How U Drive In The Rain

[08yannch]

i h8 driving in the rain

high every body. im starting this thread to see how other ppl handle driving in the rain (eg driving style, routines, tire pressure, different tires, anything) and if they loose traction and what to avoid on the road.

[CeJay]

Go to a wet skidpan day and try it out. I just drive bloody carefully and increase my distances, get a decent set of wet weather tyres as well.

[Hanaldo]

Yeh i recommend doing a skidpan day in the wet as well, you really learn something about how your car handles in the wet.

[ichizora]

I had a pretty scary experience sliding out of a roundabout just last week actually, thankfully managed to regain traction... Now I just try to keep the revs low and drive slowly and keep a big distance from the car in front. Also I don't touch the throttle when turning, learnt my lesson

[30three]

I drive carefully and leave bigger gaps etc.

The auto VN-VS commo drivers around here are a another matter though

[08yannch]

well 4 me i use the snow button (auto skyline) if it has just rained and i have stopped at lights or any were and am turning i will keep it in 2nd till i have stopped turning. leaving longer braking distances, take of slower and take corners slower. i also avoid all lines and arrows on the road and when i stop at lights i keep my tires of the middle of the lain as thats were all the oil is.

i will still loose traction sometimes, especially at take of and i have to avoid stops on hills especially when i have to turn left or right. maybe its time to invest in some all yr round tires instead of my maxxis witch seem to never loose tread witch leads me to believe they not to good 4 gripping the road

[Ten Four]

You guys must have shocking tyres...... I've got toyo's and no slide whatsoever. Have to be a complete dickhead to lose traction...

[08yannch]

You guys must have shocking tyres...... I've got toyo's and no slide whatsoever. Have to be a complete dickhead to lose traction...

dont u have awd but ?

[StealthX]

You guys must have shocking tyres...... I've got toyo's and no slide whatsoever. Have to be a complete dickhead to lose traction...

lol idiot James! You've got AWD and 240ish mm of tyres all round. Spare a though for the rubber challenged brethren who are stuck driving their mum's car while they install a new turbo...

N16 pulsar understeer yay!

[ichizora]

I think OP is concerned about RWD mostly. I've got 255 Federal SS595 on the rear, very easy to slide... looking at getting wider wheels soon though, gonna try some Kumhos I've heard good things about them

[zebra]

To be perfectly honest...if you guys are losing it in the rain you need to stop being dick heads and slow down...

[phenline]

Hold the wheel with two hands, its where you receive all the feedback, adjust accordingly.

[diamondjo]

From a driver training course I did: pump your tires up. The intuitive thing would be to let your tires down right? Not so, because when you let your tires down, the centre of the tire makes less contact with the road. Even though it looks like you've got a fatter profile and its harder to steer so it feels like you're glued to the road - the middle bit that you can't see flexes upwards. It's only harder to steer because you're fighting the tire deforming due to lack of pressure. This also makes it more likely that you'll have a blowout - the tire wall is contantly flexing as it goes round and round so it heats up and wears faster.

Tires are actually a form of pump, that's why you have ridges in them - to pump the water away from the contact surface and out the back. Good contact = good tires. Letting your tires down in sand works because you're on a loose surface that changes its profile when you roll over it - so you want your tire to deform with the surface. Roads are hard so you don't want deformation .

Related: Manufacturers recommended pressures on your placard are actually a trade-off between ride-comfort and safety. If the placard says 32, go 36 or even a bit more. Uneven wear (when the centre of the tread wears faster than the outside) only really happens when you pump up to ludicrous pressures. Also, if you're running low-profiles, ignore the placard completely and run a few PSI over the manufacturer's recommended pressure.

I shit you not, since I started taking this advice - you have to be REALLY trying to break traction, it won't "just happen" and my tires are lasting a LOT longer.

[SKYRYAN]

If you are losing traction in the rain, you are either doing it on purpose or you are a really f**king shit driver. Sell your car.

[Patrick88]

what you guys complaining about? no traction is good fun!!

[Dani Boi]

If you are losing traction in the rain, you are either doing it on purpose or you are a really f**king shit driver. Sell your car.

haha good call.

But seriously just keep your distance and dont go around corners at 4000rpm and you'll be right. Oh and get yourself some decent tyres if you haven't already.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Dani Boi

[diamondjo]

Oh and about losing traction? Let's assume you haven't just broken traction by being a tool and you've actually swerved to miss something in the rain and lost it. My good friend Mr Keets once told me after a bingle when I was on my Ps.

"In a spin? Both feet in!"

Edited April 13, 2010 by diamondjo

[Ehgriez]

i have shitty no name $80 tyres on my car.

Havent had an issue since i learnt to drive.

Tyres shouldnt be the issue here.

Less happy pedal.

[Mayuri Krab]

haha good call.

But seriously just keep your distance and dont go around corners at 4000rpm and you'll be right. Oh and get yourself some decent tyres if you haven't already.

I don't go anywhere near 4,000 rpm & the back end still seem a bit twitchy in the rain.

Even take off in a straight line, I pretty much need to keep throttle <30% otherwise there is a good chance the rear end will start twitching...

My tyres seem to be hopeless in the wet.

So now I drive super granny style in the wet, which means 0 to 20km/h acceleration takes close to 5 seconds or so.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Mayuri Krab

[R32 Driver]

rain + boost = bye bye traction

and GTRs do understeer for those saying AWD has twice the traction

comes down to the driver at the end of the day