TRUE

All the oils that have absorbed into the road or thickened with grime during the majority of the year will be reactivated during the first rain.  Oils are lighter than water and rise to the surface once liberated as their contaminants dissolve and sink, leaving nothing BUT oil and water between your tires and the road.  It’s everywhere and even when you can’t see it, it’s still there.

FALSE

In drag racing and off-roading this might be true but on uncontrolled, real world paved roads, it is fatally false.  When you decrease pressure the tire warps reducing the size of the “contact patch” (the part of your tire physically making contact with the pavement at any given time).  Less contact = less traction for braking and steering.

Most modern cars tell you your tire pressure is incorrect, with a light like one of these, on the dashboard instrument cluster.

Here is an illustration of tread contact width with correct and incorrect tire inflation pressures.

FALSE

Boy have we seen some heated discussions over this one!  Some people argue it is different for front-wheel-drive/all-wheel-drive cars and rear-wheel-drive cars.  We agree with this in dry conditions as everyone has a different driving style but in the rain there is one way that works best for the average driver;  the good tires belong in the rear.  As you begin to hydroplane the last thing you want is your front tires catching first.  Once they do it is very likely the back end will continue sliding and swing full around.  If the rear tires catch first it creates “drag” in the rear and it is more likely your rear end will stay behind you where it belongs.  When you stay nose-first you are more likely to be able to regain control of the car.

FALSE / TRUE

Most cars made these days have disk brakes on all four wheels.  If you have drum brakes, they will be located on the rear wheels only and your front brakes will be disks.  Disk brakes do not lose much stopping power when wet; drum brakes are the ones effected.  If you have drum brakes just apply gentle, increasing pressure, until you feel them working efficiently, after going through a puddle and once in a while when driving to make sure they work well.  You should not have to “pump” the brakes; it’s more like “riding the breaks”.  If you feel the car slowing well, then it’s working.  No mystery mechanics there! 🙂

• Replace windshield wipers if they don’t seem to work very well.  Any  auto parts store should have them and in most cases they install them for you for free.
• Glass treatments are great products that extend the life of your windshield.  Auto parts stores carry these products as well.  Rain-X seems to be the leader in this arena.  At the very least, it is the most readily available product.

NOTE:  Treat the outside of all your windows AND your side mirrors.

• If you still aren’t seeing very clearly, your windshield is too pitted from sand and rocks and you should look into replacement.  It may be well worth the $250-$300 or so to replace.  Most collision deductibles are higher than that and it only takes a few hours or so.

• Replace tires if necessary.
• Set tire pressure to the correct psi.
• Get an alignment done on all 4 wheels.
• Replace damaged suspension parts.

There are many situations due to improper alignment where your tires are not contacting the ground well.

TIP:  Firestone locations offer “Lifetime Alignment” service.  Buy this package if you plan on having your car for more than just a few years.  Pay once and all alignment checks and adjustments are free for the life of the car!  As of now there is NO CAP on how often you can have them check and adjust.  No matter what location you buy the package at, it is good for all other locations nation wide.

Once all your traction hardware is optimized, it’s time to test your software.

DO NOT TEST WITH CHILDREN IN THE CAR

• First make sure your car has ABS.

Put the key in the ingition and turn it to the ACC position.  All the lights in your dash will illuminate.  Look for “ABS”.

• Go to an empty parking lot during or right after a rain.

We recommend wet conditions because you don’t have to go very fast to lock up the brakes.  Remember, the point is to lose traction.

• Roll at about 10mph and, while steering straight, apply heavy break pressure.
• If you hear a pretty distinct rumbling and feel a distinct vibration in the brake pedal your ABS is working.  You will still slide a little but it should not be much and it should be a straight slide.
• It may feel like your car really isn’t braking well but that’s normal.  That is the minimum stopping distance your car can achieve in those conditions so take note of that and try to remember not to expect anything better than that in the future.  Keep in mind, the faster you are going, the worse it gets.
• If you don’t hear or feel anything other than sliding tires your ABS has failed.  Please see your mechanic.

NOTE: If you are nervous then you should definitely be doing this test.  You are only nervous because you don’t know what to expect form your car.  You WANT to know how your car performs so you can know how to control it.   You you will only slide a little bit.

It generally takes twice the distance to stop your car in the rain.  The safe gap for between you and the car in front of you in dry conditions is 1 car length per 10mph you are traveling or 4 seconds travel time between the two of you.

When cruise control is active it is can interpret the resistance from water building up in front of the wheel as the car slowing down.  It will may accelerate to compensate possibly pushing your car past it’s gripping speed or may even downshift to a lower gear increasing the sudden change which could initiate a hydroplane situation.  Hydroplaning is when your tire cannot absorb or divert the volume of water it comes in contact with fast enough to drive through it, so, it drives over it lifting your tire off the pavement.

With all the bright light reflecting from the clouds it can be difficult to notice when your windows are fogging.    Here are some conditions that contribute to foggy windows:

• Dirty windows – The contaminants on your window help trap the moisture.  It is recommended that you clean your windows once a week if you really have fogging problems.
• Excessive moisture in the car – Take off your jacket and wrap it so the wet side is trapped in the center of the bundle.  It will be more difficult for the water to evaporate.  If you have an umbrella, wrap it up and put it back in the case if you have one.
• Breath – Do not try to stop breathing!  Just know the more people you have in the car, the worse it will be.  You are also responsible for more lives so anticipate the problem as best you can.  If the fog takes hold it will take much longer to clear it.

It’s very important to drive at your own comfort level.  Being nervous greatly reduces your ability to judge situations ans maneuvers.  If you know you are uncomfortable driving as fast as everyone generally drives on particular roads, avoid them.  It’s better to get there late than a complete nervous wreck, or not at all.