narrower tires means more PRESSURE exerted on the road surface per square inch of contact surface. That pressure will provide better traction in the rain since water will more effectively be diplaced,, and in the snow since the added pressure will give you more bite.

So....unless you live in a place where it never rains and never snows, your dad was givving you some good safety advice.

 

yes more pressure pre INCH
there is a balance and if you have narrower tires then it takes less water to hydro-plane (trust me I've done it in another car)

try this place yourhand flat against a flat surface and press as hard as you can then try to slide it
now place a single finger against the surface and repeat

if the tire has good design then it will push the water out of the way and you'll have good traction

with a narrow tire it may stick good at first but if you slide a little you lose it with a wide tire if you lose it you can regain it faster
you really need to learn more about static vs. kinetic friction
and as you have the same total pressure you have the same total friction
if you still don't believe me go put some 185 tires on you car and try driving in the rain (one hard turn and that’s it)

learn Physics it rocks dude (but not just weak incomplete HS but full on calculus based physics)

 

Oops, my bad...I confused his initial post with Menace's, who said he had 19k+ and didn't need tires. Still, owning a car means being responsible for the following:
1. The car
2. Registation
3. Inspection
4. Insurance
5. Proper Maintenence (tires, oil, air filter, etc, etc)

From what I understand, he has a high percentage (but not all) of #1, #2-3 I assume (or did parents pay for that, too?), #4 is definitely parents, and #5 is basically whats up for debate here. You can either make the argument that the dad owns enough of the car (and the supporting responsibilities) to dictate what goes into #5, or you can make the argument that AM4.6GT can't afford new tires. Either way, from here it looks like it's the dad's call.

I was living at home once...and there were restrictions I didn't like. I feel your pain, but I moved out, and bought my car by myself with financing. The first car I drove was in my parents' name, and they sure as hell had a say when I asked to pop 2 12" subs in the trunk and replace the factory headdeck. They ended up letting me do what I wanted to do with the car, but it was definitely their call, and I knew it.

This concludes my "responsibility" lecture for....a while. Lord knows I'm not "Mr Responsible" anyway. However it works out, I hope it gets resolved.

adherrera722, I feel I may have been left out of the "honorable mentions" there. Stoenr did quote me, after all

 

Gee, thanks for the suggestion. If you note my post, the issue I was raising was water and snow displacement. Yes,"dude",wider tires or bigger hands provide more surface area for friction on a dry surface. But if there is a layer of water or snow under the tires, the skinny tires will displace it faster and give you traction. This is a fact. Big tread in snow tires? It does the same thing; it reduced the amount of rubber touching the road surface, and increases pressure on the rubber that does. And, the wider channels allow the pressure to displace more material.

The test is not what you may have done in another car, the test would be wide tires vs skinny tires, same car same conditions. Based on your flawed logic, then police cars and utility vehicles in northern and snowy states should have massively wide tires. I assure you that they do not. I guess all of their purchasing departments need to get a physics lesson? Sorry bud, but you are wrong on this one (on your logic and your unnecessary educational suggestions).

.

 

Wrong. It would in fact take more water to make a narrower tire hydroplane. Assuming both example tires were of the same tread pattern.

A wider tired is much more prone to hydroplaning, also less snow traction.

The tires will act like skiis. The wider the ski, the more it chance it has to stay on top of the elements and not cut down the the pavement.

 

Well, off the subject of the whole "parents have a say in the tire purchase" bit, but on topic of the stickiness of the tires...

The Pirellis on my '07 pretty much STINK when the roads are a little wet here. Even with the TCS turned on, I have had the rear end break loose around a turn, and have had to play the whole "steer by throttle" bit. It's not funwhen you have poles, trees, and power boxes jumping out at you because the rear end is sliding around with the stock tires on the car.

 

There is the answer!!!!!!!! You have him paying for things to keep the car and keep it insured and living under his house than it is his rules. Regardless of the reasons for getting the same tires from the factory, its his house and his rules and you need to respect that or move out! Fight about the wider tires when you have the money to put where your mouth is and prove to him he was wrong. There are so many factors that affect tire wear it is ridiculous! JMO and I am not a parent but having parents that I respectthat is the most logical choice to go with -what dad wants for the car until a later date when you are "on your own".

 

This guy definitely feels your pain

 

I know this to be fact because I have done a side by side comparison
with a narrower tire there is more stress on the contact patch and that stress builds until it brakes loose
and when you do brake loose and only have kinetic friction then you need more contact to regain control
in the comparison I did the narrower tire couldn't regain control but the wider tire regained it right away

 

i paid for most of the car.

i have stopped paying insurance for now because im currently not working, im focusing on school.

i still pay for gas.

i have about 1200 bucks saved up, and thats where the tire money is coming from.


i need new tires because the stock ones are bald. while im getting new tires, i want to get the best ones possible.


and yea i pay for all maintenence and such.