If the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane --when your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed and you take off like an airplane.
It doesn't sound right to me, but what do you think?
2006-10-02 16:55:15 · 9 answers · asked by vinny_the_hack 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
What happens is that as the tires loose grip they will speed up, the speed control notices and closes the throttle so that the wheels are going around at the correct speed. This usually helps to regain grip but, because the throttle is closed the car suddenly starts to slow down at which point the speed control opens the throttle again and the engine starts to speed up. This will happen several times in a row and makes quite a loud banging noise and the car feels as though it is accelerating and then decelerating and so on. If you loose and regain grip on the driven wheels at different times the car will be very difficult to control.
If it is a rear wheel drive car it may start to skid but if you know how to control a skid and you have room, you will probably be OK. If it is front wheel drive car, you will be very lucky to remain in control and will probably find out what it is like to be hit by an air bag!
If road conditions are such that hydroplaning is a possibility, do not use cruise control. It really is rather dangerous.
2006-10-02 17:32:12 · answer #1 · answered by Stewart H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hydroplaning means the tires have lost traction with the road. Without traction, the engine has no means of propelling the car forward. When hydroplaning, the car will be moving forward under its momentum alone, and in fact will be slowing down the whole time, just very gradually. (Braking also requires traction you know.)
I'm not sure how the cruise control would react. If it judges speed by how fast the wheels are turning, it will probably throttle down when the wheels spin too fast, having lost contact with the pavement. Or, if it uses some other means to determine speed, it may revv up the engine trying to speed the car up. In either case, it doesn't matter; without firm contact to the ground, the engine can't do anything.
As far as taking off like an airplane, that's just silly.
2006-10-03 00:20:56 · answer #2 · answered by stork5100 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
stork5100 is mostly correct. Whether the cruise control raises or lowers the engine speed depends on the design of the cruise control. If it lowers the engine speed, you're in better shape. If it raises it or keeps it the same, nothing happens as long as all drive wheels are hydroplaning. As soon as one gains traction, you will suddenly be applying thrust with that wheel. At worst, this reduces your chances of keeping the car under control. At best, you accelerate until you regain the speed you lost while hydroplaning, and resume the steady speed to which the cruise control was set.
2006-10-03 00:42:02 · answer #3 · answered by Frank N 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
lol no thats not true. Your cars speed is equal to the work it's engine is doing, and the tires pulling it along. The minute it loses the ground that it's doing work on, then the car will de-accelarate.
Think of it this way. Your running at a speed of 4mph...the ground suddenly dissapears and your falling forward. Due to wind friction and you just simply not running any more...your going to slow down and eventually begin to fall straight downward.
In an ideal situation (remember, those never exsist) you or the car would continue moving at the speed it was going before the ground dissapeared untill somthing else acted on it. Niether times would you suddenly gain speed though.
2006-10-03 00:11:55 · answer #4 · answered by Lord of the Apocalypse 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, the speed control in a car regulates the rate that the tires turn. If you have a speed control that increases with loss of traction it is of poor design.
2006-10-03 00:09:27 · answer #5 · answered by Tlocity 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A car must be in contact with the road to accelerate, lose contact with the pavement, and it will surely deccelerate and will evenually stop. Right?
2006-10-03 00:11:01 · answer #6 · answered by Yahia M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no.... the cruise control should compansate for the loss of friction, assuming that you stay on the road after hydroplaning all the factors should stay the same.
2006-10-03 00:36:30 · answer #7 · answered by !kyradarkmoon! 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No friction once the tires are off the pavement, right?
It'll only stop after some time then, if you're lucky and dont hit something.
2006-10-03 00:06:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
no
2006-10-03 00:40:23 · answer #9 · answered by mari the AWESOME 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋