Recovering from hydroplane

[240Dave]

On the street or track if you go faster than the tires can get rid of the water or run through a "stream" and start hydroplaneing, what are the correct steps to take in order to come out of it w/out a spin?

[THX1138]

Stay calm, be smooth, don't overreact.

If one or more wheels hydroplane and you're traveling in a straight line, gently back off the throttle.

If you're cornering and the fronts skate out on you, ease off the throttle (transfers some weight onto the front wheels) and unwind the wheel a bit until you regain traction. If the tail starts sliding in a corner, countersteer. Backing off the gas, especially if you do it too quickly, will just take weight off the sliding tires and in lower gears on slick surfaces can actually cause the rear wheels to lock up.

If you run across a stream in the road, one end of the car might twitch for a beat, but if you keep the wheel and gas steady you should just have a little flick and continue motoring on.

How to prevent all this? Slow down just a bit in the rain. Buy good "summer" tires that are designed for wet traction. They're better than alleged all-season tires in anything but mud or snow, and if you're smooth and careful they're not bad in the white stuff. Start autocrossing if you don't already, and pray for rain one race day. Nothing too heavy though, working a course when you're cold and wet sucks.

[direb0y]

Originally posted by THX1138
If the tail starts sliding in a corner, countersteer. Backing off the gas, especially if you do it too quickly, will just take weight off the sliding tires and in lower gears on slick surfaces can actually cause the rear wheels to lock up.

sometimes oversteer comes out of the blue, you can be making a turn slowwwly, and the ass end still wants to come out. i know that our cars (stock) are hardly speed demons, but they can still get pretty hectic.

i also have ****e tires, so, er...

[Bill Roberts]

Steer ahead firmly holding the wheel, push the clutch in to not induce a drag or positive wheel spin from the rear. IF the rear skates sideways, countersteer at 3/4 the normal correction.

Just don't drive past 50 and all is cool. Hydroplaning occurs worst at 60MPH and above.

[THX1138]

sometimes oversteer comes out of the blue, you can be making a turn slowwwly, and the ass end still wants to come out. i know that our cars (stock) are hardly speed demons, but they can still get pretty hectic.

Hectic? I'd call it engaging, involving, rewarding.

You can help the rear-end stability with certain alignment settings. Around -1.0 to -1.5 degrees camber in back maximizes the lateral contact patch. This may vary depending on tire width and ride height. Set the front to zero toe, and put about 1/8" toe in on the rear. This keeps the rear stable (compared to the front) without dialing in bags of understeer, like you can get with a lot of front toe in.

[direb0y]

Originally posted by THX1138
Hectic? I'd call it engaging, involving, rewarding.

You can help the rear-end stability with certain alignment settings. Around -1.0 to -1.5 degrees camber in back maximizes the lateral contact patch. This may vary depending on tire width and ride height. Set the front to zero toe, and put about 1/8" toe in on the rear. This keeps the rear stable (compared to the front) without dialing in bags of understeer, like you can get with a lot of front toe in.

yeah, hectic, spinning out on off/on ramps, tail end twitching when i change lanes

granted, my car is bone stock, and i'll keep your alignment settings in mind, but as it is right now sometimes oversteer comes on unpredictably and that's not fun.

would the numbers you gave work on stock tire size (205 i think?) and ride height? how bad would the rear toe settings be on the rear tires?

[240Dave]

Thanks for the advice. I've never really hydroplaned but have gotten to a point where I felt it was very close (I slowed down ofcourse) and just wanted to know what to do incase it ever happened.

I don't think stock rear suspension allows for more than -0.5 camber does it?

[Eyescream]

I had -0.9 dialed into my S14 at one point, i believe.

[weirdstyles.net]

Good advice, get some good tires... and remember Its not always you who can suck as a driver, its other people. Like im my following demonstration...

This morning Im crusing at about 60=62MPH...going up Rt.73. Im usually doing about 75-80 but its raining. Here is how it goes. Im coming along, actually using both hands. Im practicing good technique and shizzle; Sitting up straight, no ganster lean, both hands...yada yada yada. But some asshole pulls out of a drive way and stops to far into the road. I was in the far right lane because the middle floods up in a low spot. I get forced over so I dont hit the mother fuaking taurus, try to get back to the lane cause there is a car ahead of me in the middle lane (not illustrated) and run right through a puddle, and loose it.... there was NO control there after.

I would like to thank God, budah, mother nature and james wood for the absense of almost ALL traffic... observe...

http://home.comcast.net/~weird240styles/incident2.jpg
!http://home.comcast.net/~weird240styles/incident1.jpg

lemme edit: Note: Dont remember the exact spinging...it was couter clockwise and a I went around a few times... I know it was at least thrice times... (3) and I am damn luck they dont have guard rails. I ended up in the grass off of the left most lane. The Taurus pulls up and stops on the left shoulder and says, "Hey man are you okay?"

I wish Mark would turn the filter off:

YOU ************* MOTHER*** AND IM GONNA **** IN YOUR MOTHERS ******* MOUTH YOU ***** SON OF A **** AND **** I *** YOU **** **** TILL YOUR DOG THINKS HES A ****** CAT. IM WANNA ******** TILL ****** AND THE *********** COCK AND ****** SOME MOTHER***** HORSE SHOES ***** *** SHOE POLISH ******** AND THE POLISH ******* ARMY!

he drove away....

[91CRXsiR]

i was taught to transfer weight to the front by pulling the e-brake.. but i only do this w/ understeer i dont know about hydroplaning

[240Dave]

Originally posted by 91CRXsiR
i was taught to transfer weight to the front by pulling the e-brake.. but i only do this w/ understeer i dont know about hydroplaning

:confused: Who taught you that? :bash: Just lift if you need to transfer weight to the front or left foot brake if you need to do it that way.
I've never heard of anybody but drifters using their e-brake, maybe some fwd auto-xers on a tight track.

[weirdstyles.net]

Originally posted by 91CRXsiR
i was taught to transfer weight to the front by pulling the e-brake.. but i only do this w/ understeer i dont know about hydroplaning

In a non-smartass sense, lets look at this logically. Your nose is attempting to steer left and you loose grip, now if you rip on the e-brake, your front grabs what traction it can and the rear looses all but what 5%? So your nose sticks and picots, your rear end swings like a...well...a swing and you go spining into a curb. You would be very suprised how much weight is actually transfered toward the front by lifting off and L.braking if needed. But try to remember all that while sliding.... and ****.

[Andy5]

pulling e-brake really isn't that smart. I don't know about yours but when i pull on mine, my car dosen't slow down but if i pull a little further it'll lock, god forgive if u ever lock your e-brake in the rain. I would never do it, i've done it in a parking lot before, i couldn't even control it from 35mph.

[weirdstyles.net]

Originally posted by Andy5
pulling e-brake really isn't that smart. I don't know about yours but when i pull on mine, my car dosen't slow down but if i pull a little further it'll lock, god forgive if u ever lock your e-brake in the rain. I would never do it, i've done it in a parking lot before, i couldn't even control it from 35mph.

**** at 25 at the end of my street I couldnt hold tuff to a rainy e-brake... scared the nuts offa me

[Dousan_PG]

Originally posted by direb0y
yeah, hectic, spinning out on off/on ramps, tail end twitching when i change lanes

granted, my car is bone stock, and i'll keep your alignment settings in mind, but as it is right now sometimes oversteer comes on unpredictably and that's not fun.

would the numbers you gave work on stock tire size (205 i think?) and ride height? how bad would the rear toe settings be on the rear tires?

WHAT?! HAHAHA
your car is FUCKED UP THEN!! IM SERIOUS! FUCKED UP!

my car is DECKED i mean seriously decked out with suspension
and its solid as a rock lane changing and high speed cornering

when it was STOCK it was solid high speed cornering and lane changing. why? BECAUSE i have a good alignemnt

if you car twitches or acts funny under cornering get an alignment

'oh but RWD is dangerous in the rain'
danger? HAHAHA you know nothing about danger. try adding a 2 way lsd and come back to me about what dangerous is

im tired of you people who say RWD is dangerous. yeah its dangerous if you drive it like you used to drive your FWD car.



as far as hydroplaning, THX1138..you nailed on the head. WAAA-tAAAAAA!!!

[old_s13]

Originally posted by 91CRXsiR
i was taught to transfer weight to the front by pulling the e-brake.. but i only do this w/ understeer i dont know about hydroplaning

sounds like someone thinks they're all bad after watching the drift bible...

when you hydroplane, you have no choice other than to SLOW down by letting go of the gas.. period.

- Mike

[direb0y]

Originally posted by dousan36
WHAT?! HAHAHA
your car is FUCKED UP THEN!! IM SERIOUS! FUCKED UP!

my car is DECKED i mean seriously decked out with suspension
and its solid as a rock lane changing and high speed cornering

when it was STOCK it was solid high speed cornering and lane changing. why? BECAUSE i have a good alignemnt

if you car twitches or acts funny under cornering get an alignment

'oh but RWD is dangerous in the rain'
danger? HAHAHA you know nothing about danger. try adding a 2 way lsd and come back to me about what dangerous is

im tired of you people who say RWD is dangerous. yeah its dangerous if you drive it like you used to drive your FWD car.



as far as hydroplaning, THX1138..you nailed on the head. WAAA-tAAAAAA!!!

good point, you know my car has never been aligned?

:eek:

[sykikchimp]

when I first bought my car, it had a penchant for oversteer on corner exit.. turned out my tires was so old, and hardened from 3 or 4 years of use, they had no grip.. so it would just come right on around.

Put a set of decent tires (kumho 712's) and that made a world of difference.

as far as rear camber (on S13).. you can dial in about -1.5 degrees on the stock setup. Stock setting is: -1.36' to .36'

http://charles.sykikchimp.org/quickref.html

[andrave]

I second the tires argument.
My car had some ****ty old tires the previous owner's son had burned off of them and I was following my dad's AWD astro van (try getting 5000 lbs backed by AWD to hydroplane...) so he was balling and I was trying to get him to slow down but to no avail. Hit a puddle while on the throttle up a hill, totally sideways at 70 mph on an interstate. Bought new tires, it has yet to be repeated, even now that they are down to the wear bars.
Of course, now I drive much slower in the rain, too.