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Contact patch is actually the only ‘connection’ that the road and your car have via tyres. For a better ride quality and handling proper pressure distribution within the contact patch is extremely important. Most tyre makers are focused on providing you the best contact patch.
The contact patch depends on two important factors:
- Larger will be the contact patch when there’s too much load on the tyres
- In case of high inflation pressure in tyres, the contact patch will be smaller
The contact patch can impact the limits of what your vehicle can do on the road. For example, in the case of car racers, the tyre manufacturers always offer them tyres with wide contact patch and a sticky grip.
Generally, low profile tyres or most performance tyres have a short and wide contact patch and they come handy for driver’s responsive handling, cornering, traction and stability. While high profile tyres have a long and narrow contact patch help in providing predictable handling and smooth ride. The former is good for dry weather and roads while the latter performs fine on snowy roads.
A Myth Related To Contact Patch –
Most of us believe that by having ‘wider tyres’ the contact patch too will automatically increase. Contact patch’s size is dependent on a variety of factors such as tyre’s overall diameter, inflation pressure, and the weight acting on it. So while having broad tyres would certainly add to your car’s look, but it won’t make a difference when it comes to increasing your tyres’ contact patch. On the other hand it will surely add to your fuel consumption.
