I’m wondering about my car i heard it has good tires for now a month ago but, I think its ready to change them because when I go from a stop sign my power wheel doesnt grip the road and i think its spinning out on it. I go to second gear cus its manual and it works im confused if thats hydroplanning. It happens when it rains so it could just be the oil and water but, why does it grip on second gear but, not first??
What’s the tread depth of these tires?
Your car can apply more torque to the wheel in first than it can in second. For winter driving you have to learn to use much less throttle.
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That is NOT hydroplaning. That is just poor wet grip.
Hydroplaning is where your tire floats on a cushion of water - like water skiing… This occurs at high speed and is caused by low tread depth, deep water, low inflation pressure, and high speeds.
To fix YOUR problem, change tires, or use less throttle (in other words, drive gently.)
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No, that’s not hydroplaning. You are just using too much throttle on take off on wet roads. When shifting to second you are already moving.
Hydroplaning is when the tires are riding on the water and loose contact with the pavement, this happens at speed, not when standing still.
There are tires that have good dry traction, but lousy wet traction. When you do buy new tires, go to tirerack.com and/or consumer reports to research which tires have better wet traction.
You can Google hydroplaning to get a more in-depth information.
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Notice how little change there is in power at different throttle openings when the engine in this chart is running at 1500 rpm and how much difference there is in power at different throttle openings at 5000 rpm. If you are using a gear that has the engine turning 6000 rpm, you go from lots of power to engine braking as you close the throttle, resulting in skidding with both too much and too little throttle. This is why it’s easier to be gentle on the throttle in a higher gear.
When I have that wheelspin problem taking off in first gear no matter how gently I try to give it gas, the problem always goes away if I upshift to a higher gear.
Also, hydroplaning is not an all or nothing thing. You can be almost hydroplaning with a wedge of water under the leading edge of the tire supporting a large percentage of your car’s weight but still have the rear of the contact patch in contact with the pavement, resulting in highly reduced traction.
You heard it has good tires , what does that mean and from what source ? Do a web search on how to read the date the tire was made plus are they over inflated . Old tires can become hard and not have the traction they should have .
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How old are the tires? Older tires can harden, so even if they have a good amount of tread they can spin in wet conditions.
Sure you’re not just slipping on the painted stop line? Something like 10 or 15 years ago I started noticing the paint they use for road markings (around my city, at least) seemed to get slipperier. It also got easier to see in the rain at night, so I suspect whatever they put in it to make it more visible in bad conditions lowered its grip.
Unless you state otherwise, I tend to think this might be a situation mentioned by texases; old tires with hardened rubber.
Many years ago I had a set of Kelly tires on my prior Lincoln and those tires had no traction even when new. The simple act of removing the foot from the brake pedal on a damp street would cause them to spin without even touching the throttle. On the highway with rain; forget about it as the car was a death trap. Those tires were gotten rid of PDQ.
It’s a typical problem with, “generously powered” small cars.
The solutions are:
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Replace the tires with “soft”, “sticky” tires for better grip. The miles you’ll get is awful and the price is higher but you’ll love the handling. See Tire Rack reviews
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Or be gentle on the throttle and clutch when launching.
Glass beads will do that.