You should re-read @OrangeBlue's explanation (post #28 in this thread)...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.
Amen... thanks!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...
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.
This is exactly on point, it explains very well how the world works. Besides we should not forget who Abraham Lincoln was, https://supremestudy.com/essay-examples/abraham-lincoln/ I think this person actually deserves this and we should not mock history.'Abraham Lincoln is fake news'
- John Wilkes Booth -
I remember a long time ago I got some sporty wide tires to replace the stockers. Terrible in the wet and snow.No significant difference.
The factors involved in hydroplaning are tire pressure, tire tread, speed, and weight. Number of driven wheels doesn't matter.
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.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.