Hi,
after reading several posts about fitting wider tyre's on the rims, could someone please tell me what te advantages of going wider are?...and if any drawbacks

thanks

The wider tyre has the obvious dry weather grip advantage as does a wider rear track. Tyre saturation and pneumatic slip is less evident but..... In the wet another story. The wider tyre spreads the cars weight over a wider area so reducing the dispersal in the contact patch, also the ability to disperse water is compromised. F1 is a perfect example... Dry= slicks wet= grooved. Tyre calibration on a domestic level is very hard so i would say 'wide is not always wise'.

wider tends to tramline more
wider cost more

wider looks nicer within reason

It's not all about size .... well thats what i keep telling myself!

Wider definitely helps with grip around bends (less for straightline power though) but what most people tend to ignore is the sidewall aspect. A thicker sidewall helps the car GRIP a whole lot more in high power applications when going WOT in a straightline but also lets the back end slide out when taking bends at speed (powering into a bend). There is a compromise though, a 285/35 or 275/35 aspect tyre gives you the best of both worlds in my opinion. The car does get transformed after wider tyres...as now I can take a bend without the rear end "feeling loose" where before I'd have three people in the back and the cars rear end would slide out VERY VERY easily!

Bazza: I've currently got 285's on the rear and 245's in the front with next to no tramlining on a semi decently surfaced road ... it's only when I run into potholes and am literally on the "edge" of the pothole (trying to avoid it) that the steering wants to pull towards the pothole...otherwise no issues here. Tramlining is also dependant on the kind of tyre being used.