which has a larger contact patch?

[kiakarimi]

Wheel and tire sizes always confused me...

Would a 17x7.5" wheel with 205/40 have a larger contact patch or a 17x6.5" with 225/45?

I understand the 225/45 are bigger tires, but then whats the point of a wider wheel?

 

[jtmcinder]

As annoying as this will be, the answer is that it depends. On what? The design of the tire and the pressure inside the tire. If you get something with a relatively stiff sidewall, such as an Azenis or some R-compound like the V700, then you can get away with jamming a 225/45 onto a 17x6.5. (After all, people running in the Stock class for autoXing do this all the time.) But while it will be easier to mount a soft-sided 225/45 on a 17x6.5, you will have to keep the pressures up so high to avoid rolling it over that it won't be worth it.

I'm assuming that this is an intellectual excersize(?), since a 225/45 on a 17x7.5 is by far the best option and a 205/40 (on a 17x7.5 or anything else) would be so outrageously small.

- Jtoby