Affects of wheel width on contact patch.

[nutshot]

Hey, I just snagged some used 16x7's with 205's for $150, these should tie me over till I can afford the tires for my 17x7 ADR's. My question is whether a wider wheel will make the tire's contact patch narrower? It seems as though the narrow wheel causes the sidewall to expand into part of the tread...

 

[NDgsx]

Wider wheel equals wider contact patch, but it's not a large effect. Check out tirerack.com, they tell you exactly how much wider.