Hydroplaning

[sajohnson]

At the risk of stating the obvious, there are 3 main factors that contribute to hydroplaning:

1) Speed
2) Tread -- both design and depth
3) Depth of water

Edit to add 2 other factors:

4) Tire width
5) Amount of weight on the tire

Drivers have control over 1 and 2.

Number 3 can be tricky. Some roads are perfectly smooth and graded properly. Here in MD they've experimented with a top layer of asphalt that is porous -- even heavy rain flows through to the standard/solid asphalt underneath and drains off onto the shoulder. It's pretty impressive. On that surface there is rarely any concern about hydroplaning.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are roads that are rutted and have poor drainage. It might be sprinkling, or no longer raining, but the ruts and low points may be filled with water.

Number 2 can vary a lot. Some tires resist hydroplaning very well, while others do not. That's a quality that CR tests and rates. I give a lot of weight to hydroplaning resistance and always buy tires that are rated 'very good' or 'excellent'.

Bottom line -- drivers have to know the capability of their tires and be familiar with the road.

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[Cyber Sport]

Our OB came with Michelin tires, no issues here.

 

[gatornek]

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.

I was speaking in more general terms. A pair of same size racing slicks will be more prone to hydroplaning, all other variables the same, including tire pressure, as its counterpart all-season.

But yes, hauling @$$ into standing water would be a foolish notion.

 

[sajohnson]

Out of curiosity, I just checked CR's 2023 tire ratings. Generally speaking, most tires in most categories are rated at least 4/5 for anti-hydroplaning. A few are 5/5 ("excellent").

One category that does not do well is "winter/snow truck tires". Even the top-rated Michelin Latitude X-Ice is only rated 2/5. Handling is also just 2/5, and wet braking is 1/5 (poor):

Within the other categories like "all-terrain truck" however, they are all rated 'very good' or 'excellent' for anti-hydroplaning. They do have weak points like "wet braking" though.

It's worth looking at the results and then deciding which tire best matches your criteria.

About the best across the board is the Michelin CrossClimate SUV -- no ratings below 4/5, and some (like snow traction) are 5/5. We have them on my wife's old SUV -- a '97 RAV4.

 

[Mark S.]

Out of curiosity, I just checked CR's 2023 tire ratings. Generally speaking, most tires in most categories are rated at least 4/5 for anti-hydroplaning. A few are 5/5 ("excellent").

One category that does not do well is "winter/snow truck tires". Even the top-rated Michelin Latitude X-Ice is only rated 2/5. Handling is also just 2/5, and wet braking is 1/5 (poor):

Within the other categories like "all-terrain truck" however, they are all rated 'very good' or 'excellent' for anti-hydroplaning. They do have weak points like "wet braking" though.

It's worth looking at the results and then deciding which tire best matches your criteria.

About the best across the board is the Michelin CrossClimate SUV -- no ratings below 4/5, and some (like snow traction) are 5/5. We have them on my wife's old SUV -- a '97 RAV4.

Given Pirelli's history with F1 tire development for both dry and wet pavement, I would assume their tires do pretty well. I don't have an account with CR to check.

 

[Barry S.]

Given Pirelli's history with F1 tire development for both dry and wet pavement, I would assume their tires do pretty well. I don't have an account with CR to check.

The heck with CR. If you say it, I believe it.

 

[sajohnson]

Given Pirelli's history with F1 tire development for both dry and wet pavement, I would assume their tires do pretty well. I don't have an account with CR to check.

Probably so. Most of the tires CR rated did very well at anti-hydroplaning (except for the winter tires shown). If there is one brand that does consistently well, it's Michelin. They make some mediocre tires also, but they usually have one or more tires at the top of most categories.

I'm happy to check the ratings for any specific make/model tires -- just be aware that with so many on the market, CR can only test a fraction of them.

BTW -- I'm no CR fanboy, they have their limitations, but an online subscription is all but guarantied to save time, hassle, and money. If nothing else their website is good for A/B comparisons of product features that may not be obvious.

 

[Mark S.]

Tirerack.com rates the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 quite well, including wet traction. Based on owner reviews, most people like these tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/pirelli-scorpion-as-plus-3

 

[cprcubed]

About the best across the board is the Michelin CrossClimate SUV -- no ratings below 4/5, and some (like snow traction) are 5/5.

I have the 235/65-17 Michelin Cross Climate 2's on my BS. Cheers!

 

[sajohnson]

Tirerack.com rates the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 quite well, including wet traction. Based on owner reviews, most people like these tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/pirelli-scorpion-as-plus-3

Unfortunately, CR has not yet tested the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 -- but the models they have tested did fairly well:

The "overall score" is out of 100.

All 3 are rated "very good" (4/5) for anti-hydroplaning. Of course, as I mentioned above, most of the tires CR has tested are rated 4/5 or even 5/5 for that category.

About Tire Rack -- I first bought tires from TR back in ye olden times, pre-internet. They advertised in the car magazines. Now that we have a Costco membership I try to buy from them, but they did not have the Michelin CrossClimate SUV tires, so I went with Discount Tire and got a great deal. I just got lucky -- IIRC there was a rebate from Michelin and a sale at Discount Tire. We ended up saving around $150 compared to Costco, out the door. But that was unusual.

Back to TR. Their prices are not as good as they used to be. I recall buying 4 Michelin LTX tires for our pickup truck for $49/each -- literally HALF what local tire stores charged. So even after paying for mounting and balancing the savings were substantial. The last couple times I checked, it would end up being more expensive to buy from Tire Rack and pay for installation. That's in part because most tire stores are charging more to mount & balance tires purchased elsewhere, and also because TR's prices have crept up over time (relative to other sources).

Even if one does not buy from TR, they are a good source for tire specs and technical info. Their testing OTOH, while useful, seems too limited to really show the differences between tires. Their test results often read like the car magazines car ratings: "They're all beautiful, but only one can win!" -- the cars' overall scores were typically super-close: 478; 473; and 469 (just making up numbers). So close that any difference is almost meaningless. The car mags were not going to slam any particular make/model -- you had to learn how to read between the lines.

That's not always the case with TR's testing of course, but tires are often rated very close to each other. In part that's because the testing is limited by the size of their track. Differences are amplified by higher speeds and different surfaces. In addition, many of their results are subjective.

Finally -- the customer reviews can be useful, but they remind me of Amazon reviews in some ways. For example, many are written right after the owner had the tires installed. They will rave about how much better the new tire is than the old. Of course, almost ANY new tire will be better than tires that were several years old and down to the wear bars. Also, when a reviewer says that the new tires have great snow traction (or wet/dry/ice braking, etc.) compared to their old brand X tires -- there is no way to determine that objectively. Going by "feel" and memory of how the old tires behaved in a snow storm 3 years ago doesn't cut it.

I do not mean to sound overly critical of TR. It seems to be a well-run company and they have an impressive webpage with a lot of useful information. It's a good resource.

 

[Mark S.]

I do not mean to sound overly critical of TR. It seems to be a well-run company and they have an impressive webpage with a lot of useful information. It's a good resource.

Always try understand your sources.

 

[Luvamutt]

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.

Just curious, does this mean the hydroplane danger “begins” at 59.4 mph and continues for higher speeds, or is it that the 59.4 number is the exact speed at which hydroplaning is most likely?

 

[AlpharettaOuterBank]

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.

what does Eco use more of?

 

[AlpharettaOuterBank]

Our OB came with Michelin tires, no issues here.

Same as you, and mine Hydroplane like a mofo fresh out the gate. Just the littlest bit of moisture.

Im not used to this level of caution. I used to drive a 2010 Camaro with pirellis and maybe because the car is so low, i dont know, Rain feared me. Ive driven subrbans, and even scions, always drove my style. But this bronco, nope i have to drive different in the rain. I was a bit surprised because commercials have the thing, scaling up walls and what not so i was surprised lol.

 

[Mark S.]

what does Eco use more of?

I don’t believe any of the road-oriented modes (ECO, NORMAL, SPORT) change the front/rear bias ratio. The system is nominally front-wheel-drive with a power transfer unit that sends power rearward when the front wheels slip. I believe more power will go to the rear tires more often in SPORT mode because the increased throttle response makes front wheel spin more likely.

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