verXic

So I'm driving my base 2004 350z with no tcs or vdc in the rain on i10. Not very heavy rain, just wet roads, driving 50 in 6th gear. My tires aren't the best right now, probably have less than 1/8th of an inch tread on the rears. But I was driving 50 in 6th gear and I did a 720 spin on the highway from catching a groove in the road. How the **** does that even happen at 50 mph in 6th 2000 rpm???

jhc

Laws of physics. If your tires are worn to the "treadwear indicator bar", you are lucky to be posting.
Get some new Bridgestone 970s or 760s. Very affordable!

MicVelo

This thread may now cease since the OP answered his own question and John went all Isaac Newton on him.

But consider this verXic, tire wear isn't merely a function of tread depth. If they're that worn, the rubber silica mixture of the tire has likely gotten aged/hardened and therefore slippery. Plus, add to that, when a tire gets old, the side siping is probably worn to the point that they cannot channel the water and it remains under the tread.

I would ask what type of tires are you running. The cheap ones really can be a hazard as they age.

Not rocket science, although John would have you believe it to be so. Laff....

verXic

Ziex ze612
and bridgestone turanza

HRMoneyPit

He says 1/32 but winders why he spun lol


Is this real?

MicVelo

OK, don't take this wrong, but first mistake: mixing tires F-to-R is a no-no and recipe for disaster. Plus, TBH, the Turanza is highly unsuitable for a Z. It's not truly a performance tire and when mixed with one that supposedly is, well, there's all kinds of unbalanced forces working against you.

And frankly, the Falken isn't much better. Again, don't take this like I'm dissing you. Absolutely the opposite, just want to point out the most probably cause for your loss of control.

Good news is that your tires need replacing and as John pointed out, a new set of proper rubber is a Tire Rack mouseclick away.

CK_32

iTrader: (1)

Old warn tires, RWD and going above 35 MPH...

How on earth did he spin......


OP Google hydroplane and the effects it has lol

travlee

iTrader: (8)

Jeebus.... dugan day is coming up, may have a new contender

SQuaLZ

I had a few moments with my winter tires in the rain when they were almost bald.

It's not a matter of "why is this happening?"

It's a matter of "when the hell can I change my tires?"

turboed350z

Ahh remind me of my nitto nt555.... i was caught in a light mist with these once. And by light mist, i mean it was as if someone took a spray bottle and just spray the black top.

Anyways tires were new, road slightly wet, was doing a left turn, goung maybe 10-15mph, the minute i turn the wheel, the car went SIDE WAYS. Im talking full side ways where i look to my left and made eye contact with the driver behind me.

Moral of the story, doesnt matter if tires are old or new, some just arent meant for rain. I can only imagine what wouldve happened if my tires were as old as the op. RIP me.

HCO_surfer

OP you're stupid.

/thread.

CK_32

iTrader: (1)

You can also thank the build up of grease and oil from daily use. That's our huge problem in CA. It builds up so badly over summer the first days of rain or misting is literally black ice. That and morons here don't have a clue how to drive in the rain.

I remember the same happened to me back in high school in my mustang, stop light left hand turn, as soon as my tires hit the cross walk paint I felt it slip a little from the two which happened almost every time I touched the paint lines. Before I knew it I was driving looking out of my girlfriends passenger side window before I realized I was in a full drift. Luckily I had my s13 and was drifting for months at the time so it wasn't new to me.

I still remember her face to this day and the fact I slid it off like a boss. Never trusted that dam mustang in the rain after that tho lol

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

I did some crazy drifting in my rsx once with summer tires on an ice covered road, how that car didn't end up totaled still amazes me.

On a side note my bfg comp 2 tires stuck real good even at the end of their life. In the rain not ice, they were all over the place when the temperature went down.

jhc

@ MicVelo (tongue in cheek).
Yes, I got an "A" in Physics, not because I banged my female professor, though!

The friction coefficient drops dramatically between silica and asphalt when a lubricant, (water) is between them. Water does not like to be compressed in nature, and so separates the two by whatever margin. Add to that a light oily coating on the road. The oil is denser and lays over the water. Oil and water cannot mix without an emulsifier, so the water and thin coating of petrol products combine to give poor stability to worn and dried tires, especially at extreme vectors.
Add to that Newton's 2nd Law of Physics. "An object in motion will tend to stay in motion". (And in the same direction). Seems OP interrupted the Laws of Inertia by adding lateral forces.
If Isaac Newton were born in 1970, he'd be richer than Jeff Bezzos and Mark Zuckerberg combined. #itisrocketscience. See below. ; )


But, he'd still need driving school! : 0

AdvanZ33

iTrader: (105)

If you weren't taught (or learned by now) the roads are most slippery when the rain begins or they are lightly coated with water. Furthermore, always have 50% tread or more and a good alignment on the Z33 if you plan on driving in the rain.

MicVelo

I got three A's in Physics (one was a "conceptual physics" class without the math ), also got A's in Bio and several other science related classes. And conversely, actually didn't do so well in a couple of biz classes.

So how'd I end up a slimy software salesperson (and later further up the sales chain) with two BIZ degrees???

Slimy nature I guess.

Spike100

Worn tires won’t clear water on the roadway from the tire’s deficient tread. In this instance the tires float (i.e., hydroplane) off the road’s surface, and you have no control.

kamilitaryman

iTrader: (1)

I had a similar experience with my S14 back when I was young and stupid. I ended up smashing my passenger front rim into a curb @ ~35 mph and bent a knuckle. The rim was a 15" Motegi cast rim and it exploded into 50 pieces. It was raining lightly but my nearly bald rear tires lost traction when I shifted from 3rd to 4th. A fire chief was behind me when the whole thing went down. I was so mad, mostly at myself for driving on those tires.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

9 X the square root of your tire pressure is the speed that you hydroplane at. This happens to be about 52mph. Thread gives you traction before you hydroplane, tread gives you stability once up on plane.

Think about it

PerfZ

iTrader: (3)

Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Best rain tire by far that I have had on my Z33 since 2003. Run them on the '90 TT as well. $1000 a set and worth every damn penny. Cheap tires are for fools.....as are mixed sets.