# Why did old-timey cars have such skinny tires?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-old-timey-cars-have-such-skinny-tires/679122>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 18, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-old-timey-cars-have-such-skinny-tires/679122 "2014-01-18T01:43:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-old-timey-cars-have-such-skinny-tires/679122/21 "2014-01-18T18:46:46Z")

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> [@ryanl](#):
>
> This [thread](http://forums.autosport.com/topic/19198-why-were-racing-tyres-so-narrow-in-the-1950s-and-1960s/)is about historic grand prix racing cars, but it’s relevant to the OP.
> 
> Also, keep in mind that Model Ts and other cars of the period were not high performance machines. The Model T’s engine output was somewhere around 20 horsepower. A wider tire, by virtue of increased mass, would likely have diminished certain performance numbers (e.g., acceleration and braking distance).

This has got to be part of the answer. A thin, light tire has less rolling resistance and less angular momentum so it’s easier to get turning.  
Today’s cars don’t have as much of a problem with power as much as getting all that power to the road, so when you have plenty of power you need wide tires with a lot of grip.

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