The cure for hydroplaning is simple: drive slower and on rain tires with lots of tread.

 

Now, that's a different story (although over here on Florida's right coast [you figure out what pun I mean...], it's white Benzes).

We were up in Sebring last weekend (for no particular reason than just to get away), and up there, in the land of "sweetened or unsweetened" iced tea, it was pickups with oversized tires. I'm glad we took the Forester. HPH

 

Where do we pit to get these rain tires mounted?

 

Happens everytime the tread on my rear tires get too low. I use it as my indicator that I need new Tires ASAP. I've had two sets of SO2s and Fuzion ZR1's and had the same behaviour on all sets. Just something you have to live with.

 

I always slow wayyyy down when its raining. My S ALWAYS hydroplanes otherwise on wet roads. I generally don't take the S out if its raining here, but many times we've had to drive through heavy rains when we're going to events.

 

 

I am going to throw in my two cents on this topic.

I guess from my motorcycle road racing days in the rain on old Dunlop K-81 (just good old black rubber) tires I am just hypersensitive to the road feel in the wet. I used to be pretty fast in the wet. Barbara (my +1) still gets very nervous when I am driving in the wet.

A few points that IMHO make a difference when driving in the wet:

1. Never use cruise control.
2. If one places their thumbs lightly over the spokes of the streering wheel at the 9 and 3 position (perfect in the S) it increases the "road feel" and makes it easier to sense what the front tires are doing.
3. I was too lazy to search for the thread that had the formula on how to compute the hydroplane speed of your vehicle. I believe the original post was either by DLQ (Dave) or Canberra (Roy). If I remember correctly based on the tire sizes and weight of the S (AP1) the hydroplane speed was 59 MPH.
4. I believe it was DLQ (may have been Canberra) and I that had a discussion at SF05 concerning hydroplaning. That by overinflating your tires, therefore making the contact patch slightly convex, it helps give the water a place to go to get out from underneath the tires. This "makes sense" as an underinflated tire would be concave and tend to trap water under it.
5. Some roadways with heavy truck traffic (I.E. the NJTP, PATP, and I-95 tend to get "rutted" due to the heavy loads of truck traffic and the water pools up in the ruts rather than run off the "crown" of the road as it should.
6. The rule that is impressed upon students at the Skip Barber School is: "When in doubt, both feet out. When in a spin, both feet in!" This translates to: When the car is unstable take both feet off all of the pedals and steer where you want to go. If you loose control, and start spinning, once one is headed in the safest possible direction (I.E. Not into on coming traffic) If you put both feet in (Brake and clutch) you will turn the wheel over to Sir Issac Newton. As in: An object in motion tends to stay in motion and will have inertia take you in that direction.
7. Then if all else fails there is always the old motorcycle credo: "When in doubt, GAS IT!"

P.S. I make no claims that this will work for everyone. It is VERY dependent on your skill level and sensitivity to road feel. It is just my opinion.

 

The original Potenza S-02's were terrible in the wet. I now have Potenza 750's they are much better.

 

I had a BIG MOMENT on my second lap around Beaverun on Sunday morning at FCT04 as an instuctor. When the instructors arrived at the track on Sunday morning it was raining big time. One my second lap, on a track that I had never been on before, coming over the rise into T-1 I got "BIG TIME" sidewards. I took both feet out and once I got it pointed where I wanted to go I gassed it and all was well.

I LOVE THIS CAR!

 

Sounds like an exciting moment Matt. When I first replaced the S-02's with the 750's, I had a big moment in the dry. The 750's don't slide out gradually, they seem to have 100% grip, than it goes to zero quickly.