- There are an absolute ton of different trends
in the car scene that have come and gone
throughout the last decade or so.
And some that have really been just kinda
hanging on for dear life.
We've seen the Lambo doors
that are on everything but Lamborghinis,
under glow which has miraculously
and thankfully made a comeback,
vinyl wraps and so much more
but those are all topics for another video.
Now, today we are here to talk about another trend
or style choice in the car scene
that is truly a bit of a controversial topic
to a lot of people and something that is kind of
just shrouded in a bit of mystery and myths.
What is going on everyone?
Gels from Fitment Industries
and on today's episode of "Myth or Fact",
we are gonna be going over whether or not
stretching your tires is a dangerous thing to do.
(bright upbeat music)
But first, real quick before we get into today's video,
you may notice,
wearing new hoodie.
And that's because we just launched a brand new giveaway
with BC Racing to give away a free set
of BC Racing coil overs
to one of you guys or gals out there watching this video.
All you gotta do is head on over to fitmentindustries.com
or click the link in the description below
and pick up some of the apparel
that we have launched specifically for this giveaway.
We got a hoodie, we got two t-shirts
and whole bunch of other good stuff.
And head on over there,
every $5 spent on the apparel gets you an entry in to win.
Other than that, you know the drill,
wheels, tires and suspension, fitmentindustries.com.
Let's get into the video.
Anyway, we all know tire stretch
but if you don't know, here's a quick cliff notes version
of what it is and where it came from.
First thing's first, tire stretching is nothing new.
It's actually been around for quite some time
and we actually see that to be pretty common trend
with a lot of the topics that we cover in these videos.
Either way people have been stretching their tires
for years and years and years.
And it actually began across seas over in Germany
when some of the laws and regulations on their vehicles
at the time it limited a lot of aftermarket components
for their cars and for people who wanted to do
things for their cars.
However, people still wanted to put things
like wire wheels on their cars
which was fine as long as no part of the wheel
or tire extended past the factory fender
which meant if you had a Volkswagen
and you wanted some wider wheels,
you were going to have to go down in the tire size
so that the tire did not extend past or hit the fender
hence downsizing or stretching the tire.
And just like most of the styling
that we see on our cars in the United States,
we have adapted it from other places in the world.
And we were pretty quick to pick up on this one as well.
However, we aren't really all that concerned
about the whole extending past the body line thing over here
and stretch tires for just more than that purpose.
The biggest one being fitment.
With fender to lip fitment being the goal
for a lot of people,
a stretch tire is going to be needed
to be able for that fender to sit right behind
the lip of the wheel.
The idea is still pretty much the same.
Run a bigger wheel
but then have to run a smaller tire than normal
to help with the clearance in the fitment.
And we see it everywhere either because it's needed
or just a stylistic choice but I'm gonna be honest here.
There are a lot of people
who just absolutely hate it
like really hate.
Honestly though, if a stretch is needed
and it suits the build
and it's gonna fit, I'm all for it.
But the bigger conversation is here
and what we are really here for
is to go over whether or not that this trend is dangerous
and could potentially maybe hurt you a little bit.
When you stretch your tires or downsize your tires,
you are taking the sidewall of your tire
and pulling them out further and further
than what they're supposed to be.
When you look at the construction of a modern tire,
most of the design and structure and support
is focused on that sidewall.
It is meant to be the strongest part of your tire.
And there's a bit of concern with a lot of people
when you start messing with that.
When you stretch your tire,
you are getting rid of a lot of the flex
and capabilities of that sidewall
which can lead to things like a harsher ride
and all of that.
Since this is a downsize tire
from what you should be running on that side of the wheel,
you are going to have a smaller contact patch
meaning that you're not going to have
the same amount of grip or traction that you would
with the correct the size tire.
Now I know, all right,
just as well as you know,
that a stretch tire is not going to be meant for performance
or high performance driving.
We kind of already know this
or at least I hope you would know this going into it.
If you are after performance,
you're not going to want to stretch your tires.
That's just how it goes.
For the most part, you are never going to run
into any issues with a stretch tire setup.
People do it all the time
and have been doing it for years and years like I said.
But, just like everything else
ever in the history of everything,
there are times again and again
when people take things maybe just a little bit further
than they should ever need to
or honestly ever really should.
We've seen all the pictures of cars
with like the negative 20 degrees of Canberra
and about two inches of an exposed barrel on the wheel.
Probably would not recommend
as that is when this trend becomes
just a little bit dangerous.
Tire dB is a real thing, all right
and it does happen.
It is the main concern
of those who are running a stretch setup.
It is mainly where the argument of whether or not
stretching your tires is a safe thing to do comes into play.
The truth is though,
if you need to run a little bit of stretch
on your nine and a half wide wheel,
maybe like a 235/35 or 225/40 or something like that,
you're gonna be just fine.
But if you wanna take that same size tire
and throw that it on like a 10 and a half or an 11,
maybe, you know, just be prepared for the worst.
All in all, as long as you stay within a reasonable size
and a reasonable stretch
and don't plan on using the car
for any high-performance reasons,
you'll be just fine running a slightly stretched setup.
And the best way to see what tire size
and how much stretch you're going to get
with a different size wheel,
there's a checkout at Fitment Industries gallery
over at fitmentindustries.com
where you can take a look firsthand
as to what those setups look like
and then maybe see if people have issues with that as well.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Let us know down in the comments what your thoughts are
on stretch tires or you know, stretching tires
and all that sort of good stuff.
Don't forget the giveaway we got going with BC Racing.
Check out all that over at fitmentindustries.com.
Wheels, tires, suspension as well, you know the drill.
I'm Gels from Fitment Industries.
We'll see you later.
Peace.
(bright upbeat music)