After taking a 100 mile ride with light to heavy rain at freeway speeds I need to check the forum for their experience with different tires regarding hydroplaning.....

I had some hydro at freeway speed with my Nitto 555s and had similar problems with RE040's.

What have you guys experienced?

 

S03s. Wide channels with medium-sized blocks to funnel the water when it builds up on the road. SP9000s do a great job too, but it's an older tire that doesn't have the same dry traction quality the S03 does. While the S03s are on the heavier side, they have great dry traction due to the tire compound and the sidewall construction.

 

Don't know what part of TX you are in, but I have had excellent results with my Goodyear F1 Eagle GS-D3 in Dallas freeways in the rain -- no hydroplaning at all! Weaving the car gently side-to-side in the rain on the FWY feels just like you are driving in the dry - very grippy and no unpleasant behaviors.

 

Start of hydroplane speed is primarly a function of inflation pressure [on the same tire] then the softer the tread compound and the highest psi you can stand.

Don't get confused by marketing claims that dirrectional tires are that much better in rain........they do help on the front in turning but not in water depth above the tread depth [10/32" new] but they degrade faster than non directionals so by 8,000 miles the two are equal. Then all that counts is tread compound softness and rain road temperature and inflation.

Semi trucks with 80-100 psi have a 30 mph higher Hspeed!
Hspeed=7.95 * Sqrt(tire pressure * contact patch width / contact patch length). or simplier but less accurate....10.27 * Sqrt(tire pressure.

Increaseing psi from 35 to 41 psi increases Hspeed from ~~60.7 mph to ~~65.7 mph in greater than 0.2" of water

The above formula have been tested for 15 years and correlate pretty well. Researched primarily for airplane landing and then wet braking going straight.

Wet lane changing in water at speed is a different animal subtract 3 mph. Study Tirerack wet slalom/braking tests but these are for 50 mph and under!

The problem is that high cold inflation and higher running inflation drop due to cooling effects of rain on the tire.

 

Either the Potenza S03 or the BF KDW. I have also track driven in the rain with the Yokohama AVS Sport and they were amazing. It's hard to find a cheap tire that's good in the rain.

 

I've had the S03's, the Pilot Sports, and the GS-D3's. Living here in Oregon where it's gonna rain for the next 7 months, wet weather performance is very important.

I would rank them from best to worst in terms of performance in the wet as:
1. GS-D3's
2. S03's
3. Pilot Sports

There's a big difference between the performance of the Pilots as compared to the first two. The S03's are very good in anything but the wettest conditions with standing water but the Goodyears will go through just about anything.

 

i second so3 for wet condition.

 

I've yet to have any issues with my T1S

 

Gang thanx for your posts. I love Nitto handling in dry weather but was surprise when I started to feel the hydroplaning. Feeling the car slide towards the semi next to you is no fun. I will keep a set of Nitto's for handling at the track but I am looking for something more "all weather" for 'em road trips and the sudden down pours that come with Texas weather.

After the E040 it was a flip between the Nitto's and the S03's. I had no experience with either tire. Luv the Nitto's until last weeks experience.

Keep your comments coming.

 

GS-D3's have amazing grip in the wet.

 

never had a problem with my Kumho MX either