When choosing a new set of tires, most drivers only consider their price and how they look, and pay little attention to how they affect everyday driving, such as acceleration.
So, do tires affect acceleration? If you’d like to find out, keep reading to see what I learned!
Do Tires Affect Acceleration?
Car tires will affect several areas of performance, one of which is its acceleration. Different factors within the tire also determine how much it affects acceleration such as their size and pressure. For example, a large tire will negatively impact acceleration, while smaller tires will accelerate faster due to the lack of inertia.
If you’d like to learn more about how tires affect acceleration by their size, tire pressure, tread, level of wear and more, keep reading for more useful facts!
Do Larger Tires Affect Acceleration?
A big tire will negatively impact acceleration because it increases the vehicle’s total weight, which in turn also increases its inertia.
In other words, the vehicle is more likely to maintain its rest position, so it would require more force to move from this state, which is what happens when you accelerate.
Do Smaller Tires Affect Acceleration?
Smaller tires on a vehicle will cause you to accelerate faster, as the vehicle’s overall weight is lower, which means there’s less inertia involved (i.e. you will need less force to take the vehicle from its resting position when accelerating).
Do Worn Tires Affect Acceleration?
Worn tires have less tread and this affects how much grip they can generate, which in turn affects the amount of traction you’re able to create on the pavement, which will lower your vehicle’s ability to accelerate as intended.
Attempting to accelerate with worn tires will cause the vehicle to lose control and the wheels to slip because the available amount of traction in the tire is lower than the force applied when you try to accelerate.
However, this is only the case with all-season tires meant for use in everyday driving, where a tread is useful in cutting through water to prevent hydroplaning.
In contrast, race cars like NASCAR and Formula 1 vehicles have tires with smooth treads because they are driven on dry pavement where maximum contact is preferred.
Therefore, what most refer to as a ‘worn tire’ when looking at the tread pattern alone would actually be good for acceleration during racing.
Do Wider Tires Affect Acceleration?
Wider tires are heavier than regular tires and, as we’ve established above, this decreases acceleration, since you would now need more force to move the vehicle from its resting position.
Having a tire with a wider tread increases contact with the pavement, which spreads out and reduces the force per square inch that the car can exert, resulting in less acceleration.
However, it’s important to note that this effect varies depending on the type of vehicle that the wider tire is being used on.
For example, if you’ve mounted a wider tire onto a normal everyday vehicle, then the acceleration will be worse due to the effect described above.
However, if you’re using the larger wheel on a more powerful vehicle such as a muscle car, then wider tires are an advantage, especially in the rear wheels.
A tire’s width affects traction, and if you’re looking to have hard accelerations like in a drag race, then most weight transfers to the back of the car, and wide wheels are equipped to handle such weight.
Does Tire Pressure Affect Acceleration?
Tire pressure affects acceleration, because if the tire pressure is low, more of its surface will be in contact with the ground, providing more grip and causing it to accelerate faster.
However, if the tire has a high amount of pressure, it’s more rigid and less of it is in contact with the pavement, resulting in less grip and slower acceleration.
Can Bad Tires Affect Acceleration?
Bald tires or tires that have a faded tread pattern will have an impact on acceleration.
Your tread gives your vehicle the ability to grip the pavement better, which makes acceleration smoother, so if the tread is gone, you’ll likely start sliding or spinning out when you try to accelerate the vehicle.
As well, tires that don’t have a suitable amount of pressure but still have their tread pattern intact can also affect acceleration.
As we’ve stated above, lower pressure means the tire is soft enough to grip the pavement more, generating better traction and improving acceleration.
Therefore, if the tire is overinflated, it’s not able to grip the road as well, which impacts traction, resulting in less smooth acceleration causing you to lose control.
To know more about tires, you can also see our posts on overinflated tires symptoms, do bigger tires affect MPG, how long do performance tires last, and why do tires have treads.
Conclusion
Factors such as tire size, amount of tread present, tread pattern and more affect acceleration differently. For example, a large tire will increase the weight of the vehicle, while a smaller tire makes your car accelerate faster.
As well, bald and tread-stripped tires will also cause bad acceleration, which may result in drivers losing control on the road.