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To what extent does a slippery road surface affect tires? What type of tires are more suitable for slippery roads? Everyone knows that one needs to drive carefully on wet roads, as there can be issues such as reduced tire grip and hydroplaning. So why is grip worse on wet roads compared to dry roads? This is because dry road surfaces are actually uneven; sometimes, in order to maintain traction on the road, particles are deliberately added to it to increase friction. However, on wet roads or roads that have just been rained on, the water accumulation will level out the uneven surface. When the tire passes by at high speed, if there is no time to drain the water accumulated there, it will affect the tire’s grip. What’s worse, due to high-speed rotation and air resistance, a layer of water film forms on the surface of the tire itself. The water film will **reduce the traction between the tire and the ground. If the water accumulated on the tire surface and within the tread is not removed in a timely manner, the likelihood of the formation of a water film **increases**, which severely affects the tire’s grip as well as the vehicle’s braking distance. So how can tires avoid the formation of a water film and promptly drain the water from their treads and surfaces? The tread pattern of the tire becomes particularly important. So what type of pattern design can help with traction on wet surfaces? Let’s take the General GS5 tire, which is popular in the market for its wet-terrain grip, as an example. Firstly, for tires to achieve better drainage performance, the design of the lateral tread pattern is crucial. The lateral tread pattern of the tire breaks the inertial adhesion of water pooled on the road surface to the tire surface. At the same time, the lateral tread pattern enhances the tire’s grip. We can see that the lateral tread design of the GS5 tire is quite distinctive: for example, the direction of the tread patterns is consistent, and there are fewer fine grooves compared to more large grooves. The coarse and uneven grooves, along with their clear regular pattern, allow more water to be quickly flung away as the wheels rotate. Then why is the direction of the tire tread patterns also designed to be consistent? This is because, in order to allow water accumulated in the vertical grooves to be drained as quickly as possible, almost all of the horizontal grooves in GS5 are designed to be open; the regular arrangement of these horizontal grooves helps the water inside the tire to flow through the channels between them and be discharged toward the sides of the tire more rapidly. At the same time, the asymmetric pattern design helps to improve the vehicle’s grip on both dry and wet surfaces, especially on wet surfaces; it breaks the inertial balance force of the water film, preventing a water film from forming on the tire surface. There is also a hidden mystery in the vertical stripes of the GS5. The vertical grooves we see are not straight; rather, they resemble the patterns on shoe soles. These 3D vertical grooves help to direct water that accumulates between them, allowing the water to be drained through the channels between the grooves. Moreover, these 3D vertical grooves greatly assist in vehicle handling, enhancing the vehicle’s grip during turns. What’s more interesting is that this tire also comes with 2 Easter eggs. The surface of the tires features special markings; if the wheel alignment is not properly adjusted after replacing the tires, we can tell by looking at these markings. Symmetrical symbols are printed on the tire tread, and if these symbols become unevenly worn after 1000 kilometers, it may be necessary to perform wheel alignment again. Tire wear is presented in a more visual way, eliminating the need to strain to see the indicator blocks between the tread patterns. What’s interesting about this tire is that it has text printed on its tread; when the tread is severely worn, the text on the tire changes, signaling to the user that it’s time to replace the tire as soon as possible. By analyzing the General GS5 tire, we will learn what kind of tread pattern is more suitable for wet and waterlogged road surfaces. Regarding tire tread patterns, it’s like trying to have both fish and bear paws – it’s not possible to have them all. Therefore, the choice of tire type should be based on actual conditions and road conditions. For vehicles that drive in humid weather with heavy rainfall, or those that often travel on roads covered with water, the GS5 is a good choice. What are the penalties for not displaying the compulsory insurance badge? For information on tire models for the Audi A1, you can refer to Tuhu Maintenance’s official website. As for its service outlets, as of August 2018, Tuhu Maintenance had more than 13,000 partner installation shops across the country, along with over 500 factory-based stores; its service network covered 31 provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, as well as 405 cities. In terms of warehousing and logistics, Tuhu Auto Service has established over 30 such centers in 24 cities across the country, with a total area of more than 170,000 square meters; this covers the warehousing and delivery needs in the key sales areas throughout the nation.