Pizzicato

Insert Lawyer joke here

Turbonater

proved my point exactly.

Think about it: vehicle weight? unchanged, tire pressure? unchanged.

Which extra force were you thinking of?

The contact patch will be just big enough to support the weight of the car at a given tire pressure.

Increase the weight and the contact patch gets larger.

Decrease the tire pressure and the contact patch gets larger.

Change tires to a different profile? where does the change in weight or area come from?

Turbonater

Wider tires work better for winter driving in the real world. On snow and ice as well as bare or just wet pavement.

Skinny tires do not work as well.

There are specific conditions and applications for which skinny tires and Q rated rubber may be a better choice.

In street driving, you never encounter these conditions for long enough nor are they ever severe enough to justify that out dated old saw about putting smaller, skinnier tires on for winter.

If your Grandma will be driving your Audi and especially if it has a turbo or two, then go ahead put wussy tires on if that's what it takes.

Turbonater

much less any of the really funny ones.

Of course you realize that telling lawyer jokes to your own lawyer can get pretty expensive.....

So, go ahead, take your best shot, it'll be free.

Evilclown

Going back over what I posted, you'll notice that I said force(vehicle weight)remained unchanged, as does tire pressure. Given these constants, a smaller contact patch will exert more pressure(not force, there is a difference) on the ground than a larger one.

But, I'll admit I applied this principle incorrectly. The overall area of the contact patch(and, as a result, pressure on the ground) doesn't change much with a narrower, higher profile tire, but the shape of the patch changes, and along with it, the way the force of vehicle weight is applied.

The link is from Tire Rack's website. Paying close attention to the last paragraph:

"High profile tires (light truck and most passenger tires) have a long and narrow contact patch which helps to provide predictable handling, a smooth ride and <b>especially good traction in snow.</b>" I think that was the original point of contention. So, according to people who's business is tires, narrow, high-profile tires have better traction in the snow than wide, low-profile tires.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&amp;url=%2Ftires%2Ftiretech%2Ftechpage .jsp%3Ftechid%3D10">http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=10</a></li></ul>

AntiSocial

You're backpedaling.

Now that I know you're a lawyer and get paid to make obscure points, I'll leave it alone.

"Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

You win.