Hi Al,
I may have it wrong, but I thought there was no relationship between tire/wheel size and turning circle. Suspension geometry determines turning circle/radius, not tire size. That assumes, of course, that the fender wells allow lock to lock steering with larger tires.
"That assumes, of course, that the fender wells allow lock to lock steering with larger tires."
That, my beachcomber friend, is a very big assumption which would get you into trouble with most of our little cars when most of us are running larger tires.
At least on my CMC, there is a fiberglass body panel in the inner wheel well which contacts the tire when the steering wheel is all the way to the lock (either direction). If I ran those teeny-tiny 165/175 tires a lot of guys have to run I would get a little tighter turn than when I'm running the much larger 205's on there now, along with 16" rims (for that "Vintage Look") so that makes them even larger. I still have the grooves worn into those panels from the tires rubbing before lazy old me finally got under there and adjusted the steering limiters.
My speedster has a somewhat larger turning radius than my 4WD Nissan (and WAY wider than my bicycle!) because you just can't turn the wheel that far to make it tighter.
The under car lightning is perfect for a Speedster with 22" wheels with spinners. I agree with Kevin and Bob, close the flap, the tent is full.
Thanks, Gordon. Most of us are aware that the stock body with fender lining and shock placement limits tire/wheel size. However, that doesn't answer my specific question: does a taller tire increase turning radius, as Al seemed to suggest earlier in this thread?
My vote is no, but I'm always willing to listen and learn more.
Jim Kelly posted:Thanks, Gordon. Most of us are aware that the stock body with fender lining and shock placement limits tire/wheel size. However, that doesn't answer my specific question: does a taller tire increase turning radius, as Al seemed to suggest earlier in this thread?
My vote is no, but I'm always willing to listen and learn more.
It does when the tire is so tall and wide that it hits body parts...
That's not right.
That's not right!
ALB posted:Jim Kelly posted:Thanks, Gordon. Most of us are aware that the stock body with fender lining and shock placement limits tire/wheel size. However, that doesn't answer my specific question: does a taller tire increase turning radius, as Al seemed to suggest earlier in this thread?
My vote is no, but I'm always willing to listen and learn more.
It does when the tire is so tall and wide that it hits body parts...
My apologies for the rather facetious reply, Jim. To answer your question- no, a taller tire doesn't automatically increase turning radius. My point was (as Gordon explained) that too tall front tires would interfere with underparts of the car and not allow you to turn as sharply as before, thus increasing said turning radius. Gordon took the time to explain it so much better.
Yoda wrote, in part: "...Too tall front tires would interfere with underparts of the car and not allow you to turn as sharply as before..."
Sounds like we need help from;
I bet you never guessed that we have a 6 and 8 year old visiting here today, did yah?
