rkirshner

may i ask a question about driving in the rain . everything else being equal , is the incidence or frequency of hydroplaning higher at higher speeds ?
thank you

Frank 993 C4S

Yes

grrrmonster

Everything will happen st much lower speeds. Hydroplaning will likely occur 45-55 mph. Be careful. Take advantage if lower thresholds of grip to develop a more aware feel for what the car is doing. That's when skill breakthroughs happen

HenryPcar

High performance cars with wide tires are always more prone to hydroplaning.

MyNameIdeasWereT

Also keep in mind that the road/track conditions are most slick when it first starts raining and all the oils on the road surface separate to the top.

LuigiVampa

There is also a big difference between the first few laps and later when/if you manage to get some heat into the tires. Even in the rain you can many times build temp and that helps the tires.

That being said, if you are hydroplaning you have lost contact with the pavement and heat in the tires won't help you. Staying out of standing water, if you can, is one of the keys to maintaining grip.

dgrobs

Also, please keep in mind, wet paint is much more slippery than wet pavement.

(i.e. Turtles and Rumbles are slicker than the pavement in front of them). Ask me how I know that....

Wild Weasel

I hydroplaned down the front straight at WGI and scared the hell out of myself. It was definitely a learning experience!!

I got on the brakes to slow down for Turn 1 and the car just didn't slow down. It did eventually, but I'd never had that happen before and the feeling was downright surreal.

PGas32

Dumb question that someone here will be able to answer - Toyo RA-1's need to be full tread to run in the rain, correct? I ran one lap on shaved tires in the warm-up at Summit Point yesterday morning and couldn't drive over 60MPH without some serious hydroplaning. I immediately called it quits when Hunt and a couple of others blew by me on the front straight, yet I still almost drove straight off the track in Turn 3.

LuigiVampa

If the water can't exit the tire efficiently you get the hydroplaning you are experiencing. When I was running in SPC I had my rain Toyos groved (forget the correct term) so that water could get pumped out more effectively.

I ran Pirelli rains at Summit yesterday and had a blast once the tires warmed up. Just one or two "oh crap" moments such as when I took turn 3 really fast and tracked out on the painted curbing. As someone just said "don't do that".

The key to driving well in the rain is to practice and gain confidence. At the morning practice session I believe I was one of five cars on track but three times as many competed in the race. Why wouldn't you want to learn the grip of a track you are going to race on later in the day?

sbelles

Yes, they are much better at full tread but it's still not a great rain tire. The worst thing you can do is take a new set out in the rain without scuffing them first. I had a bunch of moments yesterday but it was a blast!.

will968

Just make sure you can see!

Here's my view from enduro practice at Summit




Didn't want to race after that until a friend convinced me to use shaving cream - worked like a charm.

sbelles

I think the OP got his question answered and the thread has already been hijacked so I might as well post this up here. The curbs in three weren't that bad in the rain really, as long as the wheels were straight. First time I ever even thought about a pass on the curb in 4.




Orange Enduro start

The start is at about 2:40. Things went well until about four or five laps in when visibility went to hell. It got better once it warmed up in the car. At least I didn't have clouds in the car like Will. ^^

mark kibort

yes, by definition... higher the speed, the greater the hydroplane forces. what are you really asking?

LuigiVampa

Luckily, I had FogX and still have my a/c so fog wasn;t really a problem. However, the spray was crazy! Sometimes going into a braking zone I was thinking "I hope no one has spun". During some periods of spray I was looking out my side windows to get an idea where I was.

C'mon Mark! This doesn't have to happen EVERY thread.