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Abstract. The paper presents a system aiming at characterizing water spray induced by a tire rolling on a wet road and relating it to the water depth on the road surface. Water splash and spray mechanisms are briefly reminded and definition of water depths are given. The system setup, composed of ac-celerometers to record vibrations of the front wheel arch liner, is described. Tests are performed with a passenger car on various road surfaces and at dif-ferent vehicle speeds and water depths. Signals recorded by the accelerome-ters are filtered and processed. The link between the acceleration amplitude, the water depth, and the vehicle speed is consistent with results from pre-vious studies. A mathematical model is proposed to relate the acceleration amplitude to the water depth. The effect of the surface macrotexture, based on the Mean Texture Depth, is less obvious. Suggestions are made for fur-ther investigations based on 3D topographical maps and texture indicators related to water drainage mechanisms.
