986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

MNBoxster · 02-23-2006, 12:19 PM

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. But, I too must side with DP and Limoncello and say it sounds like a Classic Case of Hydro-Planing. Unforfunately, Hydro-Planing is always Driver Error. You exceeded the conditions you were in, can't blame the Car for that.

So far as the OEM Tires being inadequate, I disagree. These are all some of the Finest Performance Tires available. The issue is much more a matter of Tire Width.

The Boxster is a relatively light Car with pretty Wide Tires. With Wide Tires, you have a larger Contact Patch - Great for Dry Traction. But, you're exerting much less lbs./in.² with a Wider Tire than with a Narrower one, and this has adverse effects when driving in the Rain. Also, no matter how good the Water Channeling a Tire may have, there is always a limit to the amount of Water it can expel. Once this limit is reached, the Tire just climbs on top of the Water, loosing all contact with the road - Hydro-Planing. Add to this that your Tires harden with age, if your Tires are more than 2 years old, regardless of the Tread Depth, they will have hardened and have significantly less grip, especially in the Rain.

While the Boxster is all-weather capable, it is primarily a Fair Weather Car - that's what it was designed for and why the Tire Spec is so wide. If operating in other conditions, you need to adapt to those conditions. If you live and drive consistently in Wet Conditions, it may be wise to forego the asthetics and select a little narrower Tire. The upside is they are usually a little cheaper...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

02-23-2006, 12:19 PM	#11
MNBoxster Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Posts: 3,308	Hi, Sorry to hear of your troubles. But, I too must side with DP and Limoncello and say it sounds like a Classic Case of Hydro-Planing. Unforfunately, Hydro-Planing is always Driver Error. You exceeded the conditions you were in, can't blame the Car for that. So far as the OEM Tires being inadequate, I disagree. These are all some of the Finest Performance Tires available. The issue is much more a matter of Tire Width. The Boxster is a relatively light Car with pretty Wide Tires. With Wide Tires, you have a larger Contact Patch - Great for Dry Traction. But, you're exerting much less lbs./in.² with a Wider Tire than with a Narrower one, and this has adverse effects when driving in the Rain. Also, no matter how good the Water Channeling a Tire may have, there is always a limit to the amount of Water it can expel. Once this limit is reached, the Tire just climbs on top of the Water, loosing all contact with the road - Hydro-Planing. Add to this that your Tires harden with age, if your Tires are more than 2 years old, regardless of the Tread Depth, they will have hardened and have significantly less grip, especially in the Rain. While the Boxster is all-weather capable, it is primarily a Fair Weather Car - that's what it was designed for and why the Tire Spec is so wide. If operating in other conditions, you need to adapt to those conditions. If you live and drive consistently in Wet Conditions, it may be wise to forego the asthetics and select a little narrower Tire. The upside is they are usually a little cheaper... Happy Motoring!... Jim'99 Last edited by MNBoxster; 02-23-2006 at 01:44 PM.