Autox for Cincy Sunday event?

[Larry" <rocco16v@netzero.com (Larry)]

Randy-
  You have an interesting point, but consider this:
 If you take your premise to an absurd length, road race cars would all be
on hard compound, 165-80's, running 50psi.   They are not, of course, and
run the widest tires the rules will allow. Can you figure out why?   You
know why; for the lowest possible lap times.  THAT'S the goal of a racer;
the lowest lap times, not the highest straightaway speeds.
wider is better, period.  (unless your competition venue is the Mobil
Economy Run)
:)
Peace.

Larry   sandiego16V


Ok, wider is better for cornering because of the greater contact patch and
therefore more traction given the same tire brand for each size.
I can totally see this being a benefit on an autoX course.
However, will this slow you down on a roadcourse where you have many long
straight away sections, overcoming the added weight and increased tire
friction.
Hmmm.........ok, if you have two cars accelerate down a 1/2 mile stretch
(from a rolling start), one with say 175/70/13's and one with 195/50/15's
would one accelerate faster than the other due to the weight/friction thing?
My intuition tells me that the car with the 175's should pull ahead, does
this sound logical assuming there were no straightline traction problems.?
I agree that in any corner the wider tire'd car will prevail, but at what
size does the wider tire actually slow you down on the straight enough that
the traction you gain in the corners isn't worth the loss on the straight
(Gawd I hope that made sense, LOL)?? This is all assuming a 130hp Scirocco
and not a 630hp P-917K :^)



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