|
I also find it very effective to "follow" the
person in front of you's Tracks....
This works very well in those terrential downpours
that we get in South Florida!
-H
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 3:35
PM
Subject: RE: CRX: SV: New wheels!
I
totally agree but driving habits also play a big part of hydroplaning
problems. Highways are built to channel water off of the driving surface. If
you drive too close to the curb or near a center median, you will probably
hydroplane there because there is more water on the surface there.
Intersections also are problem areas when it comes to a large amount of water
that may puddle in a specific area. So being alert to areas where water
gathers may be a way to avoid hydroplaning. All modern roadways and streets
are crowned and sloped so that the driving surface retains little to no
water.Due to the design of modern day tires and you drive where the
engineers intended for you to drive, you should not experience any
hydroplaning problems.
Ed
Cruz
86
CRX Si
Guam
USA
On
10:43 PM 01/28/03 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] said...
I live in Western Oregon, and a
tire guy told me that going to 14's (I have the
stock 13's on my car
right now) might increase hydroplaning. Since I drive in
the
rain all the time, that would be a problem for me. Was he
right? I
hydroplane a bit now, if I'm accrlerating up a hill in
pouring rain for
example.
Ed Miller
'89 DX
(*
snip *)
The size of your wheels makes no
difference.
"Hydroplaning" is the result of your tires moving fast
across a wet surface (keeping in mind that "fast" is a relative term)... So
fast that they do not have sufficient time to channel the water away from
the center of the tire which then results in the tire being lifted by the
water up and away from the road thus losing traction.
The following
all play a part in determining at what speed the tire will begin to
hydroplane:
- Tread design
- Tread depth
-
Weight of your vehicle
- Tire pressure
- Depth of the
water and even the consistency of that
water (whether
it is highly aerated or not, for example)
It is a pretty safe bet to
assume that any speed in excess of 60 MPH is fast enough to support
hydroplaning regardless of the other variables. This is not to say that at
55 MPH you are safe too.
Having said all that... there has been
debates and arguments as to the width of the tire. Some argue that a
wider tire is best when it comes to water (because it offers a wider
footprint) while others say that a thin and taller tire is best (because
it's able to cut through the water).
Both, IHMO, have their valid
points but it comes down to how well said tires can channel water away from
the center of the tire. This is one reason why uni-directional tires
tend to perform better in wet conditions.
Robert K. Kuhn
CRX Owners Group President (http://www.crx.org/southcal)
1990 Honda CRXsi
(http://www.hooligan.cc)
ICQ # 3714283 (nickname:
godzilla)
Alpine Drive (San Diego County) -
February 8, 2003
http://www.crx.org/southcal/events.html
|
