Hydroplaning

Wolf256

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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)?
^ This right here. I live in Western Washington, you know rain central. I had over 8000 miles on my Pirellis before I upgraded to the Wildpeaks. Only issues I had were when they were still at 41 psi from the factory. Once the pressure was lowered to 35, no more issues. I keep the Falkens at 35. Obviously, they end up at 33 (start up) in cold weather and higher in higher temps, but no hydroplaning even through puddles at speed.
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Wolf256

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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.
Discount Tires was great for me. They also gave me a decent amount for the Pirellis.
 

mikldom

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Let me play devils advocate here..... In heavy rain, you should lower your speed. Most roads in the US are so shitty and not leveled or planed correctly that water just sits in the depressions of the existing tire tracks. Most cars will hydroplane when you are driving in depression full of water at 70 mph. I drive over 1,000 miles a week on all sorts of roads. Interstates and Freeways in NC are the worse with VA/WV being close second. If you find that you are hydroplaning at 70mph (which is too fast for heavy rain with sitting water), slow down until you are not. It is not a symptom of the Bronco Sport as my last daily driver does the same and my wifes car when I take it on trips.
 

Bucko

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Over-inflated perhaps?
 

Mark S.

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Over-inflated perhaps?
All other things being equal, higher inflation pressure will increase hydroplaning speed.

OP's problem here is too much speed, not poor tire quality. Here's a study on automotive tire hydroplaning. Here's an exerpt:

Presuming for the moment that sufficient water is present for hydroplaning to occur, the speed at which a vehicle will hydroplane may be predicted with fair accuracy solely on the basis of tire inflation pressure. This can be more easily understood by realizing that the tire is flexible, and deforms under changing loads. It turns out that the ratio of weight carried by the tire to the area of tire contact on the pavement remains about the same, and this ratio of weight to area will always be very near the tire inflation pressure.
As @VampireX noted, the formula to determine hydroplaning speed is the square root of tire pressure multiplied by 10.35. This equates to roughly 60 mph for vehicles with tire pressure set to 33 psi.

Bottom line: Slow down when it's raining. You never know when you'll come across a stretch of road with enough water on it to support hydroplaning. When you do, you can lose control in an instant.

Here's a video showing how fast it can occur:

 


CrashBend

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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...
Tire width, tread depth, tire pressure and of course speed all come into play to determine when hydroplaning will occur. There is a formula for that, maybe another member can provide it.
 

gatornek

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Discount Tires was great for me. They also gave me a decent amount for the Pirellis.
I did not know that Discount Tire offered a trade-in program. Interesting. 🤔
 

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Tire width, tread depth, tire pressure and of course speed all come into play to determine when hydroplaning will occur. There is a formula for that, maybe another member can provide it.
And Mark S. did.
 

Barry S.

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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.
Sounds like something Mark S. would write. I guess you beat him to it.🙄
 

Barry S.

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All other things being equal, higher inflation pressure will increase hydroplaning speed.

OP's problem here is too much speed, not poor tire quality. Here's a study on automotive tire hydroplaning. Here's an exerpt:



As @VampireX noted, the formula to determine hydroplaning speed is the square root of tire pressure multiplied by 10.35. This equates to roughly 60 mph for vehicles with tire pressure set to 33 psi.

Bottom line: Slow down when it's raining. You never know when you'll come across a stretch of road with enough water on it to support hydroplaning. When you do, you can lose control in an instant.

Here's a video showing how fast it can occur:

There you are. That's quite a video.
 


Sheepdog4119

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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 took my 2023 bs heritage on a 2k mile road trip and it did great in the rain. I dont recall the stock tires but no issues at 70-75mph. Didnt even use the rain
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 took a 2k mile road trip in my bs heritage and got hit by heavy rain for most of the trip but no hydroplane issues. Stayed at 70-75 the entire way. I don't recall what tires come with the heritage but i was very impressed.
 

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Surprised to hear of hydroplaning issues with Pirelli tires at such low mileage. Granted, the Scorpion ATR that comes on the BS has been around for over 17 years now but the fact that Pirelli still sells the tire indicates it has been a great tire for them. They've probably made updates to the construction and materials during that time as well.

I've always had great service from Pirelli tires and have used them on several cars over the decades. If/when I get a BS I would be perfectly content with OEM Pirellis. The only OEM brands that have really been truly poor for me are Goodyear [Integrity], Michelin [Latitude Tour], and Kumho [Solus]; those were some truly awful tires and models.
 

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I did not know that Discount Tire offered a trade-in program. Interesting. 🤔
Discount Tire store locations do take trade ins toward the purchase of new tires. Pricing is set at the individual store level. Contact your local store and they can help you with pricing.
 

gatornek

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Tire width, tread depth, tire pressure and of course speed all come into play to determine when hydroplaning will occur. There is a formula for that, maybe another member can provide it.
Agreed. I was about to say. Its definitely not just a factor of tire pressure. Tread has a HUGE EFFECT on hydroplaning. All hydroplaning is, is allowing water to get in between the rubber and the road. With good tread channels, that threshold is prolonged.
 

Mark S.

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Agreed. I was about to say. Its definitely not just a factor of tire pressure. Tread has a HUGE EFFECT on hydroplaning. All hydroplaning is, is allowing water to get in between the rubber and the road. With good tread channels, that threshold is prolonged.
I don't believe tread pattern will make a difference at 70 mph if there's enough standing water to support hydroplaning, but I'm not brave enough to test my theory.
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