[Travis Covington]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

Actually your wrong. In very special cases wider tires will actually help traction. Race cars are one example of such a creation. Their tires are wider than an average cars. This is designed so that as the car races through the track the tires start to become gummy. This actually causes the tire to stick to the track.

I never disagreed with this statement. If you look closely, I noted temperature as a reason tires are chosen. Race car tires are usually very thin to maximize heat transfer. But like I said, the gummy nature of the tires is due to their soft composition. Completely opposite of this, a spike in temperature can actually decrease traction. So again, the wider tire (think greater overall surface area) can more quickly dissipate the temperature spike during hard braking or the accidental skid.

Also, the larger width increases the likely hood of the tire having contact with the road on uneven surfaces. The lack of a tread (on dry courses) also helps in this area. The soft rubber compound used in race car tires fills the nooks and crannies in the road surface. The wider the tire, the more nooks and crannies it fills, to a certain degree.