rain handling
#16
07-12-2005, 03:08 PM
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#17
07-12-2005, 03:13 PM
lol you guys are funny. Growing up in the east coast and only driving rwd cars, this car handles nicely in the rain. BTW Bridgestone Potenzas are awesome tires. They last forever, even if you beat them up and they handle extremely well even whent he tread is very worn down. I had a 95 Mustang GT with the bridgestones, when i bought it they already had 15k miles on them. I drove the hell out of those tires for another 35k with them handling great, had em for about a year and a half. Then I put some Dunlop SS on my car, worn out in 7 months. Worst tires ever. The Bridgestones handled 10x better. As for the rain, just dont be slamming the gas around corners unless you want to break the rear end loose. Especially if you have limited slip, with limited slip the rear end will break out on you even faster. Oh and if your scared to take this car in the rain, go take lessons on how to drive in the rain (all of California) this car is awesome.
I would even take it out in the snow, if I still lived in the east coast. I used to drive my mustang in the snow all the time. What fun that was
...I remember taking it back to worcester and going up all the route 9 hills sideways in a blizzard.
I would even take it out in the snow, if I still lived in the east coast. I used to drive my mustang in the snow all the time. What fun that was
...I remember taking it back to worcester and going up all the route 9 hills sideways in a blizzard.
Last edited by cscirpoli; 07-12-2005 at 03:16 PM.
#19
07-12-2005, 03:16 PM
Originally Posted by Jtrain
No, I won't explain it smart-***, But if you keep it off, you'll notice taking the puddles will be a lot easier
And no thanks, I am not going to "try it". I'd rather not wreck my car
#20
07-12-2005, 03:18 PM
#21
07-12-2005, 03:21 PM
Originally Posted by madchef
Look champ, if you are going to tell somebody to turn off a saftey feature on their car ("OR ELSE THEY WILL DIE!!"), don't you at least think you should know what you are talking about? and maybe you should consider the ramifications (read: accident)??
And no thanks, I am not going to "try it". I'd rather not wreck my car
And no thanks, I am not going to "try it". I'd rather not wreck my car
...The only reason I could see why turning off VDC would help, is because it limits power to the drivetrain when you start to slip. So if your rear tires start to slip they will slow down and throw less water out through the tread. Therefore causing your tire to loose contact with the ground. But you shouldn't be puddle jumping with this car anway. If you start to hydroplane, don't turn the wheel, don't hit the gas, just ride it through. If you start to turn sideways, turn the wheel into the spin, and tap the gas, TAP the gas, don't plug the peddle to the floor, that will be asking for trouble. but i've never has a hydroplane spin me when i just did nothing and rode it out. usually one or 2 tires stays glued to the pavement so you should be fine.
#22
07-12-2005, 03:23 PM
Originally Posted by Jtrain
Okay Slugger, Do a search on the topic VDC on or off, and read up on that, they all said to turn it off when racing or in rain, so thats what im going on.
Kkthxbye
Kkthxbye
I'm just trying to make sure you don't get other people into accidents....but I should have realized that no one would have taken your advice anyways.
Sorry for wasting bandwith guys.
#23
07-12-2005, 03:53 PM
#24
07-12-2005, 03:56 PM
Originally Posted by madchef
Why should I run a search on something just because you don't understand it, and you heard somebody say something so thats what you are going off?
I'm just trying to make sure you don't get other people into accidents....but I should have realized that no one would have taken your advice anyways.
Sorry for wasting bandwith guys.
I'm just trying to make sure you don't get other people into accidents....but I should have realized that no one would have taken your advice anyways.
Sorry for wasting bandwith guys.
#25
07-12-2005, 03:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Jtrain
If you turn off your VCD in the rain your fine, but MAKE SURE YOU DO, or you may die.
#26
07-12-2005, 04:29 PM
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If y ou are driving on High Performance tires you will have trouble with rain and snow. They are designed for dry roads. Get some of the top rated All Seasons - Bridgestone RE950, Turanza, any of the top 5 listed in the Tire Rack survey and you should be okay. I'm on Bridgestone RE92, model before the RE950, with about 40K miles on them, live in the Seattle area and only have problems when the roads have standing water on them. Normal rain, all winter long, they are great.
#27
07-12-2005, 04:44 PM
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The car handles pretty well in the rain but tends to plow (understeer) a little more than in the dry. Nothing a quick and sensitive right foot can't handle.
Totally agree with this. The VDC was not confirmed to be on or off but... A couple of kids in Vancouver spun a coupe, landed in a narrow ditch backwards, doors would open, the car somehow was on fire and they were burnt to death in front of onlookers that couldn't do anything. 
The VDC lets you take the car to a limit beyond what most drivers can recover from.
The topic of Hydroplaning and VDC.
Consider a scenario where you are powering through in the rain and one side of the car, say the right side, hits a long puddle of water and hydroplanes. The right side has little to no traction and your rear wheel starts to spin (just a little more than the left even if you have LSD). Now your VDC reacts and cuts the power (and depending on the circumstances the brakes might be applied by the VDC too). Your left wheels, which are in full contact and traction with the pavement, are now engine braking because of the VDC. Remember that the right wheels has no traction. This in itself may not result in a spin depend on the road (straight, left or right curve) But its motion might cause some knee-jerk reaction in the driver to try and maintain control and lose control.
One more item from my transportation engineering course. hydroplane will only occur at or above a speed of 70 miles per hour with convention tread patterns. Water evacuating tread patterns raises this speed. Water depth is not as critical.
Originally Posted by Jtrain
If you turn off your VCD in the rain your fine, but MAKE SURE YOU DO, or you may die.
The VDC lets you take the car to a limit beyond what most drivers can recover from.
The topic of Hydroplaning and VDC.
Consider a scenario where you are powering through in the rain and one side of the car, say the right side, hits a long puddle of water and hydroplanes. The right side has little to no traction and your rear wheel starts to spin (just a little more than the left even if you have LSD). Now your VDC reacts and cuts the power (and depending on the circumstances the brakes might be applied by the VDC too). Your left wheels, which are in full contact and traction with the pavement, are now engine braking because of the VDC. Remember that the right wheels has no traction. This in itself may not result in a spin depend on the road (straight, left or right curve) But its motion might cause some knee-jerk reaction in the driver to try and maintain control and lose control.
One more item from my transportation engineering course. hydroplane will only occur at or above a speed of 70 miles per hour with convention tread patterns. Water evacuating tread patterns raises this speed. Water depth is not as critical.
Last edited by clinty; 07-12-2005 at 04:51 PM.
#28
07-12-2005, 04:51 PM
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#29
07-12-2005, 05:19 PM
Originally Posted by clinty
The VDC was not confirmed to be on or off but... A couple of kids in Vancouver spun a coupe, landed in a narrow ditch backwards, doors would open, the car somehow was on fire and they were burnt to death in front of onlookers that couldn't do anything.
a - They were driving along normally, began to slip, VDC comes on and forces them into a spin.
or
b - They turned VDC off, were having "a little fun" (spinning the wheels, sliding on purpose, whatever), started to spin and couldn't regain control
Originally Posted by clinty
The VDC lets you take the car to a limit beyond what most drivers can recover from.
Originally Posted by clinty
Consider a scenario where you are powering through in the rain and one side of the car, say the right side, hits a long puddle of water and hydroplanes. The right side has little to no traction and your rear wheel starts to spin (just a little more than the left even if you have LSD). Now your VDC reacts and cuts the power (and depending on the circumstances the brakes might be applied by the VDC too). Your left wheels, which are in full contact and traction with the pavement, are now engine braking because of the VDC. Remember that the right wheels has no traction. This in itself may not result in a spin depend on the road (straight, left or right curve) But its motion might cause some knee-jerk reaction in the driver to try and maintain control and lose control.
Last edited by madchef; 07-12-2005 at 05:21 PM.
#30
07-12-2005, 05:39 PM
I've run the car in heavy rain at the track with both VDC on and off. I've had VDC save my *** from an impending 90mph spin and it was definitely invaluable there. My vote is to leave VDC on in the rain. At track speeds, VDC's slight delay actually allows you to attempt corrective action so it really is a safety net for worse case scenarios. Also, it's one thing to be on the track where you're focused on driving the car and able to react quickly to anything that comes up but the reality of driving on the street is that you have a dozen different things on your mind.
Last edited by Balzz; 07-12-2005 at 05:42 PM.