OK a serious question. I know that disposal of used tires is is huge problem. What about using tires with a shorter height. Just make the rim a larger OD and the ID of the tire larger to match. The tread diameter would be the same. I know I did not explain this very well, hope you get the idea. This would require less rubber to produce a tire that will someday be in a landfill. Now I realize that such tires / wheels would not be very attractive, but wheel design might improve the to a point that they could be accepted by the general population. Now don't get upset, I am not bashing those that like the look of large tires. They are a small percentage of the tires disposed every year. I am just wondering if the "low rubber" design could have a place on the mass of vehicles in service? John

 

Shorter sidewalls cant carry as heavy of a load and also make for a harsher ride. YOu will corner a little better though lol.

Search the internet for "tweel"

 

This has been going on for years. All trucks used to have 15" wheels. They now come stock with up to 20" wheels (and in some cases, even larger). The overall size of the tires have not changed during this time, except for the inside diameter of the tires to accomadate the larger wheels.