slightly.
The only question that remains is: why change your original size to another? It is believed that when changing the tire width, the characteristics change and the behavior of the car in certain situations becomes unpredictable.
Recently, there has been a clear trend in the new car market: car manufacturers, in order to give their products a sporty character, equip them with massive wide tires. After all, it’s hard to imagine F1 on 175mm wide tires. And if, y summer tires Since width has more advantages than disadvantages, the question arises - why do you need to use wide tires in winter?
Winter width test
The German magazine ADCA decided to conduct its own experiment. To do this they needed 5 sizes of non-studded Dunlop Winter Sport 5 width from 195 to 225 (difference more than 10%), VW Golf and test pilot.
It is worth noting right away that no significant differences were found between wide and narrow tires in the test, but minor changes in characteristics are still present.
The trial was able to confirm several hypotheses. For example, narrow tires pick up speed better, i.e. have better grip properties when driving. When overcoming a puddle of 0.7 cm, wide tires begin to float at a speed of 71.4 km/h, but the smaller width of 195 mm, on the contrary, increased the bar and held on tightly until they accelerated to 82.7 km/h - and this is a difference of as much as 10 km/h Essential, isn't it? The narrow contact patch cuts through streams of water like a hot knife through butter. Water flies out through transverse channels in the tread pattern and releases contact between the rubber and the asphalt. They also found that narrow tires corner more sharply. But the aquaplaning limit for narrow tires is higher than for their larger brothers.
The second one did not go unnoticed either. dimensional characteristics tire height (profile). The fact is that, often, to switch to a wider tire it is necessary to replace the wheels with larger ones, in which not only the width, but also the diameter increases. And this already forces the car owner to purchase tires with more low profile. You can't do without mathematics here. For a tire size 195/65 R15, the profile height is 195x65% = 127 mm, and for 225/40 R18 the width will be only 225x40% = 90 mm - and this is already a difference of 30%, which will be noticeable in terms of the transmission of vibration from the road surface to the car .
Another important and sometimes decisive factor is price. Narrow tires with a standard profile are more affordable than wide, low-profile tires. Apart from this test and compare in one of the popular stores, then Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 195/65 R15 cost 4,540 rubles, and 225/40 R18 – 12,680 rubles. The difference is almost 3 times - not budget-friendly.
Advantages and disadvantages of wide tires in winter
pros
- They hold the car better in the snow, preventing it from sitting on its belly.
- In handling and acceleration they show better grip due to an increase in the contact patch area.
Minuses
- It's worse to stay in a rut.
- During the period of slush (0-3 degrees with heavy snow on the road), they do a worse job of removing fluid from the contact patch.
- When loose snow (3-5 cm) appears, they begin to choke during acceleration and slip when braking. When braking, the wide tire begins to act like a bucket snow blower, raking up the cereal.
- Increased rolling resistance due to the difficulty of removing snow from the contact patch and, as a result, increased fuel consumption.
- Reduced comfort level, especially with low profile tires.
If with winter tires We figured it out, what is recommended for the summer? Car magazines have not conducted such a test, but experts agree on most nuances.
Advantages and disadvantages of narrow tires in summer
pros
- They cope better with hydroplaning.
- Improved acoustic comfort, less noise compared to similar wide tire tread.
- Fuel consumption is slightly reduced due to reduced rolling resistance.
- Better dynamics acceleration due to lower wheel mass.
- Better directional stability in mud and wet grass.
Minuses
- Worse aesthetic appearance.
- Burrows more strongly in deep mud and sand.
For quite a long time, it was believed that winter tires must be narrow and high-profile. Indeed, back then, when the only means of improving behavior on a winter road was studs, there were no other options. But with the advent rubber compounds based on silica and the development of lamella technology (see. ), this problem has been significantly mitigated. Moreover, real winter studless ones have also appeared. – wide, low profile and serious
What differences will there be if you compare two identical models, but in different sizes? In this case, all the initial data except the dimensions are the same. This means that the difference in results will be caused only by the tire geometry.
Similar tests have been carried out by many European publications. In Russia, “Behind the Wheel” distinguished itself, making a comparison dimensions 195/65R15 and 205/55R16.
Neither European nor Russian journalists discovered the sensation - tire behavior is very similar. However, there is a difference.
It's obvious that The larger the contact area of the tires with the road surface, the better the braking properties. A larger contact patch allows for more complete implementation braking force. It’s like that on the asphalt - braking distances inversely proportional to tire width. Simply put, wider tires brake better.
On ice, the situation is different - studded tires exert braking force on such a surface mainly by “biting” the studs into the ice. And with the same number of spikes there should be no difference. The test results confirmed this.
Narrower tires are better able to resist slashnapping (sliding on snow). The reason is the lower specific pressure on the snow. Here the “old fashioned” rule – the narrower the better, works 100 percent. When the wider tires float up, the narrow ones still retain traction.
But with large lateral loads, both on ice and snow, a wide tread is a blessing. The physics is again simple - the increased contact area in this case allows you to achieve large lateral overloads without sliding. This rule is basically the same as for summer tires. Not for nothing sports cars equipped with wide tires.
If we talk about cross-country ability, then again narrower tires with high profile– a smaller contact area allows for more efficient removal of snow or water from the contact patch. The tread gets washed out later.
However, the whole difference here is on the verge of nuances - 2-3 percent of the difference does not play a big role. But this is only in the case of a small difference in size. If you compare tires with a profile width that differs by more than 10 percent, the difference will be more noticeable. What recommendations can you give?
If you drive on studded tires and consider their main advantage to be cross-country ability, then your choice is narrower tires. If, on the contrary, your credo is active driving in “mild” winter conditions, then a wider tread is for you. Especially if the tires are not studded.
But the main conclusion is even simpler - you shouldn’t be afraid of wide winter tires.
Have you ever thought about this question: which tires are best for winter driving: narrow or wide? And here driving instructors We decided to find out what is preferable for our winter roads.
Experiment
Without going into theory, driving instructors invite us to a special testing ground where an experiment is being conducted to test tires of different sizes.
A car was chosen for the experiment Volkswagen Golf 7th generation and Nokian tires Hakkapeliita 8 in three sizes:
- 195/65R15,
- 205/55R16,
- 225/45R17.
It should be noted that all three sets of tires underwent a 100-kilometer rolling test at the same testing ground before testing.
Before the start of the race, the weight and width of the tires were checked. It turned out that the difference between 195/65R15 and 205/55R16 is not 10 mm, but 8. Honestly, this was a discovery for us. The heaviest were 225/45R17, and this was predictable. The 195/65R15 tire is lighter in weight than the 225/45R17 by as much as 1.7 kilograms. But when checking the weight of the wheel assembly, the difference became 4.6 kg, that is, the total was 18.4 kg. As can be seen from the numbers, the main increase still comes from the disk.
Handling on snow
The first parameter that was tested was handling on snowy roads. It turned out that the difference when driving different tires huge! This is especially true for turns. Note that the road chosen was difficult: snowy, “three-dimensional” and laid through a coniferous forest. 205/55R16 tires provide excellent handling and control over the car. Neutral steering, very little oversteer rear wheels when releasing gas, which is gently extinguished by the stabilizing system. Everything is fast and safe.
The next tires are 195/65R15. Our car has become a little nervous, the Golf is trying to go into a skid, sweeping and fast movements steering wheel, but after a skid the car takes a long time to stabilize. However for front wheel drive car, so to speak, in “combat” mode, oversteer is beneficial.
We take the widest tires 225/45R17. The Golf behaves like a “balanced” 205mm tire. As soon as you increase the speed, a certain insidiousness appears.
The car begins to drift after entering the turn. The car catches the snow and even almost hits a tree when trying to make a quick circle. As for the distance time, the car showed the worst result on these tires.
Controllability testing results:
- the behavior of the hatchback varied greatly depending on the selected set of tires;
- with 195/65R15 tires, the Golf oversteered, often wanted to turn around and did not behave very well when cornering;
- 225/45R17 tires gave the car understeer and quite low grip With road surface;
- 205/55R16 tires, so to speak, healed the Golf; the route was passed quickly, calmly and smoothly; the skid started smoothly, that is, it was not a surprise for the driver.
Ice test
Before controlling handling on ice, turn off ESP. On 225/45R17 there is little grip on the surface, the car rushes between skidding and drifting, you have to put pressure on the steering wheel, and the connection with the wheels is often lost. Even at low speed the car slips rear axle, constantly hinting at a turn around its axis.
At narrow and high 195/65R15, the Golf seems to dig into the ice. When the speed increases, there is not enough steering, and it is very difficult to achieve sliding of the rear wheels.
On 205/55R16 tires there is a little more grip, the car is more balanced and requires less steering when cornering. The car behaves safely.
As a result, we can say that the 205/55R16 performed very well, and there are no complaints about the 195/65R15 tires, although you need to steer more and there is understeer.
225/45R17 do not have sufficient grip on ice, it is required big job while driving, the car always wants to go into a skid.
Snow tests
On compacted snow, the car accelerated faster on the 195/65R15 tires, but when braking they lost 2.7% or 40 cm to the wider wheels. The R16s were the most stable in this test.
As a result, on snow the results of acceleration and braking are very close.
Acceleration and braking on ice
“Ice” tests were carried out under almost the same conditions as on snow: sharp acceleration from five to 31 km/h and sharp braking to five km/h. On 205/55R16 tires, the car grips the surface perfectly, braking at top level. For narrower tires the results are the same.
We take on the wide 225/45R17. Surprisingly, the car rolls much further, and you can feel it even without measuring instruments.
Now let’s measure the protrusion of the studs: for 195/65R15 - 1 mm, 205/55R16 - 1.1 mm, 225/45R17 - 0.9 mm. Possibly, poor braking results on icy surfaces are due to the protrusion of the studs. But, you must admit, the indicators cannot differ by more than two meters!
Result: On ice, the results of the 195/65R15 and 205/55R16 tires are similar (2.9% difference); the 225/45R17 tires clearly failed in braking and clung to the ice extremely poorly during acceleration.
conclusions
Narrow tires are quite docile on ice, but in corners they lead to sudden stalls. The high 65th profile and large lateral slip force the steering wheel to be turned strongly even when driving through normal turns. Experts recommend these tires for cars with ESP, and when driving on snow you need to drive very carefully.
The golden mean - this is what you can say about the 205/55R16 kit. According to the results, these tires passed all tests with a good rating.
In our case, with a car weighing 1205 kg, this width turned out to be the most optimal. Thanks to the moderate profile height, the car's behavior was understandable.
Wide tires showed their worst side. The ice tests were a complete failure. The large area of contact with ice led to a small specific pressure of the studs on the surface due to the small mass of the car. In the snow, the car drifts, the steering wheel has to be turned hard, and control over the road is often lost.
Video on how to choose winter tires:
Good luck driving!
The article uses an image from the site dadi-auto.ru
The most lively debates usually flare up on popular car forums regarding the width of summer tires: some car enthusiasts argue that the wider the better, while others, on the contrary, prefer to choose tires with a medium profile width. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle - for different conditions operation, the optimal tire width varies. But let's talk about everything in order.
What is tire section width? Section width is the distance between the sidewalls of a tire inflated to the nominal pressure (when calculating this parameter, elevations on the sidewalls, type of markings, trim, etc. are not taken into account). The profile width does not always correspond to the tread width, but for one tire model there is always a direct relationship - the wider the profile, the wider the tread.
Based on safety requirements, the width of the tire profile cannot exceed the seat width of the rim by more than 30%.
What does tire section width affect?
First of all, the profile width (for a specific tire model) determines the width of the tread, and, as a result, the area of contact between the tire and the road surface. well and last characteristic, in turn, directly affect controllability, directional stability, braking distance, fuel consumption and anti-hydroplaning.
TO positive properties wide tire can be attributed: best parameters acceleration and braking, better directional stability (the car holds the road better when turning high speed), as well as several better cross-country ability in off-road conditions. And of course, appearance- a wide tire always looks more solid on a car.
To the main disadvantageswide tires include reduced resistance to aquaplaning, increased consumption fuel, as well as increased weight (increases the load on the suspension) and a higher price.
If we summarize the advantages and disadvantages, we can come to approximately the following conclusions:
1. If you drive in the city most of the season and don't get carried away extreme driving, and also if you have a small car (engine displacement up to 2000 cc) - for you rational choice is definitely narrow tires- in the city you won’t feel the benefits of a wide tire, but the extras will significantly hit the family budget. At the same time, when driving onto the highway, you should exercise some caution when entering sharp turns at speed. However, banal compliance with the Rules traffic(traffic rules) will be more than enough.
2. If you often drive on the highway and like to “step on the trigger” , and if, in addition, the engine power allows it, your choice is a wide tire, but at the same time, you will have to be especially careful in the rain and on a wet road - if you get into a puddle, such a tire will behave worse than its narrower sister.
Have you noticed that there is not a single number in the recommendations above? It's because you need to start choosing the width of the tire profile by looking at the car’s operating instructions , where all acceptable tire sizes that can be installed on your car are indicated (such a list is also in the tire pressure table glued to the gas tank flap or in the opening driver's door). And the maximum (of the indicated) profile width will be “ wide tire", and the minimum accordingly - "narrow".
Installing tires on a car with a profile width not specified by the car manufacturer is extremely unsafe. , even if you don’t need to use spacers for the wheels, don’t play with fire, tires are your safety (and often your life).
Tires are in fashion today large sizes, and there is a completely logical explanation for this. Fast car You need good brakes, but you can't squeeze them into small wheels. So it turns out that increasing the diameter of the wheels is partly a forced measure. Thirteen-inch tires are gradually losing ground to 14-inch ones.
And even the most popular foreign-made size in Russia, 195/65R15, is gradually being replaced by the upcoming 205/55R16.
We decided to check how the transition from fifteen to sixteen inches in winter tires affects the car's performance: what does the owner gain and what does the owner lose?
Tires of one model "Nokian-Hakkapelita 5", car " Skoda Octavia A5", for which both sizes are standard. The tests were carried out after a thorough running-in according to the traditional ZR method. The results of measurements and evaluations are given in the tables.
As we can see, there was no convincing victory for some tires over others. In some ways, the “fifteen” size was ahead, but the “sixteenth” took its toll in others. Good tires, summer or winter, is always a compromise. It is almost impossible to improve all properties at the same time. The improvement of some indicators entails a deterioration in others.
What is good about size 195/65R15? These tires have a little better braking in the snow, noticeable better overclocking on snow and ice, lateral grip when “rearranging” on compacted snow. In addition, braking without electronics is more informative, the ride is smoother, as well as cross-country ability in deep snow.
And where do 16-inch ones win? Quite a bit in the sides adhesion properties on ice on the verge of sliding, and when transitioning to sliding, the advantage increases. They also brake a little better on asphalt and save fuel. Although, what is 100 grams per 100 kilometers? Who will notice the saved liter of fuel when a hundred was spent? Handling is just a little better, but only on ice and asphalt. The more noticeable differences are less noise and a clearer course on asphalt.
But the price of a 16-inch tire is significantly higher than its 15-inch counterpart (an average of 6,200 rubles versus 4,700 per piece).
Are the few percentage gains in some exercises worth the cost?
However, the test clearly showed how a very slight change in size affects performance characteristics tires of the same brand.
The “fifteenth” have some advantage over the “sixteenth” in snow disciplines. Therefore, we recommend giving them preference if on your “travel menu” snowy roads- main course. And those who have to drive more on cleared and/or icy asphalt should choose wider “low-profile” tires. Unless, of course, you pay excessive attention to the exterior of the car. After all, the argument “I want!” does not lend itself to constructive analysis.
