Does anyone know whether the following statements are true? I found them on another website and decided to check here as I have more faith in this community than the other. Any thoughts?
"There is no appreciable fuel efficiency difference between wide and narrow tire tread as long as proper inflation of the tire is maintained. Tire manufacturers recommended inflation, not the vehicle manufacturers recommended inflation.
Surprisingly, regardless of tire width, the tread contact patch surface area remains the same and so does the rolling resistance. When a tire is narrower, the ovoidal shape of the contact patch is oriented to the length of the car (longitudinally), front to back. With a wider tire, the contact patch is oriented side-to-side (laterally).
That is why wider tires give greater cornering performance because the tire patch is oriented in the path of lateral acceleration. Back to your question, with all other things being equal, tire width does not affect gas mileage despite what you may hear."