Minimizing as many differences as possible - same offset, same wheel diameter, same wheel construction (for similar weight), same tire / tire category - Does going with wider wheels+tires hurt steering feel or that sense of nimbleness in tight back-and-forth turns / twisties? For example, 245 vs 265 or even 275, each on appropriately sized wheels of the same diameter, and same offset (or minimal change if needed for inner tire clearance).
I've put different width wheels and tires on my cars before, but always with too many variable changes to attribute everything to width, e.g. summer vs winter tires, or lightweight forged wheels vs heavy Uberturbines.
--------------------------------------------------
Here's my situation. With the stock M3P 235/35R20 Pirelli PZ4 on 20x9" Uberturbines I found myself wanting more grip. (Street only, no plans to track this car.) I recently changed to 245/45R18 Bridgestone Potenza Sport on 18x8.5" forged Titan7 T-S5. I did it just to get more sidewall and stronger wheels, because I drive on lots of rough roads, unpaved driveways, etc. My plan was for these 18x8.5" to eventually become my winter wheels, and get wider wheels for summer, either 18" or 19" diameter depending how I felt about the 245/45 sidewalls.
Well, turned out this initial wheel+tire change was a much bigger improvement than I expected. Like I said, I was mainly just looking to avoid cracked wheels from bad roads, but I got way more than that. The new tires grip much better, the steering feels better, the car feels more nimble in tight twisties, and of course ride quality is better with the taller sidewalls (just smoothed out a bit, not transformed). All this and the taller sidewalls don't feel mushy at all with these tires, at least not in my street driving.
So now I have a dilemma. I'm actually pretty happy with the grip of these 245 width Potenza Sports, not really feeling the need for more grip anymore. That said...I know the M3P can fit wider for even more grip, without body or suspension mods. (Or lower treadwear tires, but I'm sticking with 300ish treadwear for a street-only car.) Besides the wheels and tires costing a bit more, is there any real downside to going wider, say 265s on 18x9.5" or 275s 18x10" ? I would go with forged wheels again, there's be some weight gain just from the extra wheel+tire width but hopefully not much.
I'm most concerned about preserving the sense of nimbleness in tight back-and-forth turns, and also steering feel (which actually improved slightly too with the new wheel+tire setup). I'm not sure how much I'd actually put the extra grip to much use in the twisties, but I would on roomy empty highway ramps.
Basically my heart says "Go wide and grip to the death you chickensh***!" while my head says "the current setup feels perfect, and it saves money + efficiency to not go wide, just get another set of 18x8.5 for winter and call it a day." I could even be boring and get another set of exactly the same wheels, so I'd effectively have spares from my summer & winter sets being the same wheels (not same tires of course).
Any thoughts?
I've put different width wheels and tires on my cars before, but always with too many variable changes to attribute everything to width, e.g. summer vs winter tires, or lightweight forged wheels vs heavy Uberturbines.
--------------------------------------------------
Here's my situation. With the stock M3P 235/35R20 Pirelli PZ4 on 20x9" Uberturbines I found myself wanting more grip. (Street only, no plans to track this car.) I recently changed to 245/45R18 Bridgestone Potenza Sport on 18x8.5" forged Titan7 T-S5. I did it just to get more sidewall and stronger wheels, because I drive on lots of rough roads, unpaved driveways, etc. My plan was for these 18x8.5" to eventually become my winter wheels, and get wider wheels for summer, either 18" or 19" diameter depending how I felt about the 245/45 sidewalls.
Well, turned out this initial wheel+tire change was a much bigger improvement than I expected. Like I said, I was mainly just looking to avoid cracked wheels from bad roads, but I got way more than that. The new tires grip much better, the steering feels better, the car feels more nimble in tight twisties, and of course ride quality is better with the taller sidewalls (just smoothed out a bit, not transformed). All this and the taller sidewalls don't feel mushy at all with these tires, at least not in my street driving.
So now I have a dilemma. I'm actually pretty happy with the grip of these 245 width Potenza Sports, not really feeling the need for more grip anymore. That said...I know the M3P can fit wider for even more grip, without body or suspension mods. (Or lower treadwear tires, but I'm sticking with 300ish treadwear for a street-only car.) Besides the wheels and tires costing a bit more, is there any real downside to going wider, say 265s on 18x9.5" or 275s 18x10" ? I would go with forged wheels again, there's be some weight gain just from the extra wheel+tire width but hopefully not much.
I'm most concerned about preserving the sense of nimbleness in tight back-and-forth turns, and also steering feel (which actually improved slightly too with the new wheel+tire setup). I'm not sure how much I'd actually put the extra grip to much use in the twisties, but I would on roomy empty highway ramps.
Basically my heart says "Go wide and grip to the death you chickensh***!" while my head says "the current setup feels perfect, and it saves money + efficiency to not go wide, just get another set of 18x8.5 for winter and call it a day." I could even be boring and get another set of exactly the same wheels, so I'd effectively have spares from my summer & winter sets being the same wheels (not same tires of course).
Any thoughts?