This ISN'T my car, but one of the guys in town. He was 18 and was DOS (dead on scene). Car hydroplaned when he was doing around 35mph and he hit a semi-truck. Are our tires that bad to hydroplane? My '01 Max wasn't that bad and I haven't noticed it in my '03 either, but maybe I have been lucky.

http://www.thecabin.net/images/101003/4020_512.jpg

 

Looks like it failed the side impact test

 

Damn thats not funny to even joke about... Could happen to any of us with stock tires...

 

 

my car hydroplaned yesterday on my way home from work, i was going like 40-45. scary feeling! we guys with stock tires better be careful driving in the rain!

 

I'm no expert, but that car must have been going more than 35 mph when it hit.

 

Maybe the Semi truck was going the one going faster.....

Those jokers fly through the rain sometime with a full load...

 

Once the truck hit his brakes, if he had a chance to, he was hydroplaning also, even at "35mph" ther was a lot of force coming at that max. 18.... so sad that a life had to end so early.

 

thats the worst one I seen yet. You sure your friend wasn't speeding. Thats a lot of damage for 35Mph impact. Sorry for the Loss.

 

As mentioned 35mph is fast. believe it or not. Multiply the weight of the car by 35mph and see what number u get. That's crazy. Even if the car wasn't that damaged, that's a strong enough impact to cause all your organs to get detached. It doesn't take much for that. You'd be surprised.

 

Acually, it should be the speed of the truck multiplied by the weight of the truck.

 

Don't forget too...ocnce you start to slide you speed up,the road is no longer there as friction. Hydro-planeing is like being on ice.

 

This is the exact reason I didnt mind spending a grand on Pilot Sport a/s's...fear of this happening with the stock potenza's...scary for sure

 

Sad story. I started to hydroplane on the freeway at 40 mph also. I had some Toyo Tires on.

 

I would think that once you start hydroplaning you'd slow down. Not as fast as if u had traction and let go of the accelerator, but it still slows down from the current speed because you still have some friction with the road. Loss of traction does not equal loss of friction unless you are competely off the ground. Then you have something else to worry about.
That's just my opinion though.

 

I think
Boy was 18
Had a Fast Car
Running on not so good tires
It was raining out

Maybe made poor judgement, but HE WAS 18 in a Fast car

 

OK, 35 mph one direction, 35+ mph other direction - that was like hitting a wall at 70 mph, minimum. Truckers aren't known for obeying the speed limit, and neither are 18 year olds. So we are looking at more likely a 80 mph collision. Now does it seem more believable?

 

if I had the OEM potenzas when I was 18, I wouldnt be here now.. not really kidding...

 

i doubt that car was going 35 mph. if it was any other car, even an S500 AMG, it would fail the side impact test. semi just destroys u.

 

that max is demolished. May the driver RIP.

 

wow..Sorry to hear

Slamming into anything at 35mph is a lot. I totalled my mom's RX300 going 35mph around a turn when it was drizzling outside. Slid sideways into a telephone pole..luckily there was no passenger. The entire car was basically wrapped around the pole. The impact was so great it actually moved the pole a few inches!

Thank god my Potenza's wore out at 25K, I avoided driving the Max in the rain at all costs. W/the Conti's it's so much better

 

The side-impact test is assuming that the car being hit (in this case, the Max) has zero velocity in relation to the car doing the hitting (the truck). But since both vehicles were traveling towards each other, it would be more like 70mph as someone said earlier. It'd be like setting the Max up in the crashtest and running the ramming sled at it going 70mph... it's not going to pass THAT test.

 

I think that most cars are not designed for a 70mph (35 + 35from opposite direction) impact from a semi.

You do not speed up during hydroplaning. But if bad enough you will remain at constant velocity for an extended period of time. I agree with soreceur on this, loss of traction does not equal loss of friction. A car sliding sideways on dry asphalt still has friction but doesn't have traction.

This is a good reminder for us with Sh*tenzas that we need to be careful in wet weather. And if you're tires are worn out this will be a enought justification to go ahead and replace them.

Pray for the family of the 18 year old.

 

123

 

Word. I hydroplaned on the way to work today, scary. And my craptenzas are reaching the end of their life. I have snow tires waiting for November, and I will order new tires for the spring, too. I recommend others do the same.

 

It's a shame that a life was lost so early. And no matter whose fault it was everyone loses- some more than others. What's worse is that this could have happened to anyone of us because of the CRAPtenzas. Guess $1000 for the Pilot's wasn't that big a cost when I see what could have happened. My prayers go out to friends and family.

 

First of all get the terms correct....Hydroplaning rarely ever happens to people driving in the rain. There are several variables that must line up and the exact time in order for a car to actually hydroplane. The effect that most of us feel when driving in water is nothing more that a difference in the coeffecient of friction between our tires and the road. Now what most ppl. do is get scared and try to correct it and usually end up overcorrecting. Say for example you hit a puddle with your left tire....the coeffecient of friction is much less under that tire compared to that of the right tire....so naturally the car is going to want to pull to the right. This most always mistaken for hydroplaning. Just thought I would clear some things up......Look Ma i actually learned something in class

 

I don't think the tires are to blame. Driver error is most always the cause. I've had no problems with my Potenzas and see threads all the time with people blaming their tires for accidents when it was their careless driving. You have to know you're limitations and realize that you're not in a race car. You're driving a family sedan with a hot motor. Being 18 years old I'm sure inexperience was a major factor in the accident.

 

Wow that really sucks man, just brought my mood down. Best wishes to his family and may he rest in peace.

 

First of all don't assume I had my terms wrong, ****o. I didn't say anything about what happened, so how can you possibly assume I had my terms wrong? For all you know I hydroplaned for 50 yards, spun around 3 times and barely avoided a tree. I didn't hit a puddle. So shut the hell up.

From HowStuffWorks - Tires:
Hydroplaning can occur when the car drives through puddles of standing water. If the water cannot squirt out from under the tire quickly enough, the tire will lift off the ground and be supported by only the water. Because the affected tire will have almost no traction, cars can easily go out of control when hydroplaning.

 

I agree, but from a different perspective. People should know the limits of their car and tires, and the Potenzas are extremely limited. If you are aware of this and drive accordingly, you will be fine. I have not had any problems either, but I will still complain about how crappy these tires are while I am compensating for them.

 

Granted, driver experience, road design, and other factors all come into play in accidents, but I have no doubts myself that the stock potenzas are not capable in moderate to heavy rain.

I actually try to avoid the rain because the potenzas are so bad.
The tires are fine in light rain, but when u start accumulating some water on the road...they just can't handle it...

 

Wow that sucks.

Also if your stock tires are anything like mine, then they really suck. When Im on the highway I cant ride the far left or right lanes because my tires literally leave the ground. I can be doing about 60mph and hit a small stream of water on the highway and I see my rpms start to fly up and Im not even going anywhere and the tires are floating over the water ???

 

R.I.P. to that young man

 

stock tires = crap....i hydroplaned this morning on my way to school in MIST...only going around 30 on a decently paved road. almost hit the school bus in front of me that was braking....parents are convinced that new tires aren't necessary...maybe if i hydroplane while they're in the car they'll see that they are.

 

I would have had this same response until I replaced my Potenzas earlier this year. There is a HUGE difference in tires' ability to handle rain/water and the Potenzas are at the bottom of the scale.

 

jonbth, that was your response on the last thread about this.. at least youre consistant :/

 

No time to be an unfunny comedian-
R.I.P. I'm sure he has a family that
is devastated- Like someone said it could've been one of us, regardless of how it happened or who's fault it was- this is why its called "an accident"
This kid could've been a member of the org-

 

A. The post wasn't directed at anyone...it was just informational
B. I don't give a rats AZZ what you did, I was talking in general. You
were just the lucky one that had the last post when I decided to
reply
C. I am glad to see you are learning from How stuff works, that is a
good site, but unfortunately they usually only tend to scrape the
surface on topics....becuase if they didn't then I could learn
everything I need to know from them for free. What they said is
true, and that is hydroplaning, but that rarely ever happens to
automobiles hitting puddles. Like I stated before. I am no expert
but I can put you in touch with the expert from whom I learned if
you'd like.
D. Walk over to your fridge and grab a beer and chill the F*ck out.

 

He was going 35 when the Max hydroplaned. Nothing was said about the speed of the 18 wheeler that hit him...