Which tires are good for wet weather?

ZENGHOST

ZENGHOST

Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
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I just spent a few seconds hydroplaning into oncoming traffic on the way home, and I'm looking to swap out my tires for something that's gonna help prevent that sort of thing. It's raining, but not that hard, and I was actually trying to not hydroplane at the time so I wasn't speeding or driving erratically. I had this problem a few times within the last few months where it felt like my steering was buckling or something but it would only happen for a split second then everything would be all right. I was starting to think I was slipping because it happened during a wet spell, but this pretty much cinched it. I came within a few inches of a head-on collision and had there been a car in the lane next to me I would have slammed into him when I swerved out of the oncoming lane. My car is a 2001 VW Jetta that I bought brand new and is running the original tires. The car is a couple of months over 3 years old with less than 30,000 miles on it. Tires are currently Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus. The front tires have a little wear on the outside edges, but I wouldn't consider the tire bald. In the end it is going to come down to what I can afford, but I want to buy the best that I can afford--I don't want to experience that again anytime soon.
 
I don't know if they still make them, but I used to get some insane grip with GoodYear Eagle GT +4's. I knew that the NYPD used them as well.
 
I used to get Dunlops (forgot specifically the model) for my late 90's Jetta. I was always happy with them.

My advice? Go down to a good tire store and talk with someone knowledgable. The one I go to first asks the car model, then into questions about how I drive, my concerns, etc. From there they would make a few recommendations.
 
Hmm, I'm a little surprised your tires are hydroplaning that badly. Have you confirmed the tire wear by checking the tread depth?

If you're looking for summer tires, some excellent choices for wet and dry performance are the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, Pirelli PZero Nero, and Toyo Proxes T1-S.

If you're looking for all-season tires, some excellent choices for all-weather performance are the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, Dunlop SP Sport 5000, BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDWS, Pirelli PZero Nero M+S, and Continental ContiExtremeContact.
 
The best tire in the world will hydroplane if the correct conditions are met, michelin tires have performed well for me on front wheel drive ,rear wheel drive and in commercial vehicles ,all of the major tire brands claim to have a tire that in rain sticks like the car is on rails, but exceed any of the parameters and whoops.
 
BladeWork said:
...My advice? Go down to a good tire store and talk with someone knowledgable.....
Click to expand...

I second that advice. I've owned practically everything there is to own on four wheels - and the first thing I do when a new vehicle joins the "family fleet" is to go and see "our tire guy". I've dealt with the same guy and the same shop for the past 15 years - wheels, tires, shocks, accessories - and he's always given me the right advice.

I put new tires immediately on every used car that I've bought for myself or for my kids; I even put new tires on brand-new, factory-fresh cars if my guy thinks it's worth the investment for the type of driving that will be done.

Personally, I think buying decent tires is the cheapest form of "insurance" you can purchase for the safety of your family.
 
Plenty of good companies. Pirelli and Michelin are probably the top two now. Yokohama, Dunlop, and Goodyear, etc...

Check your tire pressure first though. Most people don't check it often enough. If that is off, it is possible that was the main factor in the loss of traction.
 
The compound, be it hard or soft, how well its inflated and how wide it is (psi contact) and tread pattern will all make a differance in wet weather.
 
I've driven on alot of tiires. I remember when the hydrophilic compounds first were being popularised. I never got great performance. But I live in Canada, where snow tires are essential. And I'm lazy. So one summer I didn't take my snows off. They are better than my superduper Dunlops, wet or dry.
Pirelli Snowsport 240, Z rated snowtires!
If you can get them on sale somewhere, they're amazing.
But like all pirellis, they break easy. :grumpy:
 
I do intend to go down to the tire store and ask them for a recommendation but I wanted to stop in here and get opinions first. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to tires (and a lot of other stuff), so I wanted to pick up some information before heading in to a shop. I realize that there is no tire that's going to prevent hydroplaning from ever happening, but there have to be some tires that are going to work better than others. Thanks for the help--I'll check out the links.

Regarding the tire pressure--my tires had been underinflated up until about a week ago when I filled up and they check out okay now. The underinflating may have been responsible (or partly responsible) for the wear on the outside edges as the rest of the tire treads look fine.
 
Tire store recommendation?
Chances are, it's gonna be what they have in stock with the highest markup...

do yourself a favor... unless you're bosom buddies with the guy down there, don't ask him for anything more than the time of day...
 
one of my buds from college managed a NTB store in my area (currently a NTB area mgr)and told me the michelin pilot radials were the best around bar none, he also gave me a GREAT deal on them


greg
 
oh, and yes, i like them a lot, gen'lly only drive my impala in bad weather (nice weather drive my corvette, it doesnt like wet weather) and must say the pilots are really really good tires, no complaints at all.
 
I've been in the tire business over 20 years and I certainly wouldn't ask a store what is best. With todays access to information, do a little research on the Internet. Try the BMW or Corvette forums.

I, personally, stay away from name brands and really like the tires by Hankook and Falken. Absolutely the best bang for your buck. You only need a Summer tire in Hawaii and that allows to you to get some awesome high performance
tires for year round.

Just a thought on the hydro planing. Are you rotating? Very important and sometimes that will clear up a situation like yours. Does sound like you need a wheel alignment, though.

Win
 
MelancholyMutt said:
Tire store recommendation?
Chances are, it's gonna be what they have in stock with the highest markup...

do yourself a favor... unless you're bosom buddies with the guy down there, don't ask him for anything more than the time of day...
Click to expand...

OK, then let me qualify my (our) advice to go to a tire store. :)

In my own case, I'm talking about a small, independently owned wheel and tire specialty shop - not one of the national chain tire stores, a department store, or Walgreen's.

During one visit, my tire "advisor" sold me a less expensive tire than the hyped "super-tire" I had asked for (he had both in stock AND he can obtain ANY brand I could ask for), because the cheaper tire was more suited to the weight of my car and my driving style; during another visit, I brought in my daughter's "new" used car to have him put new tires on it and left without buying anything because he said the tires on it were exactly what that car needed.
 
I would recommend any Bridgestone or Firestone tire that has the UNI-T technology. I use to run the Firestone FT70c, which did great in the wet weather. I was really impressed when we had some ice a few years back, the tires gripped well in the ice. They have been replaced by the Firestone LH30's. I currently run Bridgestone BT70's, which also have the UNI-T technology. Another excellent running tire in the rain and ice. We had an ice storm this year, and I was able to make it to work once again.( :( )
I have been very happy with these tires. I wanted to replace my FT70c's with the LH30's, but the price was right on the Bridgestones. :)
Plus I think you can still do the 30 Day test drive at any Mastercare Bridgestone/Firestone. Drive on the tires for 20 days, if you don't like them, get something else.



Blades
 
Having had a jetta for over 200K miles, the best results we had at a reasonable price where bridgestones sold at Sears. Unfortunately I can't remember the model, but it was the only performance tire for that size rim they had. They where also excellent in the snow. Gazing at the firestones possibilities, I don't think they make that model tire anymore

We also put on a goodyear aquatred in the last year that we had the car and those worked fine as well.
 
ZENGHOST said:
Regarding the tire pressure--my tires had been underinflated up until about a week ago when I filled up and they check out okay now. The underinflating may have been responsible (or partly responsible) for the wear on the outside edges as the rest of the tire treads look fine.
Click to expand...
An underinflated tire will Hydroplane at a lower speed. If I got caught in the rain riding my motorcycle I used to stop at a gas station and pump some more air in em. About 5 more psi or so. Minimum Full Hydroplaning speed on a sheet of water can be calculated at 9 times the square root of tire pressure. That figures to be about 54 mph for 35 psi. Of course partial planing can be lower and braking, especially with abm brakes, is possible. Full out planing (no tire rotation), brakes are useless. Riding close to the center line when the road is clear helps. Smooth road surface and the presence of oil and the minumum is lower. If conditions are right (continuous sheet of water) ANY tire will hydorplane at the right speed(9*sqrt psi).
 
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