driving in the rain

I work for a state agency that uses the Prius as its main fleet vehicle. We are in one of the rainiest parts of the country (Pacific Northwest). I have never heard anyone complain about the car's ability to handle rain safely.

 

I find that rather strange. Those Integrities are so bad in the rain I would say the car is not safe to drive. Upgrading, in my case to TripleTreds, has made a world of difference in the handling and safety of the car in all conditions.

 

I will have to check when I go back to work Sunday what type/brand of tires they wear.

 

Just drove home this evening in a heavy rainstorm. No problems.

 

With cruise control? which the original poster admits to using in poor weather conditions i.e. greasy or slippery roads.

 

Everything is open for negotiation. In this terrible car market it might be possible to get better tires from the dealer at a good price. Normally it would be cheapest to wear out the original tires and get better ones elsewhere.

 

But what is your safety worth to you? Even Goodyear admit this tyre has poor traction: if you look up the 2009 Prius on their website, they offer these tyres (ratings out of 10):

Assurance ComforTred:

Dry Traction: 9
Wet Traction: 8
Snow Traction: 9
Ride Comfort: 10
Quiet Ride: 10

Integrity:

Dry Traction: 7
Wet Traction: 6
Snow Traction: 7
Ride Comfort: 7
Quiet Ride: 7

Assurance FuelMax:

Dry Traction: 8
Wet Traction: 9
Snow Traction: 7
Ride Comfort: 8
Quiet Ride: 8

The TripleTred is rated 10/10/10/8/8 but is only available in 195/60 R15, which is about 1% smaller rolling circumference than the stock tyre.

 

I purchased the Michelin HydroEdge tires at about 20K miles. I'm now at 80K miles and I can say that these tires still perform wonderfully in the rain.

http://www.michelinman.com/tires/passenger-car-minivan/hydroedge/

 

Yes, but that 1% corrects the built-in error, and makes the speedometer more accurate, not less. My wife can assure you it's calibrated perfectly, at least up 136 kmh, according to police radar.

 

Come on now. I've driven the Integrities in all kinds of bad weather: our Arkansas monsoons with the wind whipping everywhere, one of the only cars on the road through a Utah mountain pass in an ice storm, the March blizzard up in Wyoming and Colorado, plowing 4 inches of snow off a back road in Washington, blah blah. I was always able to maintain a reasonable speed safely, as fast as I would have been able to in my Subaru Impreza* (AWD + a built suspension). They're not ideal by any stretch, and mediocre at best, but 'not safe to drive' is either extreme hyperbole that doesn't help anyone make an informed decision, or there is simply something wrong with your driving.

The only thing I've ever seen really give the Prius stability control fits is going fast on our loose gravel forestry service roads.

*sure, the Impreza is a lot more fun in those conditions...

 

My Infiniti will disengage the cruise control if the wipers are on low or high power when adaptive cruise is on. Makes sense because water throws off the radar sensor. I bet the Prius' adaptive cruise does the same.

 

I would have guessed that it was related to the dangers of cruise control when there is some risk of hydroplaning. Wiper use would be strongly correlated to that risk.

 

sorry, post was sent twice

 

Infiniti is also just covering their nice person with the automatic shut off so if some fool tries to use the adaptive cruise in the rain and plows into the car in front of him, he can't sue for a defective sensor not slowing him down. Bold print in the manual says only use adaptive cruise in ideal driving conditions.

 

Just gone through storm with wipers on maximum. I was in fast lane going 55, while most were going 40 or so because of the pounding rain and wind. I was thinking the aerodynamics seemed to help slip through the storm better, while other "brick" shaped cars probably were getting a real pelting.