I'm sure this has been addressed before, but I can't help but wonder why the Toyota Avalon has such skinny tires?

It's such a hot looking car and would look so much better with a wider, more aggressive looking wheel. Is there a particluar reason for this?

 

wider tires make a big car like that one a bit harder to turn, but the major reason is highway speed noise and everyday ride comfort.. <skinnier tires also help save fuel at hwy speeds> ..being the avalon a 'cruiser' instead of a sport full size sedan, they go for comfort rather than performance

 

^^^Ding Ding Ding

 

and i think fatter tires also affect the gas mileage?

 

This is kinda offtopic but I have a friend that is adamant that the wider tires SERIOUSLY decreases gas mileage... to a very noticable affect (i.e. >5mpg). Is this true? Going from something like 235's up to 285's?

 

personally if you have a car with higher hp and tq then you are good. otherwise you

1) have a hard time getting the car to roll from stop, and
2) the car decelerate faster once you get your food off the gas

just theory, but that's my gas

 

rominl, both your theories, as far as physics goes, it absolutely correct.

more tire on road= more friction.

so obviously it'll decel slower, and accelerate slower.

 

Lower, wider tires do not make a car more difficult to turn....in most cases they make it easier. All else equal, taller and skinnier tires will, as you note, give better ride comfort, but they do not make a car easier to turn. They generally make a car more difficult to turn by slowing down response to steering inputs. More of the energy transmitted to and from the steering system gets lost in the taller, softer sidewalls. Lower, wider tires, on DRY pavement, will put a bigger footprint on the road and transmit more steering and brake input to the wheels. However, you DON'T want them in wet and snow conditions because a wide tire will tend to hydroplane more. Why? because the wide footprint distributes the weight of the car out over a wider area on the footprint and lessens the amount of weight pushing down on the tire per square inch....and that hurts wet traction. This allows more water and snow to get in under the tread and fill up the tread grooves quicker....and the excess water builds up unde the tire.

On the fuel economy issue...usually the smaller the tire footprint ( both from tire width and wheel size ) the better the fuel mileage will be due to less rolling resistance. That is why you will find tires like that on cars like the Prius and Civic Hybrid, where mileage is the most important objective.

My own preference, tire-wise, is usally for more comfort, lower noise, greater wet traction, and better resistance to impact damage. I am not looking for Formula 1 handling or lightning-quick steering response...hence I prefer a taller, narrower tire. They are becoming more difficult to find, though, on more and more cars.

 

Yup!

 

I love peanut butter.



















(This random comment brought to you by Michelin. Because so much is riding on your tires)

 

If this is ( as I suspect ) a reference to cost-cutting, I'm not sure I agree.....we're talking about a car that sells in the $30,000-$35,000 range. Toyota is not likely to put junk tires on its flagship ( though they sure did on my 1995 Celica ).
I think it is just a matter of the car's design and objective....a somewhat softer ride than your typical sport sedan. You're not going to put tires shaped like a rubber band on a car primarily designed for cruising....and consider the fact that the 50-60 series tires on many of today's family sedans were considered sports-car and sports-sedan tires years ago. The general industry trend.....though it doesn't suit my tastes.......has been toward lower-profile rubber for almost everything.

 

well wider tires mean more traction and grip, and it does make sense that it makes the steering heavier to turn.

and in reality, i have driven gs, is, and sc430 with stock and then aftermarket wheels (wider). steering is definitely heavier

 

Actually, I'm not sure I agree that they are 'skinny' tires What do you think the 'normal' size should be?

 

They are 215's. The Nissan Maxima, it's direct competitor has 225's. The Acura TL has 235's. Both are slightly smaller vehicles than the Avalon. However, they both look well-balanced, at least from a frame-to-wheel perspective. I just think given at how big a car the Avalon it is, having 215's on that big a car looks awkward. Again, they look too skinny to me. I think 225's or 235's would make it look much more balanced.

 

The Avalon is considered a large family car, not a sports sedan like the Max & TL. Most Avalon buyers don't take hairpins on offramps like they do in the others so it wasen't necessary for a larger tire........those that want that, Toyota's thinking is probably the customer with choose the 'Touring' model & upgrade the wheels & tires accordingly anyways so why not keep it simple (which is smart & cost effective) with one tire size across the board? Remember there are 4 models of Avalon to pick from.......the Maxima has only 2 & the SE has 245 45 18's if memory serves as an option because (again) it's a slightly different customer they are going after.