this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2024
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[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 27 points 9 months ago (6 children)

It is "necessary" for them to be that wide.

CAFE standards are based on "footprint" which is basically the rectangle of the tire contact patches. If you're a car manufacturer who can't meet the NHTSA's MPG requirements for the size of car you produce, you can increase the size of your cars, so they fit in a larger class that requires less of an MPG improvement.

The most effective way to increase the footprint is to widen a narrow car, increasing its footprint toward square.

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 3 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Am I understanding you correctly? There is a standard somewhere that says you can't have tires of a certain width on a car unless the car is also broad?

Why is that even a requirement? I thought broad tires were safer, why would the width of the car have anything to do with it?

[–] Odd_so_Star_so_Odd@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

To be brief, some boneheads ages past decided to class vehicles based on footprint rather than simply weight.

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 1 points 9 months ago

I get it now. Not a chance that's changing anytime soon I suppose, I can see how it's not convenient for manufacturers

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