Sponsored

Hydroplaning Hybrid vs AWD EcoBoost?

JimParker256

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Aug 9, 2022
Threads
5
Messages
1,546
Reaction score
2,025
Location
Cedar Park, TX
Vehicle(s)
'22 Area 51 Hybrid FE, 2014 Impala
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Clubs
 
In 2005 I had a 05 BMW XDrive = AWD and I NEVER had hydroplaning issues at all! Ever since then, I have always purchased an AWD here in FL for that sense of confidence when the torrential rains fall and I am out and about driving. Just an opinion, not based on any "physics" - regardless of Albert Einstein math or Abraham Lincoln's opinions.
You should re-read @OrangeBlue's explanation (post #28 in this thread)...

I see literally dozens of crashes every year caused by drivers of Pickups and SUVs who believe that their AWD/4WD somehow increases their traction in wet / slippery conditions. There were six vehicles that went off the road between my rural home and the nearest grocery store during the last major ice storm. All six were 4WD pickups or SUVs. All six went off the outside of a curve, clearly indicating they were driving too fast for the conditions and just slid off the road. Fast forward a few months, and we had a significant rainstorm. Again, on the drive from my house to the grocery store, there were three vehicles that went off the road (outside of turns again), and one that slammed into a bridge abutment. Again, all of them had 4WD/AWD.

4WD does absolutely nothing to improve adhesion (friction) between your tires and the road. People who drive 4WD vehicles way too fast in torrential rains on on icy/snowy roads, believing they are somehow immune from the laws of physics eventually become statistics.

I'm glad you like the BMW AWD, but if you think THAT is what is keeping you safe driving during torrential rain, you are naive at best. The least expensive car sold in America, with good tires and driven at appropriate speed, regardless of FWD or RWD, will have FAR more resistance to hydroplaning than an AWD F150 (or Beemer) with worn tires.

There is a reason they are called the "Laws of Physics." But push those limits, and eventually we'll read about you in the Darwin Awards...
 

WasChops

2.5L Hybrid
Banned
Banned
First Name
Tom
Joined
Aug 16, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
610
Reaction score
529
Location
Tampa, Florida
Vehicle(s)
2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Ltd + Maverick Lariat Hybr
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
You should re-read @OrangeBlue's explanation (post #28 in this thread)...

I see literally dozens of crashes every year caused by drivers of Pickups and SUVs who believe that their AWD/4WD somehow increases their traction in wet / slippery conditions. There were six vehicles that went off the road between my rural home and the nearest grocery store during the last major ice storm. All six were 4WD pickups or SUVs. All six went off the outside of a curve, clearly indicating they were driving too fast for the conditions and just slid off the road. Fast forward a few months, and we had a significant rainstorm. Again, on the drive from my house to the grocery store, there were three vehicles that went off the road (outside of turns again), and one that slammed into a bridge abutment. Again, all of them had 4WD/AWD.

4WD does absolutely nothing to improve adhesion (friction) between your tires and the road. People who drive 4WD vehicles way too fast in torrential rains on on icy/snowy roads, believing they are somehow immune from the laws of physics eventually become statistics.

I'm glad you like the BMW AWD, but if you think THAT is what is keeping you safe driving during torrential rain, you are naive at best. The least expensive car sold in America, with good tires and driven at appropriate speed, regardless of FWD or RWD, will have FAR more resistance to hydroplaning than an AWD F150 (or Beemer) with worn tires.

There is a reason they are called the "Laws of Physics." But push those limits, and eventually we'll read about you in the Darwin Awards...
Amen... thanks!
 

Waterick

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
First Name
, seeRichard
Joined
Oct 27, 2022
Threads
4
Messages
951
Reaction score
948
Location
Laurens county SC
Vehicle(s)
'24 Maverick Lariat, '14 Prius, '83 Mustang 5.0 co
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Clubs
 
It's always a best practice to avoid the use of cruise control with rain. Remember too, that in any area where it has not rained for some time, the road will be extra slippery until oil and any other accumulations have washed off. Not just hydroplanning is the danger.
 

OrangeBlue

2.0L EcoBoost
Banned
Banned
Joined
Oct 13, 2022
Threads
4
Messages
412
Reaction score
609
Location
Hogtown
Vehicle(s)
2022 Mav
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
So true. I haven't driven in snow for decades, but remember clearly driving home from work on I-83 in PA during a serious afternoon snow squall that had started to lay and getting very slick.

Most of us were driving 30-40mph, except for the 4x4 trucks who were driving the speed limit, in other words 30 mph faster than traction allowed. Within the next 10 minutes I saw half a dozen of those same knuckleheads in the ditch.

Good times.

I see literally dozens of crashes every year caused by drivers of Pickups and SUVs who believe that their AWD/4WD somehow increases their traction in wet / slippery conditions. There were six vehicles that went off the road between my rural home and the nearest grocery store during the last major ice storm. All six were 4WD pickups or SUVs. All six went off the outside of a curve, clearly indicating they were driving too fast for the conditions and just slid off the road. Fast forward a few months, and we had a significant rainstorm. Again, on the drive from my house to the grocery store, there were three vehicles that went off the road (outside of turns again), and one that slammed into a bridge abutment. Again, all of them had 4WD/AWD.
 

Sponsored

forkspider

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
First Name
Nathan
Joined
Jun 27, 2022
Threads
4
Messages
72
Reaction score
106
Location
Boca Raton, Fl
Vehicle(s)
Ford Maverick
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
South Floridian here. Fwd hybrid mav 1 week in. 2 good rain drives no problems. Zero issues. Even compared to the 25+ vehicles I’ve owned, let alone tires selections. Fantastic fwd in rain.
 

janieferris

2.5L Hybrid
New member
First Name
Janie
Joined
Apr 27, 2023
Threads
0
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
Track Maverick
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Last edited:

realshelby

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
First Name
Terry
Joined
Nov 20, 2022
Threads
5
Messages
533
Reaction score
695
Location
Houston
Vehicle(s)
1969 GT 500, 1965 Mustang GT,
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Some don't understand the difference between wet road traction....and hydroplaning.
Completely different conditions!
Hydroplaning is the water lifting the tread surface away from the road surface. Think water ski...Tire size, tread pattern, tread depth, and speed all have an effect on hydroplaning.
Puddling of water on the road surface caused by intense rain and/or lack of drainage are prime areas where hydroplaning occur.
If you don't think an all wheel drive, especially the newer power diversion style of full time all wheel drive, don't have an effect on safety under hydroplaning conditions I suspect you have no time driving them under those conditions.
When you hit this deep puddle of water the wheel that hits it tends to have a lot of resistance to rolling forward and that can pull the vehicle to that side. Modern all wheel drive vehicles can compensate for that by diverting power to stabilize the vehicle. You don't do anything, and it happens faster than you can do anything anyway. This obviously helps maintain control but it also keeps a driver from letting off the throttle....which can actually make things worse in true hydroplaning situations.
 

GPSMan

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
Banned
First Name
John
Joined
Jul 28, 2022
Threads
52
Messages
4,325
Reaction score
5,117
Location
CA
Vehicle(s)
Many
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Clubs
 
If in routinely wet, but never sub-freezing conditions, add a few more psi to your tires. 10 psi should do it, or up to maximum pressure on the TIRE sidewall.

This is anti-water ski. You want your tires to cut like a knife, not float like a ski.

Ask your local highway patrol. I'm gonna bet a box of donuts they inflate to maximum pressure for maximum control.

The car manufacturer's sticker is the recommended "all weather / average conditions" pressure. Nothing illegal or hazardous by adding more air, and in wet conditions, it is literally safer. This is the opposite when in sand, snow, and ice when you'd want softer tires and lower air pressure.

There is no such thing as one correct pressure. Just like there is no such thing as one correct oil change interval. Conditions change. The sticker is a reference, a starting point for the typical driver in typical conditions.

I will add, that adding 5 to 10 psi to all my cars over the past 25 years has increased the tire longevity and boosted fuel mileage. It's the single easiest trick you can do to save money.

A more firm tire wears more slowly. Hands down. Don't double the pressure. There is such a thing as too much. I highly recommend adding 5 to 10 psi.
 

RobN

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
Joined
Oct 7, 2022
Threads
1
Messages
48
Reaction score
54
Location
OR
Vehicle(s)
2023 Maverick XLT Hybrid
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
People have different understanding of "rain," too. In Oregon, in the Willamette Valley, if I turned of cruise control every time it rained I'd never use cruise control - and I use it all the time, paying attention to what it's doing and manually cancelling it all the time, too.

Oregon tends to get a lot of light to moderate rain - we tend not to have thunderstorms and torrential downpours, certainly not downpours that last more than a minute or two. There are several other places in the US that get more rainfall (measured in inches) than where I live - but few have rain MORE OFTEN, year round. So your image of rain and mine might be very different.

Everything is built for drainage, because we constantly have rain, and standing water on the roads is infrequent in most places.

But the first rain after a long summer - dangerous. Those rare heavy rains - dangerous. And snow - very dangerous. We don't get much snow in the valley, have few snowplows (mostly sand or chemical de-icer, not salt), and little experience driving in those conditions. So many people think they don't have to slow down for snow (especially those 4x4 owners) that we have a ridiculous number of accidents in less than an inch of snow.
 
Sponsored

Timothyd

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Nov 10, 2021
Threads
35
Messages
2,630
Reaction score
1,961
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
Buick Encore, Miata, motorcycles
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Clubs
 
No significant difference.

The factors involved in hydroplaning are tire pressure, tire tread, speed, and weight. Number of driven wheels doesn't matter.
I remember a long time ago I got some sporty wide tires to replace the stockers. Terrible in the wet and snow.
 

RedRider

2.5L Hybrid
Banned
Banned
First Name
John
Joined
Mar 5, 2023
Threads
6
Messages
357
Reaction score
427
Location
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2013 Fusion, 2023 Maverick on order
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
If in routinely wet, but never sub-freezing conditions, add a few more psi to your tires. 10 psi should do it, or up to maximum pressure on the TIRE sidewall.

This is anti-water ski. You want your tires to cut like a knife, not float like a ski.

Ask your local highway patrol. I'm gonna bet a box of donuts they inflate to maximum pressure for maximum control.
Yeah, I'd take that bet considering that my son is a police interceptor driver and knows for absolutely sure that this is totally wrong information. You don't drive very much in hydroplaning conditions, do you? Its all about sipes in the tread and having flexible sidewalls and reasonable weight on the tire, not about making the contact patch as hard as a rock and smaller than designed. And while you can get a bit better mileage out of them, no, they will not last anywhere near as long as normal-pressure tires. Real rain tires are not as hard as dry tires, have lots of siping to channel water away from the contact patch, even on a racecar. That's also why ice tires for example, don't have large offroad lugs and instead have a large amount of small siping, much softer rubber and no sidewall strength. They don't last as long as dry weather tires, but you can stop in half the distance or less, and unless you drive at ludicrous speeds for the conditions, don't hydroplane. Channelling water out from under the contact patch is the correct trick on rain, snow or ice.
 

GPSMan

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
Banned
First Name
John
Joined
Jul 28, 2022
Threads
52
Messages
4,325
Reaction score
5,117
Location
CA
Vehicle(s)
Many
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
Clubs
 
Channeling and sipes, 100% 👍🏻.

This is not directly related to tire pressure. You want/need both.

In the tires you have right now, no matter what make or model, it's universal. It's a pissing contest only if you want to say 5% safer, 10%, or 12.7%. More pressure = safer on wet roads. In almost every situation. More pressure (without going nuts overboard) will make the tire last longer. People get hung up on exotic exceptions. I focus on what most likely.

If you argue with physics, you will lose.

In full disclosure I worked 3 years for a rubber manufacturer / supplier of raw materials to the major tire manufacturers. Never made tires or designed tread patterns. But I know recipes for a couple dozen types of rubber. Fascinating stuff on the molecular level.
 
Last edited:

Jman79

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2023
Threads
8
Messages
484
Reaction score
587
Location
North East, USA
Vehicle(s)
Saturn Vue, Honda Odessey, Ford Maverick 🤞MY24
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Best car I've ever driven in the snow, rain, and through small lakes on the southern state parkway at 75mph was my 88' camry.

Like many others comments here it had nothing to do with it's FWD anemic 4cyl. It was the old school style skinny tires. Sure it used to roll a bit more taking on ramps at speed, but it sliced through snow and water better.

I'm going skinny when it comes time to replace my stock tires. Skinny all weather, I'd love to run snow tires but it didn't even snow here last year 😟
 

Adrienhyatt

2.0L EcoBoost
Member
First Name
Camde
Joined
Oct 7, 2023
Threads
0
Messages
10
Reaction score
4
Location
Macao
Vehicle(s)
Sadiewhite
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Any vehicle, when driven at high speeds, is susceptible to hydroplaning due to the fundamental laws of physics. From my observations, many individuals who experience loss of control during heavy rainfall either have worn-out tires, are exceeding safe speeds, or are operating 4WD/AWD vehicles. As such, the emergence of Baji 999 App https://bj999bet.com/app/ has taken the betting world by storm. This innovative and user-friendly app offers a wide range of betting options, real-time updates, and secure payment methods, making it a top choice for both novice and experienced bettors. By equipping your vehicle with appropriate tires and practicing responsible driving, you can minimize the risk of hydroplaning, regardless of whether it's front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD).
Sponsored

 
Last edited:
 




Top