28x10 vs 26x10 contact patch

What is the difference in the tire contact area for say a 26x10" slick verses a 28x10" slick? For any given air pressure the area of contact should be the same right?

Is it the shape of the contact that changes or is it that a larger diameter tire allows for a lower air pressure due to increased stability? In other words allowing a lower pressure=increased contact area.

 

26x10 is 26 inches tall
28x10 is 28 inches tall


10 is the tread width...

 

the taller tire will have more circumrence,and rollout, which will equate to more contact area on the pavement given both tires have the exact same width. and you will need more gear to make the difference in the tires rollout act equal....that make any sence taller needs more gear, shorter less, all due to effective gear ratio versus actual....ok,...I'm gonna shut up now

(if thats completely wrong I'm sure someone will correct me, or write it so it makes more sence)

 

Assuming the air pressure is the same for two tires of any size, the contact area should be identical. The shape of the contact patch may be different though.

 

I was thinking that more circumfernce would equate to more surface area even with the same width and tire pressures?

say you have a spool and a donut, both the same width, the donut is bigger around, so you'd have more touching the surface.larger circumfernce, more surface area

but since the donut is stickier than the spool, it will get better traction than the hard surface spool ...ah, never mind.

 

I'd tend to agree with RadMav, but check with the tire manufactures. Contact John at Hashims (M&H) in Bakersfield, 661-324-4773 or www.mandhtires.com. Good luck Erick!
__________________________________Rocky

 

Radmav is right when you get into the fine details of it. In my opinion, the 28" will hook harder due to a bit more contact area and just plain bieng a bigger lever. The 26" is a better choice for small block applications (again in my opinion) unless you're making huge loads of torque.

 

Radmav is right, you will get more traction with the donut because it is softer and more sticky than the spool.

 

did someone mention donuts

 

taller tire= larger contact patch. and stop with the donuts or we'll have all the cops over here.

 

What I'm saying is that if you have 2 tires at the same pressure, the contact area is the same, so a taller tire must allow you to use less air pressure, therefore a larger contact area.

Wouldn't a 24x5" front tire at 20psi have the exact same surface area on the pavement as a 33x15" slick at 20psi?

 

I believe the taller tire has more contact because of the "wrinkle" effect. The bigger the diameter, the more rubber will flex and be put down in front of the axle.


see link: http://members.aol.com/blue454nova/wrinkleslicks.jpg


:maybe:

 

Well, that and the rollout.

 

Erick, you ask a good question but don't get hung up on a narrow thought pattern.
Certinally air pressure will change the 'foot print' but you are forgetting the biggest difference is air volume.
Two different sizes at the same pressure won't have the same print on the track.
For example, on my sprint car, the rear tires are very large and wide to the tune of 16" wide on a 15" rim and still only run 8 psi of air without being flat.
As you know normal street tire at 8 psi would not normally be at all able to run without damage due to being nearly flat.
This does not yet even take into account the effects on final overall gearing.
Gear effect is the distance the center of the axle is to the road surface.
This distance changes with air pressure so the end result is that with a larger foot print you can apply more power and not always have to gear down or up if the motor has enough excess power to use the added traction to propel the car forward at a faster rate.
It's just that there is more to consider that just one parameter.

 

I don't think air volume has much to do with the contact area, its air pressure that effects it.

Two different size tires at the same pressure will have the same contact "area". The shape of the print on the track will be different though.

You are right that a larger size tire can run less pressure and that is simply because there is more available area to spread the load. Without enough available area the tire will bottom out on the rim.