It may well have been Plato who stated that Necessity was the Mother of Invention. To be sure though, he wasn’t looking lovingly at his low roller VW Golf when he said it…

Tyre stretching is the practice of fitting a tyre to a wheel where the tyre is narrower than the wheel itself. The tyre sidewalls, instead of being basically 90˚ square to the tread are pulled over to the outsized rim, effectively flattening the low profile tyre at the same time.

What this in turn allows for is the car road clearance to be dropped significantly, as the tyre, which would normally be rubbing the wheel arches, is now clearing them.

They first took off not in America, but in Europe, when the Law dictated that the tread of a vehicle not extend outside the domain of the wheel arch. This meant that if any non-standard wide rims were put on a car, then the wheel arches had to be remodelled too. To get around this, the notion of tyre stretching evolved… using standard tyres on a wider rim. And the look took off too.

Sketches by car designers also played an influential part. Look back 20 years ago and most high end and sports cars alike were illustrated with a slight stretch on the tyre because they thought it looked better.

For the aficionados, it’s simply a question of taste. You either love or hate them, but the reason a new generation is taking to them is precisely because of the frowns of disapproval they draw from their dad’s generation.

Legally, it might at first appear to be murky territory. One would think that they would automatically be illegal, there being greater risk of damage, greater tread wear and stretching adds greatly to the unsprung weight. Indeed, they’re illegal in some countries.

For sure, insurance would void any claim as not roadworthy, if the stretch went outside the tyre makers spec, however, there is actually some room for stretch to still be legal, as some tyre makes are allowable on slightly larger rims- So long as they stay within the maker’s spec.

Indeed, users state that modern tyres have incredibly strong side walls and a little stretch isn’t so bad, if you accept they’re going to take more punishment than standard fitted ones, particularly with a rad camber to boot… but then, when has looking badass ever been guided by thrift?

Stretching is particularly big in the VW tuning clan- Lupos, Corrados, Golfs, Boras and the like.

When applied, they take a much higher air pressure. One of the key reasons they seem to be taking off in a big way can also be put down to one recognized method of actually obtaining a stretch; by running lighter fluid round the bead and setting light to it. No wonder it’s so popular with the kids. It’s not surprising only a handful of tyre fitting garages will attempt it…

The point of law seems to come down to ‘Construction & Use’ (C&U) offences. In England, these offences have a maximum penalty of up to £2,500 in total, plus three points on your licence per tyre. Meaning you can’t actually get fined more than £2,500, but an instant 12 points awarded, thus an immediate ban. However, not many Police are up on the finer points of C&U, so other than a slap on the wrist, if the tread isn’t bald and the tyres clear the bodywork, they often don’t feel they can do more.