I thought they looked good But I liked the carbon fiber side walls,and extra square appearance of the Goodyear f1 not to mention the 80.00 rebate. I'm really impressed with the way they corner. The discount tire guy said they dont get as many miles or as good performance, on the BFG's so I didn't try them.

 

It would depend on water depth and speed, but yes ~ 10% difference will matter a lot at a given speed, car weight, and water depth because you either hydroplane or you don't. And that is 20mm per tire and as the water gets deeper that extra 20mm strip becomes a longer section of the submerged tire with more surface area.

 

thats right minus the tires design's ability to move water out from under the width,weight,speed ,and depth. If your statement were true why have more than one tire design ??

 

All I said was I wouldn't compare a 245mm tire to a 225mm tire because it is not apples to apples.

You are the one saying that 20mm isn't going to make a difference. I'd say on a light vehicle like the HHR that 245mm is a lot of surface area and you are probably getting to the point where not many tire designs can overcome the lack of vehicle weight with tread design to keep the car from hydroplaning.

Wouldn't you agree that at a certain tire width, rain depth, and vehicle weight that no matter what the tread design the car will hydroplane at X mph?

Obviously tread design will mean a lot more for wet handling between certain widths (maybe 185-225 for the HHR) and won't make much of a difference for tires outside that range because it either takes a lot to make it hydroplane on the narrow tire or it is just to easy to hydroplane on the wide tire width.

 

Yes I would agree till I drove these F1's I had the 245 on and did my best to get them to hydroplane within reason 80 or so shouldn't need to worry about speeds above that to see if they will be safe to drive around here. Don't know what part of Oregon you call home but up here it doesn't take long to run up on standing water situations with out trying. I would have kept them but for some reason lost to me they are about an inch wider than other tires and were just too wide for my wheels.So I went down to 225's which are the same as other manufactures 245 namely Conti's DWS,and they performed identically well in the water. Why I can't tell you if I didn't do it my self I wouldn't believe it either.At any rate it's been fun to banter back and forth about tires. I hope your favorite team wins today

 

Tirerack tested (Sept '09) the following tires:

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position
Continental ExtremeContact DWS
Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Season
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus
Yokohama Avid W4s

and listed the DWS's as their #1 Choice for Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires. That along with the consumer reviews I've read from that site as well as those with them on their rides on this site have still led me to believe that these are the best option for the money for me. Now I just need to get a set

 

I agree if you don't drive thru lakes the traction was like they have claws I was sad to give that up When you put the STG-1 on the Contis will hold it, You will love them

forgot to say the 245x40 fit wonderful on our wheels see

 

I'm in Portland and I haven't had the DWS tires in standing water yet other than hitting puddles on the interstate at 75mph just to see how they do. The only thing I had to compare them to is the original firestones which couldn't grip dry asphalt let alone wet asphalt.

Honestly I haven't had them on during a real good down pour where the water runs down the road yet, that will be a true test for sheding water with the tread.

As far as just driving on wet pavement though it seems like the compound grips very well and they did ok with the normal steady sprinkle that we have for 7 months out of the year in portland.

Yeah it has been fun BSing about tires. I will be rooting for the Packers and will hopefully be getting to watch the last quarter of the game here at work.

 

For traction on wet pavement, I'm impressed with Michelin Hydro Edge. I put those on my wife's car some years ago, and now have them on the HHR. Not sure if any are better, but Hydro Edges are imprssive on the wet. They are a directional tread, so can not be X'd when you rotate them.

 

I got 4 this past Oct they are great in rain and Md just had its first snow storm. They were ok in light snow but as you would think if get above the front spoiler no tire are any good. Front end lifts up and you loose traction.