So, the other day I was messing around with my car, and I got this idea about “wet tires.” It sounds kinda obvious, right? Tires get wet all the time. But I wanted to see what really happens when tires are soaking wet, like, beyond just driving in the rain.
The Setup
First, I grabbed my garden hose. No fancy pressure washer or anything, just the regular old hose. I made sure my car was parked on a flat, concrete surface – my driveway, to be exact. I didn’t want any weird slopes messing with my little experiment.
I also got:
- A bucket of soapy water (just regular dish soap).
- A scrub brush – the kind you’d use for cleaning, not too harsh.
- A towel, for drying, later on.
- My phone for taking some photos.
Getting Them Wet, Wet, Wet
I started by just hosing down the tires. I mean, really hosing them down. I wanted them to be completely drenched, like they’d just driven through a deep puddle. I made sure to get the sidewalls and the treads all nice and soaked.
Then, I took the soapy water and dumped some on each tire. I used the scrub brush to work the soap into the rubber. I wasn’t really trying to “clean” them, more like creating a slick, soapy film on the surface. I figured this would exaggerate the wetness.
I then hosed off the soap.
What I Observed, and recorded
Okay, so this wasn’t exactly scientific. I didn’t have any fancy measuring tools. But just by looking and touching, I noticed a few things:
- Obviously, they were slippery. Duh. But it was way more slippery than I expected, even compared to just driving after a rain shower. The soapy water definitely made a difference.
- The water beaded up differently. On some parts of the tire, the water formed these little beads, while on other parts, it just kind of sheeted off. I guess this has to do with the tire’s tread pattern and maybe how worn down they are.
- They looked different. The wet tires had this darker, almost glossy look compared to when they were dry. It’s kind of hard to describe, but they just looked… wetter. I took some photos with my phone so I can look back at it later.
Wrapping Up
After I was done messing around, I used the towel to dry off the tires, at least as much as I could. I didn’t want to leave them soaking wet for too long.
So, that was my little “wet tires” experiment. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was fun to see what happened. I think I can use this some how, I will figure it out and share it next time!
