Debate - While smaller tires up front?

[wgriffin4]

Ok....debating some of my co workers on why sports cars and road racing cars run smaller tires up front. If anyone can explain why that would be much appreciated. Got money riding on this.

Because my word is not good enough.....Sheesh

Thanks

[Fbody383]

Because my word is not good enough.....Sheesh

What was your word? I'll take "becuase the rules say so," Alex.

Pederson, discuss the relative merits of tractive capacity vs. areo drag due to frontal cross section.

What do I know, I was trying to make Rob buy another set of uprights.

[RichardP]

All my road race cars have the same size tires all around...

High end formula cars (F1, Indy, etc.) have front/rear contact patch ratios roughly equal to their weight bias.

"Sports cars" often do it because it's easier to package wider tires in the rear since they don't have to turn. That, and it looks cool...

You could make some performance argument that you use all four tires to brake but only the rears (on real cars) to accelerate so they need to have a larger contact patch.


Richard P.

[Alien]

Acura LMP1 ARX-02a

[kbrewmr2]

weight balance and what the suspension is tuned for is the main thing

(KB, 42/58 weight dist. 205/50/15 front, 225/45/15 rear)

[Fbody383]

High end formula cars (F1, Indy, etc.) have front/rear contact patch ratios roughly equal to their weight bias.

Wasn't that part of the beef in Formula 1 this year or last, smaller front wings and smaller tires... to the point of under-tired.

I still vote rules package.

[mitchntx]

[wgriffin4]

Because my word is not good enough.....Sheesh

What was your word? I'll take "becuase the rules say so," Alex.

Pederson, discuss the relative merits of tractive capacity vs. areo drag due to frontal cross section.

What do I know, I was trying to make Rob buy another set of uprights.

My word is about the same as what Richard posted..... Every car I have ever raced always had smaller tires on the front....That's the way the teams I have driven for set the cars up. It didnt matter if they were front, mid, or rear engine.

[Fbody383]

Every car I have ever raced always had smaller tires on the front.

We'll let you race with big-n-littles... 8)