Ed,
The
section of highway (Rt. 60 Gulf-to-Bay in Clearwater) that I repeatedly
hydroplane over is located at the East side base of a bridge that spans 1/4 mile
over a major waterway. What happens is the road actually does drain the
water effectively *except* at the base of the bridge where the left lane pools
with water during heavy downpours. To give you an idea what the highway
engineers had to deal with, this same section of roadway will get flash floods
regularly during the usual June-September season that often put a parking lot on
the north side 2� feet underwater!
The
rubber-necker's have a field day driving by this flooded parking lot (doing
65mph+) where there's usually 3-4 cars that didn't get out in time sitting 3/4
under water! Also, my own neighborhood has a very steep grade from the
midpoint of the street to the curb to help drain water. A good rainstorm
will cause enough water runoff within minutes that two rivers form on
either side of the road with just enough room for a single car to drive through
the middle. I LOVE this tropical town :).
-George
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Eddie John Cruz Jr.
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 3:35 PM
To: Robert K. Kuhn; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: The Rex list; where the hooligan's are!
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 Cruz86 CRX SiGuam USA-----Original Message-----On 10:43 PM 01/28/03 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] said...
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Robert K. Kuhn
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 2:01 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: The Rex list; where the hooligan's are!
Subject: Re: CRX: SV: New wheels!
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
