Why get AWD?
- Thread starter Unobtanium
- Start date
It's not really the weight of the engine that will make the front tires more resistant to hydroplaning, but the deeper treads on the tires will help evacuate the water. You cannot compress water. So no matter how heavy the engine is, if the tires don't have deep enough treads, there will be no way to quickly evacuate water and so the tire will hydroplane. If the front and rear have equal tread, the rear would hydroplane later considering the front tires are sweeping the water out of the way. Same thing would happen with equally worn tires as all tires would have the same tread depth.
I agree that all four tires should be replaced at the same time. In the event that the driver is only able to replace a pair, I'm still of the opinion that the new pair of tires go on the rear. The issue with decreased stopping distance and traction during braking is a valid concern, but I think that can be mitigated by increasing your following distance when it is raining. I think oversteer caused by hydroplaning is a much bigger safety issue since most of the general population aren't skilled enough to handle it.
They wear pretty quickly- that's the main rub on OE Toyos and not untrue but I'd rather have good all weather traction/hydro resistance and replace more frequently..though they were priced egregiously they're not anymore, they're very good tires overall. That new Mich is all the rage now..Michelin..still say over(rated and priced) until proven otherwise but they look good on paper..other than lack of tread depth which leads me to think it would struggle in anything beyond light snow but large majority A/S tires do anyway I guess...
More weight on properly inflated tires will increase the contact patch and will help prevent hydroplaning. Most of the weight is on the front tires, and much more so when braking (although that doesn't seem to matter near as much to some). A RWD pickup and a FWD car both trying to accelerate quickly in standing water will spin their tires, but the pickup will spin much worse because there is little weight on the rear tires. Deeper tread wouldn't help, but a bed full of firewood would.
From Tirerack:
Hydroplaning: the Role Tires Play. The speed at which a tire hydroplanes is a function of water depth, vehicle speed, vehicle weight, tire width, tread depth and tread design. It depends on how much water has to be removed, how much weight is pressing down on the tires and how efficient the tread design is at evacuating water. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=16
From Smart Motorist:
Hydroplaning (called aquaplaning in Europe and Asia) occurs when water on the roadway accumulates in front of your vehicle's tires faster that the weight of your vehicle can push it out of the way. The water pressure can cause your car to rise up and slide on top of a thin layer of water between your tires and the road.
http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hydroplaning-aquaplaning.html
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Larger contact patch makes for more risk of hydroplaning.
More weight on the tread will increase the PSI, and help the tire to evacuate water faster/better.
This is why you rarely hear of a semi hydroplaning. Skinny tires, significant weight.
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
Yep, unless you're light and the snow is deep and you plan to go OVER it. Only thing narrow really sucks at is the drag strip and sand.
Last bit on the best tires on rear from me.
Scrutinizing new tires on rear axiom, tire age debate
"New-tires-on-rear" is a universal axiom propagated by tire manufacturers that doesnt hold up under scrutiny, according to John M. Baldwin, principal scientist at Exponent Inc. and Ford Motor Co.s polymer technical expert for more than six years.
Using figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and interpolating from the rules of straight probability, Mr. Baldwin said the minimum number of vehicles in the U.S. with at least 9/32 inch of tread on the front and 4/32 or less in back is 8.8 million.
"Youd think there would be a heck of a lot of accidents because of this, based on the videos," he said. "From NHTSA accident statistics, we should be able to pick out whats going on with new-on-rear vs. new-on-front."
Yet a statistical analysis of NHTSA data did not indicate an increase in accidents when new tires were on the front of vehicles, Mr. Baldwin said.
He was hired as Assistant Vice President at Discount Tire not long after this was published and has not spoken on it since.
Full article here: http://www.tirebusiness.com/article...onew-tires-on-rearrsquo-axiom-tire-age-debate
Scrutinizing new tires on rear axiom, tire age debate
"New-tires-on-rear" is a universal axiom propagated by tire manufacturers that doesnt hold up under scrutiny, according to John M. Baldwin, principal scientist at Exponent Inc. and Ford Motor Co.s polymer technical expert for more than six years.
Using figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and interpolating from the rules of straight probability, Mr. Baldwin said the minimum number of vehicles in the U.S. with at least 9/32 inch of tread on the front and 4/32 or less in back is 8.8 million.
"Youd think there would be a heck of a lot of accidents because of this, based on the videos," he said. "From NHTSA accident statistics, we should be able to pick out whats going on with new-on-rear vs. new-on-front."
Yet a statistical analysis of NHTSA data did not indicate an increase in accidents when new tires were on the front of vehicles, Mr. Baldwin said.
He was hired as Assistant Vice President at Discount Tire not long after this was published and has not spoken on it since.
Full article here: http://www.tirebusiness.com/article...onew-tires-on-rearrsquo-axiom-tire-age-debate
I have a FWD 2012 RAV4 and am about to buy a new CX-5. When accelerating from a dead stop into a corner with the RAV, the front end does some extreme wheel hopping . . . this is downright scary! Will the new FWD CX-5 do the same? Will a CX-5 with AWD eliminate the problem?
GJ-Molestor
Banned
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- 2011 BMW 528i, 2015 Mazda 6, 1995 Nissan Maxima Manual
No, the mazdas chassis is much more composed and shouldn't do that. AWD will help, but not necessary
