Hi Folks, sorry for a newbie type question. While I know that in general that wider tires will provide more grip on dry pavement, I'm tying to get an overview of the benefits and trade off's of the different widths I can use for my Mini.

Basically I can go w/ three wheel/tire widths.....15, 16 or 17. I realize the type of tire I get will have a huge impact on various performance, but if we normalize the tire type/compound from this discussion and simply look at tire width can someone tell me the +'s and -'s of the different widths?

Some specific areas I'm wondering about:

Gas mileage? Does lower surface resistance (and potentially less weight) of say 15 inch give better mileage than a 16 or 17 inch tire?

Cornering?: I assume the wider the tire, the better the grip?

Ride quality/comfort: Again assuming same tire typ/composition, how does tire width affect the general ride quality? Is riding over rough pavement any better on 17's vs 15's etc?

Acceleration: Again wider should give better grip, but does the potential for lower weight of the narrower tires help here?

Wet traction: In wet conditions do wider tires still provide better grip?

Snow traction: Again what would the +'s and -'s of say 15 vs 17 when looking at snow traction (again assuming same tire type/compound)?

Thanks for any feedback!!!!!

 

Have youn tried a forum seach? We have had similar discussions for years, let our records inform you!

Alex