[stodge]

My wife drove our 2000 Taurus SE through a nasty rain/thunder storm today and said the car had a bad habit of hydroplaning very easily. She was quite shaken up by this. Is this a common fault of the Taurus? Maybe the tyres are inadequate or is it just unavoidable in such a heavy car?

Thanks

 

[baby sho]

no...has nothing to do with the car....its the tires. I could have any car, but with s***ty tires...it will hydroplane. Id reccomend getting a tire with a large water channel in the middle. the Kuhmo 712's are an awesome water handling tire.

Brad

 

[stodge]

I don't want to get tyres specific to riding through water, but I presume I could get a good tyre that would compromise between performance (not that important), fuel economy, handling, water and others. Maybe I'll check what I have on now and research them. I know they're Continental, but I don't know which ones.

In a similar manner, can the tyre vastly affect fuel economy?

Thanks

 

[rocketfast321]

yes if they are low in air

 

[sixfofalcon]

You likely have Continental ContiTouringContact tires on there now. They were OEM for most of the late-model Taurus and Sable models. They are an OK all-season tire. They aren't that great in the water, but there are worse OEM tires.

I've driven brand new rental cars with those tires and they have been adequate in the rain--they did hydroplane, but it wasn't a common occurance. If the car hydroplanes REALLY badly, it is probably b/c the tread is worn, the wheels are out of alignment, the tire pressure is incorrect, or some combination of the three.

When I replaced my tie rods, the toe was out on my front wheel alignment by a few degrees. Unfortunately, it rained the very next day before I got to the alignment shop. The car was hydroplaning in very light rain, and if I hit a puddle, it was like being on ice. :blink:

 

[sundarpn]

So those tires with a grovee in the running along the middle ... are they good against hydro planing.

 

[Damon]

Originally posted by sundarpn@Jun 1 2004, 10:03 PM
So those tires with a grovee in the running along the middle ... are they good against hydro planing.

Yup, the center groove channels the water in and away from the rest of the tire.

Its also possible your taurus could have firestone OEM tires. I have the firestone affinitys on my bull as the OEM tire. They really sucked.

Now ive got yokohamas :banana:

-DC

 

[firespirit]

Werd! Get some new tires!

On my stock alloys I had the original Firestones on there... and then my SHO slicers I have the Continental ContiTouringContact but changed to the Firestone ?? (what are they Damon?) ....

The Conti's were pretty good.. Didn't falter in the rain/flood we've been having..

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[stodge]

Thanks. They're definitely Continental. I think my wife also read an article on the web that stated the Taurus is prone to hydroplaning, though I haven't read it. I'll see if I can dig it out to find out if it talks about the car specifically, or the tyres.

 

[Damon]

Originally posted by Firespirit@Jun 1 2004, 10:12 PM
Werd! Get some new tires!

On my stock alloys I had the original Firestones on there... and then my SHO slicers I have the Continental ContiTouringContact but changed to the Firestone ?? (what are they Damon?) ....

The Conti's were pretty good.. Didn't falter in the rain/flood we've been having..

firestone affinity I believe.

-DC

 

[godspunk32]

I have Cooper Lifeliners, and they are kick a$$ all weather tire. Good mix of performance, traction, wet road/snow ability, noise, and wear. They have 25,000 miles on them, and still look damn close to new.

JR

 

[rudedog]

Not saying anything about your wife, but there IS such a thing as over driving the road conditions....even with good tires I've gotten plenty of cars to hydroplane, of course it is EASIER to do with low tread or NO tread. I've also seen and been in vehicles that with the latter 2 tire conditions, driven according to a recommended non-agressive driving style, not lose control or hydroplane. I've been a tech for almost 20 years and 1 thing I've come to see is that people like to put blame everywhere but to themselves, i.e., bad/inferior parts, tech did the work wrong, etc., etc. Anyway like I said 1st nothing against your wife or anybody else, just a little rant.

Oh, by the way Tauruses do steer and handle unlike ANY other car on the market,
I don't know how long you've had your s but it took my mom a few months to really get used to the way our 1st Taurus drove and handled.

 

[godspunk32]

I agree with Rudedog...with hydroplaning, 70% is typically the driver, and only about 30% is the car/tires. Many people do not realize that ABS works well, but isn't the be all end all of stopping technologies. Also, rain spec tires work great, but again, can't do everything. Most people will enter a turn thinking they are going slow enough and hydroplane a little, then wonder why it happened, when in reality, they were actually going a little too fast and their car couldn't compensate quickly enough.

I've also never heard of ANY reports of Tauri and Sables being bad when it comes to hydroplaning. Again, it has to do mostly with the driver, and only partially with the hardware...

JR

 

[golovko]

I had firestone affinitys on my car as well when I bought it. I purchased a set of Kelly Navigator Golds to replace them and they've been great all season tires - I'd recommend them to anyone looking to get a new set.

 

[majisto]

The Taurus' steering is very quick and responsive. The variable-assist power steering can really creep up on you if you aren't being careful. I personally really like the system. When I had my old Buick Century, it was one of the numbest cars I had ever driven. The Taurus has a great road feel to it, but that also means that it can be quite scary when you go over water, because the road surface is translated so well to the steering wheel.

What you feel as hydro-planing could just be the tire sloshing through the water.

 

[spridget]

Get better tires.

If you have money, look at the Michelins. They cost $$$ but they make a good all season tire that delivers good economy too.

I have Yokohama AVS ES100's. They are great tires wet or dry. A little noisy, and not the best for economy, but they deliver a good ride and excellent performance.

My car came equipped with General Ameri4GS tires. Hands down the worst tire I have ever driven on. The car was scary at 50mph in light rain.

With tires, you tend to get what you pay for.

 

[golovko]

Originally posted by spridget@Jun 2 2004, 12:34 PM
If you have money, look at the Michelins. They cost $$$ but they make a good all season tire that delivers good economy too.

I was actually looking at getting Michilens or Bridgestones when I bought my Kellys. The salesman at the tire store actually talked me into buying the Kellys over the Michilens because he said they were equal in quality and about every feature, but the Kellys were about $15 less per tire which would have put them at $115. I ended up talking to the guy for a while and got them for $103/tire and a free alignment. :banana: New tires make all the difference IMO.

 

[stodge]

No offense taken! At least I won't tell her what you said.

We have some life left on the tyres, but if she's still worried (and I've yet to drive the car!) then I'll offer to buy some new tyres. They're probably due to be replaced in the next few months.

Thanks again.

 

[TrueBlue]

Originally posted by stodge@Jun 2 2004, 07:20 AM
Thanks. They're definitely Continental. I think my wife also read an article on the web that stated the Taurus is prone to hydroplaning, though I haven't read it. I'll see if I can dig it out to find out if it talks about the car specifically, or the tyres.

Please find this, so we here can send them a reply. The only vehicles "prone" to hydroplaning are boats.

No particular make or model is more prone than the others - only tire/wheel packages make the vehicle rise.

Switch the tire/wheel package to a thinner tire and you will defeat the planing.

 

[stodge]

It seems I have Continental Touring Contact AS tyres.