[Kitdy]

Well, I have read some on Wikipedia, talked to some friends, including one in physics and two in engineering, I was formerly in engineering and none of us have a conclusive answer.

Do wider tires give you more grip?

What is the advantage of wider tires?

As I was taught in high school, and according to Wikipedia:

"This approximation mathematically follows from the assumptions that surfaces are in atomically close contact only over a small fraction of their overall area, that this contact area is proportional to the normal force (until saturation, which takes place when all area is in atomic contact), and that frictional force is proportional to the applied normal force, independently of the contact area (you can see the experiments on friction from Leonardo Da Vinci)."

This means that friction is independent of surface area.

What the hell is the difference between grip and friction?

From the rolling friction article on things that affect the coefficient of rolling friction: "Dimensions - rolling resistance is related to the flex of sidewalls and the contact area of the tire[4]. For example, at the same pressure wider bicycle tires have less flex in sidewalls and thus lower rolling resistance (although higher air resistance)[4]."

I have seen another thread somewhere else on the net where they argued this and did not read it was long and my friend did not find a consensus - I am not sure I will find a consensus here.

What the hell is going on?

EDIT: Sorry if this is a repost.