I hydroplaned repeatedly on the interstate tonight, it was raining hard
but there wasnt a lot of water accumulated on the road surface.
This rarely happened with my previous car, which had 225 mm tires.
Do Maxima's wider tires make it more susceptible to hydroplaning?
Would it be safer to use narrower rims & tires for winter?

 

Wider tires are very definitely more prone to hydroplaning. Narrow tires tend to 'cut' through the water, while wide tires tend to ride over the water.

Those who use different tires for the winter normally use a slightly narrower tire with a more open or winter style tread pattern.

Those who would maintain speed on wet roads should be running on tires that have wide grooves ('all-weather' style tread), and be aware that, as the tread wears down, there is less room for water to escape.

OEM passenger car tires normally come with about 11/32nds inch tread depth. They should be replaced when the tread is worn down even with the top of the wear bars (2/32nds inch of tread left).

But once the tread is around half gone (around 6/32nds to 7/32nds of tread left), I begin to ease back when the roads are wet, as I know the ability of the tire to disperse water through the tread grooves is diminishing.

 

george rem, I agree with lightonthehill that wide tires are worse in rain and snow. A wide tire has a greater surface area to distribute the load. As a result, there is less pressure per square unit. With less pressure, it is easier for the tire to ride up on the water. I see you have a 2005 Maxima. How many miles are on your car?

The tirerack.com is a great place to learn about tires. You might want to check it out. If you get a lot of snow, dedicated snow tires are obviously superior to any all season tire. However, snow tires do not handle well.

You specifically mentioned hydroplaning, which can happen year round, not just winter. According to the Tirerack, our Goodyear Eagle RS-As are considered to be an “all season high performance” tire. As such, they are designed more for handling and less for bad weather. If you happen to need new tires and hydroplaning is an issue for you, you may want to consider “performance all season” or even “grand touring all season” tires. You may find that a slight tradeoff in handling is worth an improvement in foul weather driving and tire lifespan.

 

Thanks. I have ~11,000 miles on the car.

What I'm thinking is getting a set of cheap steel rims for
winters, and putting 225 tires on them. I assume that one
can use 225 rims/tires on the Maxima, right?

 

I know the topic was about hydroplaning, but has anyone here driven their Maxima in the Snow? How does it handle? I live here in Colorado and we don't get much DEEP snow, usually the 3-6 inches forcasted, but more black ice.

I have the 04 Max with the 6spd/MT so i don't have the traction control etc and wanted an idea of what to expect (i know driving style is the big issue)

Thanks...

 

How fast are you driving when you experience hydroplaning? Try slowing down before switching tires. The BF Goodrich Traction TA might be a good tire for your climate.

 

be light on the pedal. with all our ponies, we can spin very easily. RSA are pretty bad. My Dunlops aren't too much better. But if you take it slow, you can make it in the snow and wet starts. You just have to play with it to test the limits safely when traffic is clear.

With swapping winter wheels, you can go as small as 17" by 7" which is the SL size. search TireRack like mentioned for tires and customer ratings.

This winter I have the option of leaving the Max covered at home in the snow. But last year I was able to get out of my snowy spot w/ a good deal of spinning and staying in 1st. I just kept in in 2nd while driving on snow and lightly accelerating from a stop in wet to avoid hydro.

 

i just switched to bridgestone tuarnza's because they are rated so high on tirerack for wet weather handling. they are excellent.

having totalled one car (and almost myself) because of hydroplaning, i want the best wet weather tire i can get. i'm not going to approach the handling limits on a tire anyway, so the "trade-off" is worth it.

 

I have F1's and have had no problems with them in the rain. When it snows which is not to many times during the season the car stays in the garage. Its best to use mass transit during these times.

 

BTW. you have to drive more carefully in bad weather.

 

george rem. If you get new rims, permit me to make a suggestion. Make certain your rim has a 66.1mm hub center bore. Our rims have a 5 X114.5 bolt pattern, a 40 mm offset, and a 66.1 mm hub center. The hub center is really important and almost never mentioned.

The hub center is that **** that sticks out from the center of your brake rotor. It corresponds to a hole in the center of your rim. The rim hole should fit exactly on the ****. (Insert joke here.) It needs to be perfect. Technically, the weight of the rim should rest on the hub and never on the lugs. If the rim rests on the lugs, it may not be perfectly centered. If the weight rests on the lugs, it can also create undue wear on the rim and the lugs with each tire rotation. Overtime, this can create a major problem.

If you buy the rims from Tirerack or Discounttire, they will make sure the hub center is correct. If you buy the rims off EBay or someplace else, ask. If the hub center is smaller than 66.1mm, the rim may not fit, even if it has the same bolt pattern. If the hub center is larger than 66.1 mm, call Discounttire. For $15 or so, they can mail you hub centric rings to ensure a perfect fit. Good luck.

 

Great advice MDS.Never heard of Hub Center,like you said, but makes a lot of sense.I totally agree with your suggestion of tirerack and Discount Tire. They do a lot of research on wheels for specific vehicles.Most local shops and especially e-bay-they don't even mention offset-you only find out about offset when your tires start rubbing.

Constant hydroplaning-something is definetly wrong with your tires.once in while is normal but not constant.Check treadwear, maybe over inflation.Tires are very important in handleling-only thing touching the ground.Good Luck and be SAFE.

 

I agree, put F1's on if you want the absoloute best rain traction available...my car is planted in puddles

 

a bunch for your replies. Very helpful information.

Getting a second set of rims is too costly. So I'm going to get
new tires. Are snow tires (I'm thinking Blizzaks) good in rain?

 

> How fast are you driving when you experience hydroplaning?

Only 60 mph. And Cavaliers and Civics and the like were passing me

 

Bridgestone Turanzas ? Why not Michelin Pilot Sport A/S? They are
apparently very good in wet conditions as well as snow:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ot+Sport+A%2FS

 

> I agree, put F1's on if you want the absoloute best rain traction available

But F1 are high performance summer tires, are you sure the're good in rain?

 

george rem. before you buy anything, talk to an expert. With regard to the Goodyear Eagle F1, I understand it is a fantastic tire. But as you mentioned, it is a summer tire. Summer tires are designed to be great in dry and rain. However, they are disasters in the snow. The tread is all wrong for winter. If it snows, you won't have the traction to get out of your driveway. Please be aware of a summer tire's limitations. It is probably not the right tire for your needs. If you notice, the Tirerack doesn't even provide a comparative grade for snow/ice traction.

Here's some bonus information. In the state of NJ, if you drive in the snow, you must use a tire that is designed to drive in snow. Any all-season tire meets the definition. Summer tires do not. If a person gets into a snow related accident while driving summer tires, he or she has almost no defense in a court of law. It is considered an act of negligence. (Of course the damaged party needs to be smart enough to notice the summer tires.) Good luck in your research.

 

That's my move too!

 

You have Eagle F1 GS-D3?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

 

You definitely do not want all-season tires for rain; all-season tires are made with hydrophilic tread compounds which are bad on wet surfaces. Summer tires will be better on wet roads, because they use hydrophobic tread compounds.

 

I definitely agree that RS-As are among the absolute worst tires for bad weather conditions. I had them on one of my previous cars and almost slid into the side of a Target because of wet pavement/ice.

Bridgestone RE92s: I almost slid into a busy intersection in the '02 and I was going slow.

 

I can attest for the Michelin Pilot A/S. Put them on at 37K on my 2002 - I live in Mass and was sliding in the slightest bit of water. They were wonderful in snow. I am just searching for new tires (probably the same) they lasted to 128K!!!! Worth the extra money. I commute on the turnpike 2hrs R/T. I may look at some Continental's I saw on Tirerack; there are many more options for my tires then there were in '02.

 

So they're good on dry and wet and snow?

Also, how can a set of tires last 100,000 miles?!