All-season tires are generally good in rain, because they offer several water-clearing elements, such as sipes and grooves, allowing tire’s rubber to properly grip the road surface.
Now, since majority of all-season tires have ample sipes and grooves, they provide pretty decent results in rainy seasons. Though their performance gets heavily affected by temperature changes, interestingly. For example, in warmer conditions, they can’t outperform summer tires in terms of both wet and dry grip, due to their less-sticker composition comparatively.
There are some other factors to consider as well.
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Factors Affecting Wet Performance of All-season Tires
All-Season tires strike the perfect balance between summer and winter tires, offering a convenient middle ground. This means you won’t have to switch tires with the changing seasons. And that brings us to our first point here.
Rubber Compound
The key to wet traction, of any tire, lies in its rubber composition and stickiness. And its the most crucial aspect of the tire design. That’s why I’m highlighting it first.
It’s this rubber compound that allows summer tires to perform well in wet conditions during warmer temperatures, even though they might not have as many sipes and grooves as winter tires.
All-season tires feature a rubber mix that’s soft enough for cold weather while being hard enough for hot conditions. This balanced design helps them maintain a good grip on wet roads, especially when the temperature is in the ideal range.
They usually perform best in temperatures between 32°F (0°C) and 90°F (32°C). This range is where their flexibility and characteristics come into play, ensuring improved grip on wet surfaces.
Another factor is the effectiveness of the tread structure in channeling water away from the tire’s contact patch, crucial for maintaining traction.
Sipes and Grooves
So, I’ve already touched on grooves and sipes as key elements of tread design (at the very start), but let me explain how they work. Basically, grooves are responsible for removing most of the water, while sipes help absorb the remaining water particles.
To be more specific, grooves are crucial in preventing hydroplaning, which is when the tire starts floating on water. This is tested by seeing how fast a tire can travel over a thin layer of water without losing contact.
On the other hand, sipes are what give you that extra grip in wet conditions.
Tread Depth
Deeper treads allow more space for water to be channeled away from the tire’s contact patch with the road, reducing the risk of hydroplaning where the tire loses grip and skims over the water surface.
This depth creates grooves that effectively displace water, ensuring the tire maintains direct contact with the road even in wet conditions.
As the tread wears down over time, its ability to expel water diminishes, leading to reduced traction. Though since all-season tires have better groove structure, this aspect affects these tires less compared to summer tires, particularly, just an FYI.
Tire Maintenance and Condition
Regular maintenance, including proper inflation, rotation, and balancing, are also pretty essential.
Incorrect air pressure can lead to uneven wear, and that leads to a lot of weird things traction wise.
And same applies to other measures here, like wheel rotation, balancing and alignment, which ensures smooth driving and even tread wear. I am talking about these types of different wears here.
Though I should add that overall tire maintenance and with it wet traction, heavily depends on your driving, speed, braking habits, and so on.
How To Get All-Season Tires That’ll Do Good In Wet Conditions?
Well, besides getting tires with good enough tread depth and sipes/grooves, (which I’ve already discussed), you should also consider the following points here.
Tire Age
Even if a tire looks fine, the rubber gets worse over time because of heat, sunlight, and other stuff in the environment.
This makes the rubber less stretchy and can cause cracks, which isn’t great for how your tire performs.
Experts usually say to get new tires every 6 to 10 years, no matter how good the tread looks, because older tires can fail more easily.
So, always check the manufacturing date on the tires before you buy them.
Tire Width and Size
The size and width of a tire really matter. Bigger, wider tires have more contact with the road, which is awesome for grip and handling, especially when it’s dry. But in wet conditions, they can hydroplane more easily.
On the flip side, narrower tires are usually better in the wet because they focus your car’s weight on a smaller spot, giving you better grip. (This also applies to all-season tires’ snow performance, which I discussed here, further).
Also, the total size of the tire, like its diameter and shape, affects how it handles. Mainly, this has to do with the tire’s weight. Heavier tires take longer to stop and aren’t as responsive in steering, which isn’t great for wet braking or handling.
So, think about going for tires that are narrower and lighter to up your wet traction game.
And yes one more thing about weight: The overall weight of the tire, along with its contact patch also play a role in water displacement, predominately. They basically, determine the pressure points on the tire, allowing water to be expelled more quickly.
Speed Rating
So, the speed rating on a tire is basically a way to tell you the top speed it can handle safely while carrying a load. This rating is shown as a letter like S, T, U, H, V, W, Y, or Z. Each letter stands for a maximum speed the tire can handle, measured in miles per hour. I’ve covered all that in detail before.
Now, when it comes to all-season tires with higher speed ratings, they’re usually made from denser materials. This makes them stiffer. The thing with stiffer tires is that their sipes and grooves don’t flex as much, which means they can’t get rid of water as effectively.
A similar deal happens with the load rating.
Load Rating
The load rating, or what’s also known as the load index, tells you the max weight a tire can carry when it’s pumped up right. This rating is a number, and each number matches up with a certain weight the tire can handle, in pounds or kilograms. Learn all about it here.
Tires with higher load ratings tend to be heavier and stiffer, which can reduce their ability to handle wet roads well.
Since most all-season tires are usually available in just SL (Standard Load) and XL (Extra Load) sizes, it’s usually a good idea to go for the SL ones, of course, if that’s what your car manufacturer recommends.
Best All-Season Tires for Wet Grip and Handling
So, different tire brands and models come with their own set of features, perfect for various driving conditions and needs. The type of rubber they use, the tread design, and how the tire’s put together can really vary from one brand to another, and even between different models from the same company.
That’s why it’s super important to pick the right tire based on what’s being said about the brand, how good the model reviews are, and what you need the tire for.
Now, with so many all-season tires out there, let’s break it down by categories, which are mainly Standard Touring, Grand Touring, High Performance, and Highway All-Season tires.
For Grand Touring, Vredestein Quatrac Pro offers the best overall performance, out of all the tires I’ve reviewed so far. Check this tire out here: https://tiredriver.com/vredestein-quatrac-pro-review/
In the Standard Touring category, you’ve gotta check out the Continental TrueContact Tour (review). It’s worth a look.
If you’re eyeing Highway All-Season tires, then the Michelin Defender LTX MS is a solid choice. Definitely review this one, here: https://tiredriver.com/michelin-defender-ltx-ms-review/
And when it comes to Ultra-High Performance All-Season tires, from all the ones I’ve checked out, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06+ (review), stands out for its awesome overall performance, especially in wet handling.
Wrapping Up
So overall, here’s the deal:
All-season tires are pretty good in the rain. They’ve got sipes and grooves that help them cling to the road.
But, how they handle changes with the temperature. I mean, they can’t quite keep up with summer tires in warm weather, especially on wet or dry surfaces. That’s because their rubber isn’t as sticky.
The rubber mix in all-season tires is a balancing act, meaning, it’s made to work in both cool and warm conditions, giving them a decent grip on wet roads within a certain temp range.
Don’t forget, tread depth is also key. Deeper treads are better at moving water away and keeping hydroplaning at bay. And, regular tire check-ups are a must.
Even tires that look fine might have old, worn-out rubber that’s not up to par.
Also, some other aspects related to tire design matter a lot as well.
Like, usually, narrower and lighter tires handle wet roads better. Plus, the speed and load ratings of the tire can affect how they manage water. Higher ratings often mean stiffer tires, which might not be the best for wet conditions.
