Wider tyres, longer life?

[Tim]

A set of 28mm Continental GP4000 II tyres have lasted 50% longer in terms of mileage than other 23 and 25mm GP4000's. They have 12,000 km's on them.
I have been meticulously logging mileage and parts repair and replacement for nearly 10 years now.
I'm wondering if it's just a case of more rubber in contact with the road to spread the load and wear, or something else?

The overall good mileage is due to low body weight and low power output. The question is about the mileage difference between different widths.

[human909]

Absolutely. More surface the less wear.

[Tim]

It's pretty obvious, but I wouldn't have expected such a small difference in width to make such a difference in longevity.
I 'spose lower pressure adds to the contact area too.
Good economy too, pleases a tight-arse like me.

[Ivanerrol]

Also.
The sidewall size increases as the tyre width increases. This means that a tyre with a greater sidewall height will do less revolutions per kilometre than tyres with a small sidewall height - no different to car tyres.
Over many thousands of K’s this will result in some many thousands of revolutions.