[dc4all]

Well it's about that time for perpetually sunny San Diego to see a touch of rain and I have no idea what to expect from my little friend as far as wet weather handling characteristics with high psi. My tires are at 45-50 psi (I can't decide where to keep them yet).

Can anyone fill me in on what to expect?

Thanks,
Vic

 

[LoNOx 1]

I have ran @ 60 psi for almost 70000 miles and it handles well as long as your tires are in good shape. I had over 50,000 on the last set and it started getting skittish is a lot of rain. I had less than 1/16" of tread though. At factory pressures they would have hydroplaned anyway. I don't think you will tell much difference in anything except the ride and mpg.

 

[dc4all]

Cool! I have brand new oem tires so the tread is good. So, no problems running 60 psi?

 

[Resist]

Re: Driving in the rain with high tire pressure. Newer owner

Can anyone fill me in on what to expect?

What do think any over inflated tire will be like on a wet road? I'll give you a hint....have you ever driven on slippery roads?

Just drive carefully and you should okay.

 

[dc4all]

We have a combination of fairly heavy traffic AND drivers that see rain relatively rarely.

So lets assume a panic stop on a wet, slick road (never a good thing to begin with). Would controlling an Insight at 50 psi be more or less difficult than the same car at stock inflation #'s?

 

[LoNOx 1]

Here is an article posted from another website:
http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=19&id=27281

 

[b1shmu63]

That's a great article and a must read for Insighters.

Higher pressure=smaller footprint=less surface area=less hydroplaning.

Makes sense.

 

[LoNOx 1]

Higher pressure=smaller footprint=less surface area=less hydroplaning.

Makes sense.

Yes, it does after seeing it in print and experiencing the handling I agree with the article. The only time I can tell that I could skid out of control easier is on oil and chip roads that have a little loose chat on top of a solid blacktop surface. But, if you learn to drive in the groove, all is well.

 

[Guillermo]

That's a great article, but when high tire pressures are used the smaller contact patch reduces the grip available for stopping and accelerating in a straight line. (Drag racers and ice racers use extremely low presssures to increase straight line grip).
Regardless of car, tires or traffic conditions always leave plenty of room in front of your vehicle. You should always be looking far ahead 1/2 mile or so so you know what is happening before the 5 or 10 vehicles in front of you know even have a clue what is going to happen. With practice you can predict traffic patterns and predict what cars are going to do anywhere around you before they even think of doing it. Makes driving much more fun, interesting and elimates 90% of "surprises".

 

[dc4all]

Great article and thanks for all the replies.

I'm going to wait for a sat-sun am rainfaill and go to an empty mall parking lot at 6am and practice my 'skids'. Thats how I learned snow stops at Albany in my college days.

 

[Guillermo]

I'm going to wait for a sat-sun am rainfaill and go to an empty mall parking lot at 6am and practice my 'skids'.

Very wise :idea:
I wish everybody did that now and again, imagine the number of lives that would be saved!

 

[Dougie]

Everybody should be aware of how their car handles under hard braking. Sort of ironic how the most important life-saving thing you ever do is something that hardly ever gets tried out in advance.

Note: Putting the brakes on HARD at 60 mph on dry pavement can be quite a scary experience!