Re: Wide Wheels and Tires!!
Within certain limits that is. True a larger size increases the contact patch but is also decreases the loading on a tire and may put you on the backside of the traction curve.
People do not realize this but for a given tire, traction is a curve, increasing as the load increases, then peaking (and can be quite narrow) and then not quite dropping off a cliff but close. Now for a given tire the curve may shift a bit as you change the compound and the tread pattern/depth - why the Goodyear truck at major autocrosses would shave tires to 1/2 depth and serios racers change tires often.
Back in the day we would get these curves for race tires so could select the best for a particular car/track/weather & why careful track of the tire temperatures during practise was kept. (I recall one time being asked to try some street 165x13s (required for the class I was running) and coming in after a few laps with globs of tread sticking to the pavement. Went back to Michelin XASs)
Most of my racing was done with Corvettes and the right tires could make a big difference. With very sticky slicks on my 2900 lb small block a 12.65 (today it would be about 325/40/15) was about right for the rear. For rain I dropped to the equivalent of a 235x60 rain tire and had to be able to do a quick change if needed, the 12.65s were terrible if damp, you just could not load them.
Guess now "late breaking" into a corner is common, back then it was still a fine line between loading the front tires under breaking then transitioning into cornering. Stop braking too early & lose the load and the turn was liable to go ito sudden dramatic understeer. Felt a lot like driving on ice.
So for a track day I can almost see a sticky 305 but not for everyday driving unless done slowly. The stock 255 seems fine for all around use and a 500 wear rating & mine seem to do OK a heavy rain at 50 but feel a little loose at 70. I'd have to wonder about even a 285 in those conditions. Of course if you live in Arizona or Nevada...
Just my opinon, YMMV.