Handling in the rain.

[seyath]

Well, as most of you might know, the East Coast is being hit with a hurricane after another and even tough by the time they get to NJ-NY they are not as bad, we are still getting a crap load of rain. Since my job forces me to drive 35mi back and forth everyday, I got a chance to really test out my 240SX in the rain. I must say that I am really impressed with the stability of the S13 chassis. I have to admit that I have pushed it quite a bit in the past two weeks and even tough the I have to deal with a bad transmission that shifts very hard to and from 2nd, and bad tires (worn out in the rear and completely bald in the front), the car proved to be able to keep up with my driving.Of course, the car did slide on several occasions, a few of which I purposely caused, yet the S13 was very predictable and able to be controlled with minimal countersteer. This is both in highway driving and hitting the touge by my house. I guess this goes to the few people that said they felt unsafe driving the S13 in the rain. Just go ahead and don't be afraid to push it a little, the car will prove itself quite worthy. **NOTE** Just before you start flaming about being an unsafe d!ck and I should buy new tires let me explain: I've rallied with my father and my uncle since I was 12 and autocrossed since I was 14. I can deal with bad tires. I am only waiting to find out how soon the snow is going to hit to decide wether to get High Performance Rain Tires (Pirelli's), or the Bridgestone Blisszak's.

[bcar240]

I agree with you totally. My car is pretty solid in the rain (when I want it to be anyway.) But the tire tread can have a big effect on it as well. Due to the problem in my sig, I have one steely on the car with an old, mostly worn $40 wal-mart type tire on there (tread patteren looks like a checkerboard ), compared with the other 3 all-season tires. And when I have been driving in heavy rain I can actually feel that one tire start hydroplaning while the others are fine, a very weird feeling. This includes a bout with standing water at 60 mph, but thanks to my 3 good tires I stayed totally in control. Needless to say, that got my attention .

[youngturk]

I completely agree with Seyath. I have an S13 too and have been simply amazed how well the car handles in the rain, especially since I don't have ANY formal driver training and no experience autocrossing. I used to use Michelin MXV4s which produced good handling and excellent grip in the rain. Now I have switched to Bridgestone Potenza RE950s and I couldn't be happier. The have better handling and equally good (if not better) performance on wet roads (doing 180 mile runs with the Porsche, Miata, and S2000 crowds teaches you a lot about the handling of your car in the rain).

I believe having a manual transmission makes a difference. A close friend of mine who owns an automatic S14 frequently complained that her car was "scary" in the rain and wet roads, that she frequently spinned a wheel, which is why she decided to install a VLSD. Funny thing is I have never had those problems and , therefore, have never felt the need to install one. I have always been comfortable with the stability and handling of the car in the rain, even with skinny 195/60 tires.

[DammitBobby]

I don`t like to drive my car in the rain. If I drive up a hill it spins all the way up. A couple of weeks ago I almost rear end somebody and I was driving slow. It just could not stop in the rain. I don`t know what tires I am running but they have plenty of tread. I constantly fish tail all over the place and I am not trying to on purpose. When it rains I drive the camry. Front wheel drive never have a problem in the rain!

[xns]

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAAH, rain... rwd+rain = death... severe death and doom for volk av3 rims and the entire k-frame of a car... be careful

[SeVa-S13]

Yeah, I was scared out of my midn when I first started driving in the rain. New 15/16 year old driver in a light RWD car with balding, cheapo tires all around = terror. (And an eventual spinout and slight confrontation with a curb)

I can now control my car in the rain at any speed through a turn, plus I got soem decent tires. Give it some time, practice somewhere safe and get some new tires.

[bcar240]

if you think rain is bad, try ice and snow . I would have to admit that FWD does have RWD in handing in slick conditions. I don't know, I can spin my tires if I punch it, but if people have tire spinning problems just driving normally I would have to guess there is something wrong, tires probably. I didn't have many incidents learning to drive in the rain but there were a few (crap tires + didn't know what countersteering was + corner + rain + excessive speed = HOLY ****, where did the road go?) I would definatly recommend practice to someone learning, it is useful to know what happens and what it feels like right before it slides. But be careful, that is how I got my only ticket, believe it or not cops care about abandoned parking lots in the middle of the night.

[DammitBobby]

I am eventually going to buy new tires when I replace my stock wheels. Right now I am trying to get everything fixed. I all ready spend a Grand on the suspension, another 800.00 on the transmission (5 speed clutch kit and replace messed up transmission) and 450 on cat back because the other one rusted out. Today I am suppose to get a new improved B&M shifter from SouthWest. I also have to replace my slave cylinder. I have saved 600bucks for my SR swap! S13 Stock motor is so SLOOOOOWWWW! I wished I hadn`t fixed the transmission and saved the money for a SR!! This car is so addictive like a drug habbit it hurts alot and cost alot!!

[seyath]

Actually, I am going to have to disagree with you on that one. I actually much prefer snow to rain. I can't really explain why... I guess that I can feel that the rain is more of a uniform agent and you can plainly see it and predict it, however rain is more of an uncontrollable variable. I mean anybody who has driven hard with both RWD and AWD in rain and snow can tell that most of the times snow will provide more grip than the rain. Anyways, I am having a fight currently with my stepfather because I've jsut been offered a very good job as a Production Supervisor for Estee Lauder and he wants me to sell my S13 and get a 4WD SUV, preferably a RX300 so he can feel safer about me driving in the rain and snow of the East Coast. I actually had agreed at first, but after driving my S13 for a while I really want to fix it. transmission, clutch, tires, brakes, wheels, suspensions and bringing the body back to showroom condition will probably cost as much as 1/4 of what I would pay for the Lexus (app. $5-6000) but I really think it would be safer than the truck....

[rawill240sx]

I guess I'm the complete opposite on 90% of the people in the world give me a rwd any day. I grew up driving rwd in all conditions. To me fwd always feels light in the rearend like it going to come around without my input. I've drive a few different fwd and I even own one now, and I have to say that of all the fwd I've driven or rode in the I30 feels the most stable. Maybe I've just had a bad experince with fwd.

[bcar240]

yeah I know what you mean about FWD, it feels weird when I drive one now, I am so used to rear.

I can see where you are coming from about the rain, it does have a tendency to puddle and stuff, snow doesn't do that. I was thinking ice is the worst, but I guess people can expect ice and snow to be slick and drive accordingly. (Ice can be really fun!) I remember last winter I got stuck a quite few times (not fun.)

[GripR]

hey i've only drivin my 180 a few times in the rain but i just got a kaaz lsd 2 way with 100% lock up. forecast says it's going to rain this week. any pointers?

[bcar240]

Be very gentle, literally. Avoid harsh braking or acceleration. Avoid using too much engine compression to slow down. Be very steady in turns. I would STRONGLY recommend getting used to the car in the first rain by pushing it and see when and what happens when it locks, in a safe place of couse. Better there than an offramp, etc...

[GhostDriver]

I learned to be a pro in the rain the hard way. No ABS or LSD in my hardbody truck with incredibly stupid drivers also on the road made for some tricky and sometimes scary moments but now it's no sweat. I'm actually glad I learned how to approach the limits in the rain.

[mmatl16]

hey i've only drivin my 180 a few times in the rain but i just got a kaaz lsd 2 way with 100% lock up. forecast says it's going to rain this week. any pointers?

park ur car til it stops raining.

also this last winter was a pain in the as$ for me. I would go snowboarding every weekend and I would lose traction on every road the second my turbo started spooling. I drove real slow up and down the freeways

[seany1]

some time back not knowing my machine(in the rain),i was being challenged by a skumfire,the wing was higher the the roof(he!he!)i said to the misses if that will make him go any faster,not! as we were side by side i knew my hicas would out corner him on the turn ahead(90 degree).well what a treat,i done a full 360,without losing control just kept on going.i sort of wished i was in the other car to check out how cool,out of control i was.the misses was not too happy,but i had a smile from ear to ear(i wont forget to mention the ticker was pumping a little faster than normal).that was some 2-3 yrs back.as of now i would have to say i dont trust my 240 in the rain/snow.this is one of many instances. power sliding(drifting)for over 200 feet on a freeway doing about 70 in slushy rain trying not to hit the median(concrete divider) on one side, ditch on the other.the weather for me determines for what i will drive that day.just my 2 cents

[flohtingPoint]

if you think rain is bad, try ice and snow

All you need is 3 things:-LSD-Proper tires-Self control

I drove this whole winter season here in snowy Germany and right now I'm going through the heavy rain season, and have yet to have ANY issues with driving. There is nothing scary or bewildering about driving in harsh conditions with RWD.

[WeldingHank]

i drive my car in everything. and i have yet to have a problem. in march, i actually drove my car in a road rally during a snow storm on country bumpkin roads. some of them with only packed snow with ice under it. some roads i was doing 40 on i shouldn't have been . but i was in complete control the entire time. the S1X chassis just isn't that bad at all. you need some okay tires, and your fine. if you have 3 different tires, regardless of there tread its gonna throw the car off.

[Juujai]

i spun out a couple times with the 240. i rev very smoothly too. and never above 2800~ in the rain, i dont even accelerate while i am turning at all too. the car seems to like to fish tail in the rain. i learned how to control it but its like a mission to do so with all that hp. i always feel instability

yeah its true ffs own frs in these situations. even in touge amateur vs amateur most ffs have better stability. u can gas it like a psycho in an ff without worrying. dont any of you claim to be fr expert too. decent hp sr20dets with lsds/coilovers good tires etc can lose to stock camrys and civics dxs its horrible.

[skydragoness]

All you need is 3 things:-LSD-Proper tires-Self control

I drove this whole winter season here in snowy Germany and right now I'm going through the heavy rain season, and have yet to have ANY issues with driving. There is nothing scary or bewildering about driving in harsh conditions with RWD.

Tires are the most important factor, a cheap set of tires are dangerous on ANY drivetrain in the rain. I advise on going on TireRack and reading tire reviews to find the best ones. IMO, bridgestones pwn in the rain.

[GhostDriver]

I drove my RE750s in the rain and I was completely impressed. THey kick *** in the rain and even more *** when dry.

[ArticDragon192]

Tires are the most important factor, a cheap set of tires are dangerous on ANY drivetrain in the rain. I advise on going on TireRack and reading tire reviews to find the best ones. IMO, bridgestones pwn in the rain.

My car is very stable in the rain. it must be the tires I have on. I have some Falken Ziexs and they grip in the wet like no other. I can go 80 in the rain w/o any hydroplaning. Tires are a big factor in handling in the rain.

[Veriest1]

I began driving on the street with a 1990 Fleetwood Broughm Caddy, a.k.a land boat. Before that I rode 4 wheelers and drove my dads old truck around our farm. After the caddy came the Bimmer and I've been quite pleased with it in the rain.

Needless to say I feel really unsafe driving front wheel drive cars in any condition because of the ease of inducing understeer.Also note that I'm terrible at left foot braking.