Reply to "High-performance tires and cold, wet weather"

FYI

I've lost total traction in the rain in a '71 Mach 1 Mustang riding on BF Goodrich tires & a '71 Chevy Suburban running on Goodyear truck tires. Neither set of tires were summer only high performance tires.

The Mustang lost traction when the rear tires crossed over the painted lines crossing the road at an intersection. Those wet lines were like grease. Once the tires broke free & started spinning, there was enough water on the road to allow the car to hydro-plane.

The Suburban lost traction in a braking manuever, I tried to brake too quickly, and exceeded the grip of the rear tires (a common malady in trucks with no load in the rear). That long Suburban went sideways quickly and swung like a pendulum.

I have driven the Pantera in the rain on 315 section Dunlops with no problem, even at 70 mph. I haven't driven it on the new PS2's yet. I have learned from my mistakes, grown older and more cautious. When it starts to rain, I normally pull the Pantera over into one of the slower lanes and just cruise. Let the guys with all season tires & anti-lock breaks go fast. If I want to go faster I slowly increase speed in small increments and drive for several miles at each increment before going to the next. If the rain starts coming down harder, I slow the vehicle down. I also leave a lot of braking room between me and the car ahead of me, so I never have to brake too suddenly.

I have found for each vehicle & tire combination there is a rate of acceleration, and a rate of deceleration at which the tires will break loose when the road is wet. There's also a speed at which the car will hydroplane. You've got to carefully experiment a bit to find these limits, but so long as the limits aren't exceeded all is well. Air pressure also affects the wet traction limits of a tire, an over inflated tire is a handicap on a wet road. I run my tires near the recommended settings. Tire temperature should be an obvious consideration for any auto enthusiast, it doesn't matter what form of racing you like to watch or participate in, everyone knows the tires must be warmed up before you rock and roll. So as the temperatures decrease, so does my speed.

Driving in the rain is also why I will not modify the motor in my Pantera to the point where it comes on the cam too abruptly, reacts too violently, or is in any way too hard to control. I want my Pantera capable of smoothly pulling away from a stop at low rpm and accelerating smoothly too.

Finally the tread of any tire is designed to efficiently channel water away from the contact patch when the vehicle is traveling forward and possibly backwards. The tread does not channel water when a tire is sliding sideways, which is why it is so hard to regain traction in the wet once the car starts to spin.

Having written all that, Marcus, you know you have my heart felt sympathy. I am glad you were not injured.

George