Best tyres for driving in rain

By Chad Lückhoff 

Tyres. Often the most neglected part of a car, and when the time comes to replace them, we do so begrudgingly. Tyres are darn expensive, but the fact of the matter is that these often-overlooked items on a car are your lifeline, the single most important thing on a motor vehicle. Steering? Nope... Brakes? Nope... neither of these car work without respectable tyres to connect the car to the road.

Your only contact with the road is four small patches of rubber, each roughly the size of the palm of your hand. This is all that stands between your one-tonne-plus machine and the surface of the road. And it's doing all the arguing with Sir Isaac Newton, trying to stop, turn and get you going.

Adding a variable into the mix can cause a catastrophe - like water, when it rains. This is where you’re most at risk for losing control of your car – but you can delay this occurrence by making sure that you have decent tyres fitted to your car.

Firstly, not all tyres are created equal, and as with many things in life, you get what you pay for. You're not only paying for the rubber that goes onto your car, you're paying for all the millions spent on the research and development that has gone into designing a tyre that can perform, not only in the dry, but in the wet as well.

That said, you can maximize your chances of survival by ensuring that your current tyres and vehicle setup are in the best condition to save your skin when a (wet) emergency presents itself.

Tread depth

Tread depth is your number one concern. It's not about the block on your tyres, it's about the gaps between. These channels serve to guide the water away from the contact patch of your tyre and push it out and away from the area that needs to make contact with the road. Without these channels, the water has no path to follow and the tyre is forced on top of the water, lifting the car off of the road and rendering you a hapless passenger with no control whatsoever.

While a tyre is said to be worn out when the tread reaches 1.6mm, the fact is that anything less than 3mm renders the tyre dangerous for wet weather use. Check your tread depth regularly and ensure that you check the entire width of the tyre. Sometimes a tyre wears out more on the inside than the outside (where you usually check) and this can cause issues.

Tyre pressure

The second major concern is tyre pressure. Tyre pressure is a set pressure that your vehicle is designed to use. This has been calculated for the weight and dimensions of the vehicle and may even differ between axles.

The correct tyre pressure, as stated on the plaque in your door jam, fuel flap or owner’s handbook, will ensure that the maximum amount of rubber is placed in contact with the road, and this allows the grooves in the tyres to do their job as designed.

Under-inflation causes too much contact area and the centre section of the tyre starts to lift off the surface of the road. This creates a pocket that can trap water and reduce your grip levels.

Over-inflation causes the tyre to bulge and balloon, lifting the edges off of the tarmac and only giving you a narrow contact patch. Imagine putting thin bicycle tyres on your car – same thing.

Wheel alignment

The wheel alignment is next on the list and while not as important as the previous two, is still crucial for two very important reasons. The first is even wear. A tyre that has worn down unevenly has a distorted tread pattern and the design of the tread (and ultimately its ability to disperse water) is negatively affected.

The tread pattern is also designed to work best when the tyre is rolling as intended. Having a tyre that isn't rolling correctly and is being dragged along hampers the efficiency of the tread design. Water is designed to come in at one location and exit the other, changing the direction of the tyre's roll negatively effects this.

Finally, the type of tyre

Yes, the make and model of your tyre does affect the ability to disperse water. Not all tyres are created equal, remember. We took a look at some of the best-rated tyres for wet weather driving. These tyres have proven to show greater road-holding under acceleration, cornering and of course, braking. Check with your local wheel and tyre fitment centre to see if they have one of these tyres listed. Not all these models may be available at your outlet. Also, check which tyres are best suited for your vehicle's weight.

1. Michelin Primacy MXM4 Touring Radial Tires

2. Dunlop Direzza DZ101 High Performance Tires

3. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus Radial Tires

4. Cooper Discoverer A/T3 Traction Radial Tires

5. Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires

6. Hankook Ventus V12 evo 2 Summer Radial Tires

7. Pirelli Scorpion VERDE All Season Radial Tires

8. BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A All-Terrain Radial Tires