Driving in the rain?

[TuLe]

Do you guys have any problem driving in heavy rain? Because my boss just got into an accident the other day and she had a z350 nissan ... She was driving at about 60 on the far left lane and suddently the car drift freely and bang into the middle divider thing, air bag deployed, fix quarter panel = 5k lol

She said she believe it was because of the tires, she said hers were helllla thin tires ...

So just asking i u guys have any problems? T/c on and off?

[Mdipinto]

If I'm just driving around the T/C is on. I drove a bit in the snow in NJ, heavy rain in CA and in NC, with the stock PZero it's not that bad, snow was a bit scary, mostly when trying to move from a stop(I was just releasing the clutch and not touching the throttle, extra slow take off, just so it doesn't spin), and in heavy rain, it was just not doing heavy braking(I had to do it once, the car slid a bit forward and T/C "took over" and there was no problem, I didn't hit the car in front of me, and had a good amount of space.

It does depend on the tires, as of right now I have continentals DWS, and they stick much better in the rain(medium), and I didn't try on snow yet, and won't be able to do it for a while, but on warm days they don't stick as much as the PZero, so you can say it's more fun :P

It also depends a lot on the driver. If you know how to control your car, you will be able to drive just fine in a sunny day, a rainy day, and even a snow day.

[TwistedEnergy]

I drove mine home in heavy rain the day I picked it up, has the stock PZero's. I brought the car over to my cousins and that night it started pouring. But the car handled fine, never got it over 90km/h but I had no issues and that day was the first day I ever drove a manual car. My starts were slow and very jerky, along with frequent stalls but the tires never spun and the back end never got away from me, I just took it nice and easy.

[jd10013]

how does some one who uses the word "hellla" afford a Z ?

[stlrammer]

I'm riding on General Tire G Max and as you can see in the photo it does amazing in rain and light snow and still has good performance specs.

[heRS]

One might say she was driving too fast for conditions and SHE has trouble driving in the rain. I have had no problems in the rain with my Camaro. DTFFC gets lots of people. Meybe she had her cruise control on, which is a big no-no in the rain.

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by heRS

One might say she was driving too fast for conditions and SHE has trouble driving in the rain. I have had no problems in the rain with my Camaro. DTFFC gets lots of people. Meybe she had her cruise control on, which is a big no-no in the rain.

you say the rain was HARD.....and she was goinjg 60 mph......what she SHOULD have done was slowed down.....OBVIOUSLY what she experianced was hydroplaning.....and it doesn't matter how good your tires are.....if there is to much water on the road for your speed, the water can't channel out the water fast enough and your done.......

[GnyaTek]

Originally Posted by TuLe

She said she believe it was because of the tires, she said hers were helllla thin tires ...

This was the issue (or at least a contributing factor). She was driving a car with far too little tread to grip under wet conditions. Depending on how heavy the rain was, and the grade of the section of road she was on (puddling/ponding, or if the rain was so heavy to be showing visible runoff) hydroplaning is a significant risk regardless of tread depth and tire pressure. Gusts of wind from the side can also push the car into a slide (direct wind, or from tractor trailor or other large vehicle).

That being said, I have been impressed with my Camaro's handling in severe rain and wind. My SS vert is nearly 4200 pounds, and has a wide stance and the 8" and 9" wide tires. Even with heavy winds and rain, the Camaro didn't budge, though I was very watchful ...

This coming from someone who has experience hydroplaning on the Interstate ... with good tires ...






(hitting standing water and getting hit with a cross gust of wind from a semi is not fun ... and neither is going under the trailer)

[ckaram]

No issue with mine on factory tires. Leave nannies on.

[Dizzy82]

Slow down when driving in the rain.

[Scalded Dog]

Driving in inclement weather is one large part vehicle capability (tires, traction control, etc.), a larger part driver skill (including street smarts), and one small part random universal chaos (even the best car/ driver combo COULD get hit by a chunk of airliner sewage, twisted by a tornado, have a wheel fall off, or be swallowed by gap in the earth opening up!).

My LT1 with stock BFGoodrichs has a hard life. I run in hard on mountain roads every day, and the rain is no excuse for keeping it parked. Over the past few months, it even got a lot of snow action, too... even though the ORIGINAL plan was to park it during snow, and take one of the OTHER Bowties in my driveway. However, that traction control system, along with a little snow sense (not boasting, just saying that after driving in it for 25 years, one's skills can develop!), had the Camaro hauling butt (well, relatively speaking!) past sidelined 4X4s and SUVs and trucks and vehicles with chains (not just "no," but "HELL NO!" to chains on the ponycar!). The Camaro's ability in the snow is hindered only by ground clearance, if/ when the snow is deep enough to high center it. Until then, though, this car is really only held back by the other vehicles who have tried and failed to negotiate the road.

In rainy conditions, as a previous poster mentioned, all the vehicle in the world doesn't make a whit of difference... Camaro, Lambo, Jag, Veyron, Hummer, bike, doesn't matter: Hydroplaning will happen if there's a bit of standing water (that's puddles, or even sheeting water). That's where the skill comes in, knowing when to back off the long pedal, when to coast, when to steer or not steer, but mostly just when to keep the speedo needle pointing at lower numbers.

Not disparaging the 300 or its driver, as any number of factors can cause a crash... but, most likely, it was for driving too fast for conditions, maybe catching a little wheelspin, not correcting quick enough, or any number of faulty reactions to a panic situation.

[K32 Camaro]

Originally Posted by Sir Nuke

you say the rain was HARD.....and she was goinjg 60 mph......what she SHOULD have done was slowed down.....OBVIOUSLY what she experianced was hydroplaning.....and it doesn't matter how good your tires are.....if there is to much water on the road for your speed, the water can't channel out the water fast enough and your done.......

This. Tell her to learn how to drive.

[L99SS]

Originally Posted by TuLe

She said she believe it was because of the tires, she said hers were helllla thin tires ...

There's no other way to put it, she's being ignorant and passing the blame onto something else. It was because of her speed. Anyone who drives 60mph during wet weather is begging for a crash.

When the water starts falling, one shouldn't ever exceed 55mph when the roads are wet; reduce speeds by 10% and one shouldn't have problems.

Keep a mental record of low areas in the road during clear days, so when the weather turns for the worse, one should have a fair idea of where standing water may develop.

It's what my parents taught me when I started driving, and they grew up in PA.

Originally Posted by TuLe

So just asking i u guys have any problems? T/c on and off?

Always drive in public with T/C on, and I have never had any problems driving in the rain following such advice.

[Ringo64]

Despite living in the "Sunshine State" it rains here almost daily in the summer. I've gotten completely used to driving in the rain and knowing how to drive dependent on the amount of rain coming down and on the road or how my vehicle/tires are. Then if I have to slow down I move over, I don't stay in the left lane.

IMO it really comes down to driver error, you have to know what is going on with your vehicle and at the slightest discomfort get off the road! I've seen so many accidents because people are stupid and don't realize that doing 80mph while it's down pouring isn't how to drive. Then hit these people who stay in the left lane doing 20mph and don't put on their hazards.