Wide tyres aren’t always the answer

The width of the wheels and tyres on a car simply must be related to the perceived sexual ability of the individual behind the wheel because there is little else to recommend what has become something of an obsession in the world of motoring and a gold mine to those purveyors of after-market wheels and tyres.
On a more serious note, I don’t think there’s too much doubt that the huge gumballs that were fitted to F1 cars around the Jody Scheckter era (late 70s) were very influential in shaping perceptions of what was good, bad or better on road cars but there was also the issue of increased performance and greater mass to be accounted for which of necessity led to the use of wider wheels ex factory. 
With the increased width and the need for bigger brakes, came increased diametre and lower profile tyres to make space within wheel arches not to mention improved handling.
In theory, wider wheels and tyres confer a specific benefit which can be summarised in one word — grip.
The greater contact area with the road is what grip is all about but grip does not come without certain disadvantages because motoring is not solely grip-related. 
Consider these factors, if you will.   The wider a tyre is, the greater its frontal area and therefore its wind resistance becomes. There’s also the issue of increased friction that needs to be overcome and that translates, along with the first issue, into increased fuel consumption.
Then there’s the issue of ride comfort. As I’ve stated, the wider a tyre becomes, the shallower (proportionately) the depth of the sidewall becomes.
A shallower side wall flexes less because it’s stiffer and the reduced flex in turn provides more direct and purer handling because there’s less undesirable movement and less heat build-up. But, and this is the critical issue, the reduced side wall flexing translates in most cases into a harsher ride which on many of the poorly surfaced urban roads one finds in Britain in particular, can lead to a rather miserable driving experience in which the road imperfections are felt and heard.
Greater size also translates into greater weight which also has a negative influence on ride comfort and noise feedback and in wet conditions, the greater contact area and shallower tread of high performance tyres leads to earlier aquaplaning.  In dry conditions though, such a configuration will lead to improved braking performance.
The reduced side wall pliancy also puts greater strain on steering and suspension joints which will definitely need earlier replacement. There are few manufacturers today who don’t offer a selection of wheel/tyre combinations, especially when it comes to the high performance versions in a range, but it simply doesn’t pay always to believe bigger is better.  For everyday motoring, you can be sure that the smaller offerings offer the best compromise, especially because “smaller” these days is not really small at all.
To summarise, bigger equates to improved dry grip, braking and roadholding and generally looks macho. 
But it promotes increased fuel consumption, hars-her/noisier ride, increased wear of suspension parts, greater vulnerabilty to curbing and sidewall damage because of the lower profile and earlier aquaplaning not to mention considerably greater replacement costs. 
For everyday motoring, smaller is therefore better.