Stretched tyres

[Jimi_Hendrix]

What are peoples views on stretch fitted tyres (pictured below)
 

 
They look cool as feck! I\'m sure that view will be universal! But is it legal/dangerous? I want to buy some 16x8 alloys and put 16x7 tyres on, something along those lines.
 
Cheers.

[johnf]

They look cool as feck! I\'m sure that view will be universal!

Nope

I think they look like the guy couldn\'t afford the right width tyres.

About two days to kerb the rim

[Jimi_Hendrix]

Ok different strokes for different folks, but practicality is so tedious isnt it!:Giggle
 
Anyway after a bit of digging around it seems as though a "sensible" strech will be just fine, all that crazy "euro" balloon tyre stuff would prob not stand up to the UK\'s pot hole ridden roads and maby slip off the bead.
 
And in my view all that mad angle side walls do look a touch gaerish.
 
Also just realised this should have gone in the wheels and tyres bit of the general tech section. Could any mods maby amend this? Cheers.

[M@r]{]

I like the stretch look but that above is a little too hardcore!

[m1tch]

Why woudln\'t you want the proper tread to go all the way to the edge of the rim?

[dthebuk]

im gunna guess legality reasons?

isnt the law something along the lines of the tread should be able to be seen from the top of the car? if you stretch the tyres you can get wider wheels without having a massive wide kit.

just an idea

[S3TH]

^ That\'s correct... the only legal requirement is for TREAD to be under the arch hence this is the modders way of making a loophole... the wheel sticks out an inch but the tread is still under the arch...

[antnicuk]

i was talking to a race car chassis building a couple of days ago who said that tyres should be stretched. You should always aim for a tyre that is 1/2 inch narrower than the wheel upto an 8 inch wheel and then an inch smaller tyre for rims over 8 inch.

The reason being is that if the tyres is stretched it is held in place each side, so you dont get much sideways movement.  Imagine tying something down and pulling the straps straight down, the load would move, pull the straps at 45 degrees and it wont be able to move sideways (poor description but you know what i mean)  

Personally i dont like the stretched look but \'apparently\' it is better for performance driving.

[m1tch]

I guess thats why low pro tyres are better for tracks as there is less sidewall flex, I guess if there aren\'t any 90 degree sidewalls that would help, but they aren\'t really good for the normal road lol

[Ada7]

But (and this is a question i\'ve been meaning to ask for agaes now), i understand that low profile tyres are better for track because of less side wall flex, so why do F1 tyres have such big walls on them :confused:

Adam

[Hayward North]

Nope

I think they look like the guy couldn\'t afford the right width tyres.

About two days to kerb the rim

I have to agree here lol.
Save some and get the right size tyres

[batman]

its a marmite mod love or hate it i like the euro look but on a slammed v dub or audi not so say for a jap sports car

[SiH]

One thing about stretched tyres - Everyone on the internet is an expert on them

People do it for 3 main reasons:
1: To stiffen up the sidewalls - gives less flex to the tyres, and a bit more feel. (205\'s on an 8 felt noticeably better on my old car than on a 7 - exactly the same tyres.
2: Clearance - You can run wider, lower offset wheels with a stretched on tyre and get away with it without having to go extreme on the bodywork.
3: Looks - A lot of people like the way it looks.

I, and several of my mates have run various stretches on various wheels and various tyres, on track for grip and drift, and on the road. None of use have ever experienced anything remotely like a failure, and i have never seen evidence of any tyres failing that can actually be attributed to the stretch.

 If you kerb wheels that have stretched tyres on, then that implies to me that you don\'t know where the edges of your wheels are, and if you were driving with balloon tyres, you would be surfing the kerb on the sidewall, which will damage the tyres and lead to tyre failure. (I\'ve certainly seen this happen)

If you look at F1 cars from history, some of them do indeed run a stretched tyre

At the end of the day a lot of it\'s personal choice - i prefer the look and feel of a mild stretch, especially if it allows the fitment of decent fitment wheels, rather than sunk in the arches super narrow affairs. But that\'s just me. The world would be a boring place if we all thought the same.

[gandyRX]

once ive got my new wheels sprayed up im getting some mad stretched tyre on them, there perfectly legal as long as the tread part of the tyre is under the arch, even though its legal it will attract the attention of the police

[pete sparrow]

The stretched tyre look is a fad,trend or fashion and thats about it. Was the in thing a couple of years back in Japan. I run stretched on my car and i think it looks good. Never had any trouble from the cops and never had some tyre kicker come up to me and say,"couldn\'t you afford the correct tyre size?"
Down to personal opinion i guess..