Do smaller wheels with bigger gears go faster than cars with big wheels and small gears?

Answer 1

Tires can make a bicycle go faster by absorbing imperfections in the pavement. This enables the bicycle to continue forward in a straight line without having to bounce up and down over every little bump. If everything were perfectly rigid or purely elastic, then all the energy required to lift the bike and rider over a bump would be returned when coming down the backside, but the bike and especially the rider is not rigid nor perfectly elastic, and so energy is wasted. The tire itself is not perfectly elastic either and so a little energy is lost every time it deforms, but this is much less than that lost in the bike and rider. Rolling resistance of tires tends to decrease with higher inflation pressure, thinner casings, and wider tires.

Answer 2

Bigger tires can increase your top speed slightly, because they are bigger. But you should be careful with fitting other size tires then your factory supplied, because the car is designed for that size. You should then also alter the suspension and spedometer.

Answer 3

It's not clear what you mean with big/small gears. But remember that the size of the wheel and the ratio of the gears interact. Basically if you have two cars with the same engine/gear box, stick one in 1st gear with huge wheels and the other in 2nd gear with small wheels there's a good chance they end going equally fast.

Answer 4

Im no scientest but in my understanding bigger wheels will give a car more top end speed but less acceleration to reach that speed, i put bigger wheels on my rc car for that purpose, didnt rip burnouts as good but did good top speed wise