I have 19x9 wheels on the front, 20x10.5 on the back with pilot supersports in 255/40/19 and 295/30/20

I seem to have less straight line traction from the rear than i expected (atleast under power)... i wonder if having more sidewall would somehow increase traction?

 

I went from 295/30 to 295/40 and traction increased significantly. But I also had to swap the front to 255/40r20 because the size difference looked funny.

 

Sure does...more sidewall allows the tire to flex under torque.
More flex=more grip...ever seen a serious drag racer with low profile tires?

 

makes sense i guess


how about for handling then. Do you think the flex in sidewall is bad for turns making lower profile tires beneficial for that?

 

There's a lot to it that is way beyond my scope of understanding, but the only $.02 I have is that I see a lot of people running around on big rims, claiming their low profile tires increase handling, without even thinking about the fact that their big, heavy *** rims are negating any handling/acceleration benefits low profile tires might have. Pretty sure there's a happy medium in there.

 

I would agree that they would be worse if i had some huge heavy chrome rims, but i have forgestar f14's which are pretty light especially for their width. also the lower profile tires weigh less than thicker sidewalled tires.

For my next rear tires im considering either 315/30/20 toyo r888s which do have a thicker sidewall than my current 295's since sidewall is a percentage of the width in tire sizes...

OR 285/35/20 toyo r888's

I wonder which would be better overall for performance. Wheel size is 20x10.5

 

Crinkle Wall, non DOT approved tires, yes.
Modern Radials designed for the road, not so much.
Not much sidewall flex difference in DOT approved Radials
between a 60 series and a 35 series to see or feel.

 

did you change tire brands or were they the same exact tire but a different size?

 

How noisy are the Super Sports? How do they handle?
I have Goodyear F1supercar G2. They are noisy.

 

They dont seem noisy at all to me, and in turns they seem really good - predictable and controllable with a good amount of grip.. i dont think ive ever understeered even with the staggered setup. Also they appear to have a good long tread life at the expense of some traction, especially in weather below 70*. They dont leave marks when you spin them.. Im going with stickier rears when i get new tires, toyo r888s i believe.