General Question- advantages to low profile tires?

[harpon]

What are the advantage to the modern low profile tires? Given the same width of tire, why has the trend been to larger rim and smaller aspect ratio profile?

Do they balance easier? Is the tradeoff of extra alloy for less tire rubber a weight savings? I suppose it varies by wheel design, but I've wondered if losing rubber and replacing it with more wheel diameter has substantial advantage, or is it just a marketing trend to sell more product constantly, i.e. tires and wheels and spacers? How do you think the lower profile tires compare in terms of wear? Same, wear out faster? Last longer?

I've never had the inclination to spend a lot on newer wheels and never minded having a taller tire of rubber to absorb the road bump.
I'm interested in daily driving and not so much performance or speed.
Am I missing something otherwise?

[ECCustom]

Lower profile tire is better for performance, they will corner better, less sidewall flex, on the bad side the ride is much rougher......I think at least.

[Flyin4stroke]

If you go 80 mph in a festy with stock 12's and then do it with a car that has 14's you will see a ton of differences. Even with a 13 inch wheel it's a lot more stable. In the 90's things were built slower on their economy car. I feel like nowadays regular cars have no issues going at higher rates of speed. That's why the wheels get bigger. Tires are just the compact to the road. Suspension is evolving to the dampen the roads bumps. Unfortunately there is usually a price increase with the smaller tire because the tire needs to be better designed on the sidewall to absorb pot holes. All tires have a different wear rating.
I don't do stance just think that wheels look better than rubber. And need the bigger wheel for traction....

[Team Lightning]

I know this is about advantages, but here is a disadvantage, This happened at 70 mph on I85 exit 58 in South Carolina on my way home from Madness. The picts are the left front. Rear wheel is bent just as bad on the outside. The white stripe on the inside of the wheel is a crack/split that completely circles the inside of the wheel.
Tire size is 165-45-15.




Strange thing is, my new tires arrived yesterday for my other wheels for this car. I had planned to use these as show wheels only.

[ryanprins13]

Main thing as mentioned above is less sidewall flex. A 1970's or so lincon continental was a massive beasty heavy car on really tall rubber. Ive been told that if you attempted to take a coverleaf on/off ramp too fast the tires would flex so much the rims would almost hit the pavement!
any sharp steering movement with a tall sidewall tire and heavy vehicle results in sidewall flex which results in poorer handling. I even notice the difference between 145/80's and 155/80's.
For a daily driver in a stock lightweight festiva with no performance intentions the regular tires are good.
Medium hight sidewalls are generally the way to go for most cars. They offer better handling without the negatives of super low profile tires.
There are a lot of disadvantages to the super low profile tires. High cost, less shock absorption, more rim damage, cant judge pressure by appearance so well... Advantages are amazing handling and thats about it i think. Oh, they can look cool if you spend a ton on the rims too.
Its not so applicable to festivas but if you want better handling performance with tall rubber what you do is buy tires that have more plys-specifically more sidewall plys and fill them up to the maximum pressure. That helps a lot. But with festiva 12 inch its generally regular tire or 10 ply trailer tire as your only 2 options


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[Ninjawimp]

Ahh, that beautiful rim is destroyed. Hulk smash!

Yeah pro/cons but i gotta say low profile is the way to go. My other ride, Galant came with 16s stock & the side wall flex could be felt. Upgraded some 18s low pro & a big difference on handling but you feel the bumps in the road. I still prefer low pros as my opinion although living in Minnesota with bad roads can make driving difficult especially when the wife drives. The absolute number 1 thing i dislike is the cost. Paid just about a little under a grand on new tires last month but i think its worth it.

Since we are on tire talk, i will state DO NOT BUY CHEAP TIRES MADE IN CHINA OR NO NAME TIRES!!! Been there, done that. It will make your life a living hell trying to figure out whats wrong with your car when it is simply the fact that it is the new tires. Pay the extra money for a good decent brand.

[Movin]

Maybe down there you can still drive dunes, beaches and sandy roads? When you air down really good asphalt tires , especially stretched you do not get any more floatation and will get stuck easy. If there is rocks too your rims are done! Even our 12 inch tires will air down and increase the contact patch. Beach party no problem! The inverse of what you asked is exactly why I run ATV tires when I am serious. They are the pinnacle in the tire world for the kind of play - hunt - fishin going on offroad around here. The tires you asked about are about the best for street and windy roads with good clean asphalt. Rally gravel tires are good to go fast on good gravel roads. Old bald 12's are about the cheapest way to travel..good mileage and people give them away! I guess you can tell a lot about people by what they have on their car.

[Team Lightning]

Ninja, it drove and handled great. My other feisty has 165-55-14's. Again, great handling
Both sets of tires, the ones above (165-45-15) and the 165-55-14's are Federal Formosa's FD1.
The new ones for this car are Federal SS595 in 185-55-15.

[harpon]

An old Lincoln continental in the '70's probably most likely still had bias ply tires on it- not even radials- and so didn't handle weight that well in sharp cornering, Don't let the "suicide doors" in the rear hit you when you jump out under fire!

One disadvantage to low profile for certain is that slow leaks will deflate the tire that much faster.

[lessersivad]

It ain't no Lincoln but.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BybCEbXZFqw

Go to 2:18