Staggered Vs. Non-Staggered Wheels

This hot rod uses an extreme front/rear tire stagger.

The staggering of wheel and tire packages is one of the most basic forms of vehicle tuning, and plays a huge role in all aspects of vehicle dynamics from steering response to acceleration.

Definition

"Staggering" is the act of using different sized wheels and/or tires on either end or either side of a vehicle.

Hot Rods

Many performance vehicles use wider tires on the drive axle for increased acceleration. Top Fuel dragsters are one extreme example of this application.

Wheel Stagger

High performance rear-wheel drive vehicles often use larger wheels on the rear than the front. This permits the utilization of larger tires on the drive axle while maintaining the same tire aspect ratio as the front for neutral handling.

Circle Track

Many Circle track racers use larger tires on the right side of the vehicle to move its center of gravity toward the inside. Non-staggered tires would cause weight to shift to the outside while turning, which would result in poor handling.

Modern Vehicles

Many modern vehicles cannot use staggered tires of differing height. The vehicle's ABS and/or stability control will interpret this change in tire height as wheel slippage, causing the systems to malfunction.

References

• Circle Track.com: Tire Staggering
• Mustang Monthly: Fitting Larger Tires