Passenger-Car Cornering and Braking Tests on Wet Pavements

Limit maneuvers were performed on wet pavements with disparate passenger vehicles, and the vehicle-available accelerations were compared with pavement friction indicators. The dependency of these available accelerations on vehicle, tire and pavement characteristics, and also on the type of maneuver and environmental factors, precludes accurate predictions based on simple measures of pavement friction. Low rear tire tread depths and inflation pressures produced the more pronounced decrease in cornering capability, and 0.10-0.15 inch water depths resulted in hydroplaning at normal highway speeds.