this might explain why do our cars hydroplane...
 

don't know if anyone post it before


http://www.try-net.or.jp/~miyu/s2000/talkto/talk.html

click on the [0025]. checkout the tire wear on the left pic

see http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
for a rough translation of the page

Your kidding, right? Other than bald tires, what's the jest of the story?

I've heard of people on this forum saying that they hydroplaned with full tread on thier tires. Honestly I just think that it is driver error.

If you look closely and compare, this is a missmatched set of S02s. The left is an OEM S2000 SO2, The right one is a standard aftermarket SO2.

Jonas

Oh boy.

Hydroplaning is NOT driver error. Crashing as a result of hydroplaning is.
Hydroplaning is NOT the result of mismatched tires. Nearly bald tires, matched or not, is another story.

Hydroplaning is the act of a tire losing grip with the road surface due to its inability to siphon away the water between the road and the tire's contact patch. This is a result of five primary factors - the size (width) of the tire, the tread design, the weight and speed of the vehicle, and the amount of water on the road. Basically, if the amount of downward pressure (determined by vehicle weight and tire width) is less than the amount of pressure needed to force any water aside, the tire will hydroplane. Speed factors in by affecting the amount of time the tire has to push aside the standing water - going faster means more water to push aside, which in turn results in a greater liklihood of hydroplaning. The tread design is a major factor in how effectively (quickly) the water can by siphoned away - the grooves in the tires benefit you in two ways, they reduce the contact patch (increased pressure) and give water and channel to exit off to the side (reducing the needed pressure)(Aquatreads work well in the rain by giving a 3rd escape route, down the middle, in addition to going left or right, further lowering the required pressure - however they can still hydroplane if you drive too fast through too much water). S02s are designed to siphon off a small amount of water, but at a fairly high speed - the tread design is similar to that of an racing rain tire. Bald or nearly-bald tires hurt rain handling because they have a larger contact patch (less downward pressure) and no channels for the water to escape (more pressure needed).

So why do S2000s hydroplane? A fairly lightweight car, on wide tires designed primarily with dry traction in mind, with only minimal water channeling. Go too fast in the rain, and voila, you hydroplane. If you don't want your S2000 to hydroplane, either slow down, or buy 5" wide tires.

As an aside, hydroplaning does not discriminate. I've been in a 70,000 lb semi that was hydroplaning - not fun! I've also been pulling a 3000 lb car trailer that was hydroplaning all over the place, even though the 4500 lb vehicle pulling it wasn't. Not quite as bad, except I kept envisioning the trailer sliding into the adjacent lane and taking out some poor sap in a geo.

are you serious?

whatever you're smoking, can i please have some.

Cars began to hydroplane at speeds of less
than 30mph so there is a decorum of truth to his statement. The affects of hydroplaining can be affected by driver input, yes, but even the best drivers will hydroplane.

so what?

then you should be going 20mph NOT 30mph.

it's the DRIVER that determines how he/she drives in the weather conditions that are prevalent at the time.

last time i checked, my car didn't make me do anything i didn't want to do or THINK i could do....

Yes, I am serious. Hydroplaning in and of itself is strictly physics. It can and will happen to any vehicle, regardless of driver. It isn't driver error, even though the driver does have some control over the result of it happening.

Hydroplaning happens far more often than most people realize. Typically it only occurs on one wheel at a time, and the other 3 usually keep the car planted. Problems occur when multiple wheels hydroplane at the same time. When this occurs, a bad input by the driver can result in a loss of control. This situation would be aggravated if the vehicle was accelerating (acceleration can be in any direction - forward, reverse [braking], or sideways [turning/sliding]). However, a driver ultimately has little or no control over whether or not a car hydroplanes - he controls only 1 of the 5 factors I mentioned - only control over what s/he does in response to the hydroplaning.

billy, i know the physical reasons for hydroplaning....

all i'm saying is, like everything else, the driver DETERMINES the actions the car takes.

if you are prone to hydroplane at 50, maybe you should go 40 or 30 - drive accordingly.

if you see standing water in the distance - slow down. it's the drivers responsibility to be aware of his/her surroundings - not the car's.

if you are prone to hydroplane b/c your tires are bald - then get new tires.

etc., etc.

the car can't make decisions, but WE can.