Greatest tire traction = right after thunderstorm.

[mareakin]

Am I stating the obvious? It seems to me, as someone who checks out another dude's tires from time to time, that tires pick up a lot of small tiny specks of road debris and dust and if you rub the tread against your finger, you don't get that good friction--that's because there is a layer of dirt between the rubber and the road. We don't think about and it probably doesn't matter all that much but it's there and there is no cure for it except for a brief period of time after a thunderstorm when all that dirt is washed away and there is nothing but your tires and the road.

Thus, the greatest tire traction = right after a thunderstorm when the roads have dried but before it accumulates dust and dirt.

Two questions:

1. Am I correct?
2. Am I stating the obvious?

 

[simple_gifts]

What about the film of oil dropped from hundreds of cars?

 

[DrDusty86]

For that to be true, Launch the truck with 20psi of boost and in 4HI. 4hi= BEST traction on wet roads....
i KNOW I'M BEING A SMART A$$... BUT HEY.

 

[kemo]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
What about the film of oil dropped from hundreds of cars?


that gets washed away.

 

[UNC036]

Ummmm, Country Clean...

That's also when my Van is at it's Cleanest Too.

LOLz, Jim

 

[The_Jeff]

Maybe the tire maker *wanted* that dirt to stick. It would be interesting what conditions warrant it and what compromises are entailed.

I pay attention to sand as I ride a motorcycle and even after winter before street sweepers, most sand gets blown away by passing traffic in a speed limit 35 or higher zone.

 

[flacoman]

Very noticeable here in Florida. First few rainstorms after the winter dry make pavement very slick ,but after the first good rain,things get grippy fast.

 

[HTSS_TR]

We have no rain from May until Nov-Dec in So Cal, the first rain storm of the season makes all streets and highway very slippery from all the oil accumulate on the surface in 6-7 months. It needs 2-3 good storms to clean the street surface.