Wet weather tire pressure

Curtis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence to
suggest that a lower tire pressure will help traction
in the rain?

No.

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DRS said:

Curtis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence
to suggest that a lower tire pressure will help
traction in the rain?

Quoted message said:

No.

I say yes as it puts more rubber in contact with the road
(larger contact patch).

Art Harris

Harris <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

DRS said:

Curtis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence
to suggest that a lower tire pressure will help
traction in the rain?

Quoted message said:

No.

I say yes as it puts more rubber in contact with the road
(larger contact patch).

1. It allows the tyre to squirm more, thus reducing
its handling.
2. To the extent that it applies to bicycle tyres, lower
pressure allows the tread to deform which in turn
reduces its effectiveness at displacing water. That's
why motorcycle racers always run wet weather tyres at
full pressure.

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"DRS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Harris <[email hidden]> wrote in
message [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

DRS said:

Curtis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]
> O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence
> to suggest that a lower tire pressure will help
> traction in the rain?

Quoted message said:

No.

I say yes as it puts more rubber in contact with the
road (larger contact patch).

1. It allows the tyre to squirm more, thus reducing its
handling.
2. To the extent that it applies to bicycle tyres, lower
pressure allows the tread to deform which in turn
reduces its effectiveness at displacing water. That's
why motorcycle racers always run wet weather tyres at
full pressure.

Didn't one of the bike tyre manufacturers do a test, and
they found that insufficient water displacement would only
occur if you cycled 200mph. Having a larger contact patch
through a little underinflation is hardly likely to bring
that figure anywhere near an obtainable value.

--
Mike W

Curtis said:

O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence to
suggest that a lower tire pressure will help traction
in the rain?

The best way to increase traction on wet tarmac is a softer
(i.e. stickier and faster-wearing) tread compound.

On 12 Apr 2004 05:49:02 -0700, [email hidden] (Curtis) may have

Quoted message said:

O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence to
suggest that a lower tire pressure will help traction
in the rain?

On a paved surface, no. On a slippery surface, traction can
decrease if the load is spread over a greater area without
changing anything else. Increasing the tire pressure is not
a good idea in my opinion, though, either.

On a mountain bike in a trail-riding situation, reducing the
tire pressure has its own set of hazards.

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DRS snipes anoymously:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Is there any evidence to suggest that a lower tire
> pressure will help traction in the rain?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

No.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I say yes as it puts more rubber in contact with the road
(larger contact patch).

Quoted message said:

1. It allows the tyre to squirm more, thus reducing its
handling.

Tires don't squirm, treads squirm but not if smooth. You
better describe what you believe is squirming at 90psi in a
25mm cross section tire if you think that occurs.

Quoted message said:

2. To the extent that it applies to bicycle tyres, lower
pressure allows the tread to deform which in turn
reduces its effectiveness at displacing water. That's
why motorcycle racers always run wet weather tyres at
full pressure.

This also requires explanation. WIth 10-15% reduced
inflation pressure nothing changes with respect to tread to
road contact except an area increase. All the water that is
going to be displaced is already gone so where do you see
these traction reductions?

We don't got no steenkin wet weather tyres!

Quoted message said:

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

You got that one right.

Jobst Brandt [email hidden]

Harris said:

DRS said:

Curtis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any evidence
to suggest that a lower tire pressure will help
traction in the rain?

Quoted message said:

No.

I say yes as it puts more rubber in contact with the road
(larger contact patch).

"airing down" is a common practice in the 4WD field, in
order to spread the tread out over a wider area to improve
the contact patch. Hummer offers an option called CTIS
(Central Tire Inflation System) which allows the diver to
alter the tire pressure in front/rear pairs.

Try it and see.

Michael J. Klein Please replace asiancastings for
mousepotato

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Harris said:

DRS said:

Curtis <[email hidden]> wrote in message
[email hidden]
> O.K., I hate to be so stupid but is there any
> evidence to suggest that a lower tire pressure
> will help traction in the rain?

Quoted message said:

No.

I say yes as it puts more rubber in contact with the road
(larger contact patch).

"airing down" is a common practice in the 4WD field, in
order to spread the tread out over a wider area to improve
the contact patch. Hummer offers an option called CTIS
(Central Tire Inflation System) which allows the diver to
alter the tire pressure in front/rear pairs.

Try it and see.

Michael J. Klein

yes and no...

low pressure on 4WD 14-20 psi is for sand, 18-28 psi is for
rocks not wet bitumen.

The low pressure limit is usually when dirt gets under the
bead causing a leak, or it rolls off the rim when turning or
spins on the rim when braking/accelerating.

Big tires can go lower pressure and beadlocks allow lower
pressure again for competition.

On rocks, lower pressure allows the tire to mould around
sharp edges better and reduces cutting, chipping and
punctures.

That hummer CTIS is nice though! You see similar systems on
off-road racers. eg. Paris-Dakar

Lowering tire pressure will increase traction in any case.
It causes the tire to spread out more and puts more rubber
on the road. This is why, when taking rides in the
mountains, I always ride with lower pressure in the front
tire. Makes it somewhat less likely to slide than the rear.

Just don't go overboard. To little pressure will make the
tire ride squirely and prone to pinch flats. A few pounds
less is all right

- -

"May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear
for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

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