Wider wheels up front for auto-x
Administrator

Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
Likes: 2
From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
Wider wheels and tires will increase traction on whichever axle(s) you install them. I haven't seen a big issue with understeer personally during autox except for certain situations which I generally overcome with slight braking to transfer weight to the front to compensate. Staggered wheel and tire setups could help if it's a big issue for you (so could better front tires vs. rear), but effectively what you're doing is limiting rear end traction to compensate for loss of traction in the front. IMO run the best tires you can justify spending the money on on all 4 wheels and deal with understeer, just with greater cornering speeds than before the wider tires on all 4. I can't think of any time on an autox course that I've wished for less traction in the rear.
Cliffs:
4 skinny tires < 2 skinny rear and 2 fat fronts < 4 fat tires
Cliffs:
4 skinny tires < 2 skinny rear and 2 fat fronts < 4 fat tires
Just a sub note to above^^^^ Just becuase you by a wider tire doesnt mean it is good, you can run a 195 tire, like a Re-11, against a 225 Falken Z series, there is no match, so dont think a wider tire will help, you need to pay attention to the compound also!!!



