Hydroplaning

[Grey Ghost]

I recently took a 1900 mile trip in my Bronco Sport Badlands.. I noticed some severe hydroplaning in this vehicle. I currently am running 225/65 scorpion stocks.. I am wondering if going with a wider tire will magnify this problem ?? The front stayed pretty well planted but the back of the vehicle was lifting.Has anybody else experienced this ?? I am wonder also if its just the vehicle or the tires. I was doing around 70 mph on the interstate when this was happening. Thanks for any input...

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[BigPhatPaulie]

Honestly that Pirelli is THE WORST AT TIRE EVER MADE. It has abysmal traction on anything but dry pavement and if the 20in size they use to put on F150's is anything to go by they wear terribly as well. A wider tire will be more susceptible to hydroplaning but a good tire should negate that

 

[Bamsi]

I recently took a 1900 mile trip in my Bronco Sport Badlands.. I noticed some severe hydroplaning in this vehicle. I currently am running 225/65 scorpion stocks.. I am wondering if going with a wider tire will magnify this problem ?? The front stayed pretty well planted but the back of the vehicle was lifting.Has anybody else experienced this ?? I am wonder also if its just the vehicle or the tires. I was doing around 70 mph on the interstate when this was happening. Thanks for any input...

Happened to me twice on wet pacement around 65mph, and under 55mph while rainning!

 

[Jmuns]

I only drove my Pirellis for about 800 miles or less, but plenty were through rain. I drove home through bad rain for 6 hours from SC to FL when I picked it up. And then through some severe rain in FL during the month I used them. Never felt the car slip once. There are too many factors to figure out what’s happening. Speed doesn’t matter if you’re lead footed and aren’t easy on the gas. I’m not saying anyone in this thread was, I’m just saying there are many factors beyond tires.

 

[Grey Ghost]

Happened to me twice around 65mph. Now, under 55mph while rainning!

What tires are you running?

 

[Grey Ghost]

I only drove my Pirellis for about 800 miles or less, but plenty were through rain. I drove home through bad rain for 6 hours from SC to FL when I picked it up. And then through some severe rain in FL during the month I used them. Never felt the car slip once. There are too many factors to figure out what’s happening. Speed doesn’t matter if you’re lead footed and aren’t easy on the gas. I’m not saying anyone in this thread was, I’m just saying there are many factors beyond tires.

I think road conditions are also a factor if the water doesn't drain off correctly..

 

[Bamsi]

What tires are you running?

Factory Pirellis

 

[Dantanman]

I recently took a 1900 mile trip in my Bronco Sport Badlands.. I noticed some severe hydroplaning in this vehicle. I currently am running 225/65 scorpion stocks.. I am wondering if going with a wider tire will magnify this problem ?? The front stayed pretty well planted but the back of the vehicle was lifting.Has anybody else experienced this ?? I am wonder also if its just the vehicle or the tires. I was doing around 70 mph on the interstate when this was happening. Thanks for any input...

I noticed it too. Night & day from my previous f-150. Falkens on my BL. . Never even slowed down in the truck. There was some pooling on the road. I used to drive right through them. Now I slow down and try to avoid them whenever possible. I get it, narrower track and lighter but it still caught me off guard.

 

[Grey Ghost]

I noticed it too. Night & day from my previous f-150. Falkens on my BL. . Never even slowed down in the truck. There was some pooling on the road. I used to drive right through them. Now I slow down and try to avoid them whenever possible. I get it, narrower track and lighter but it still caught me off guard.

Ha yeah ,it will catch you off guard the first time it happens after that you realize the possibility is there.

 

[21Broncosaurus]

I commute a lot and was having hydroplaning issues when it would rain. What I do now is put the car in sport mode every time it rains because it makes the vehicle feel more full time awd as opposed to running in normal mode where the vehicle is more fwd bias and when it detects slip it activates the rears but by that time it’s too late.

 

[magicbus]

Haven’t noticed it in 2 years of driving the same tires. Have you checked the pressure to make certain they haven’t been overinflated at the factory (as many have been)?

 

[Grey Ghost]

I commute a lot and was having hydroplaning issues when it would rain. What I do now is put the car in sport mode every time it rains because it makes the vehicle feel more full time awd as opposed to running in normal mode where the vehicle is more fwd bias and when it detects slip it activates the rears but by that time it’s too late.

I noticed that also, I have also tried the slippery mode and I think that corrected the problem a little better than sport mode. I am going to try that again next time it rains and see how it does.

 

[davidb1841]

On my 2014 F150 it came with Pirelli's...first thing we did was replace them. They are terrible in the rain....common knowledge even back then. My BFG Trail-Terrains have been excellent.

 

[gatornek]

I think it would make sense to drive in “Slippery” mode on the Badlands during bad rains.

I’ve never liked Pirelli tires. I will also be trying to get out of them as soon as I can.

 

[VampireX]

There's a mathematical formula to figure out the hydroplaning speed of your vehicle. If you know your vehicle's likely HP number and keep it under that when roads are wet, you're far less likely to hydroplane.

Roughly the formular is the square root of your tire inflation pressure x 10.35. So, if the amount of water on the road exceeds the amount of water the tire can displace (which may change with tread depth) and your speed is generally in the range of that formula, you're very likely to hydroplane.

Just as an example, my 2023 Big Bend stock recommends 33 psi. So sqaure root of 33 is 5.7445626 x 10.35, my vehicle is most likely to hydroplane at 59.4 mph.

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