I realize that thirdgens have considerably larger amount of weight in the front vs the rear. I think its something like 52/48. But damn! They handle horrible in the rain, yet they are awesome in the dry. Anyone knows why?

 

i think its related to the fact that they're wicked @ss cars and the engines are too honkin for the car itself. BTW, how many thirdgens have you driven in the rain?!
latz,

87GTA57L

 

I've only driven mine, but everyone that I have spoken to about handling in the wet has told me that their car was the same. I can see that the car can break loose easily if you have lots of power. That is understandable. What I meant was the horrible braking / turning in the wet.

 

doobie smoker, lol,

i got two 96 astro vans, a 96 chevy silverado, my bird, dads 98 suburban, a buddies 95 neon, buddies audi.


all these cars, the van did the worse. audi did best, then the suburban, then the neon, then mine, then vans, mine just rulez tho,

and ya gots ta have skillz

 

Good tires and good brake pads should fix that. My car used to slide all over the place, but then I got some B.F. Goodrich g-force KDWS tires and I have Performance Friction brake pads and I barely have to worry about whether or not the road is wet. Any performance brake pads should work fine, but the tires make the biggest difference.

 

my car rides very good in the rain the only real thing that stands out is it hydroplains a lot in heavy rain and rear end gets lose around corners but that can be fun at times. You just have to be careful and make sure you have good tires with tread on them. But yea they are definitely not the best cars to drive in the rain.I guess they were just built to be drivin on dry days.

 

good tires are the key. Cooper cobras are great in the rain.

 

Yup.. It's aallll about the tires. There's a reason cheap ones are cheap (although I've seen one or two high dollar tires flake out in the rain, but then again they were meant for dry-only).

I used to slip n slide all over the place in the rain. I was like a limo-driver around turns. The tires just sucked, even though they were brand-freakin-new. Then I got some decent tires, and I had to learn to drive in the rain all over again! Being blown away by the wet-traction the first time was very reassuring. I felt much safer in the rain after that.

 

I have to laugh every time I see someone whining about this... GO SLOW. That's all you need. Geez, why show off in the rain? "Look how fast I can go" and then you're in someone's fence or tree or spun out on the highway. Yeah, you need tires with tread, and decent brakes, but 'cmon, you want good traction at high speeds in wet/snow/ice, you're not getting it with an f-body, no matter how many bags of cement or bird feed or sand or bricks you put in the back.

I used to do what Black91 said, before I got these wider tires (and can't do it easily anymore). If I was in a development, with no cars around, I'd punch the gas to kick the back end out, and then correct it for straight again. Now with the P275/60r15's, it takes a lot more gas for that to happen, so it's not as fun.

 

I disagree. When I had cheap tires, my car was sliding through every corner and I had to go really slow. Now that I've got these new ones, my car very rarely ever slides at all, driving in the rain like I would when it's dry. Sure, some of it has to do with the car, but with the right tires it can handle just about as well as anyone else's car. It's not about showing off, it's about not having to worry about turning a corner and doing a 360, and not having to drive in the slow lane on the highway behind Tempos and Civics. I don't see any reason to laugh, because there is a decent solution, and it is pretty frustrating having to drive slow.

 

Hm, wreck my car, or go slow?

No offense, but man, Please don't ever get behind me in a snowstorm. In fact, don't get next to me, or coming at me; I'd
hate to be hit by ya.

It's worse to be classified with Tempos and Civics than be safe in the rain?

 

No one ever said anything about snow, that's different.

What I'm trying to say is that a thirdgen can be modified (with the right tires) to be driven in the rain without the need to worry about safety so much, because they make it safer to drive. Not having to worry about sliding is not the same thing as driving crazy. That's like saying that everyone else drives crazy just because their cars handle better and they don't have to worry about it so much. If you go and buy some better tires, made for wet/snow traction, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

I wasn't trying to offend Tempos or Civics, I was merely illustrating a point, being that nobody likes to go slower than their normal pace.

 

I owuld have to say that mine handles fine in the rain. Tires have a great deal to do with it.

 

I had a 78 Caprice wagon that I used for hauling my kart racing stuff around in. It had inexpensive but new tyres on it and the car was quite comfortable at 80-90 mph in heavy rain - so much so that wipers couldn't keep up.

My 83TA has good tyres on it but there is no way I can push it like that in the rain. It's like the feeling when you're about to fall of a ladder.

Conclusion: w/out real good rain tyres 3rd-gens aren't much good in the wet. Probably due to wheel base and weight distribution.

My two cents anyway.

 

I've had some really hairy experiences in the rain with my Z.
Once did a 270deg spin on the freeway onramp after hitting a large puddle with the right side tires at abt 60 MPH. I corrected immediately, but it came on around anyway. Happened really fast. Luckily, it was at 3AM.

Had another experience where I was making a really mellow lane change and wound up COMPLETELY sideways on I-35 running abt 65 MPH with 2 big rigs right behind me and concrete barriers on both sides!!
There was abt a 1/4" of standing water on the roadway.
I love getting sideways, but that one really spooked me.

I have always used Goodyear Eagles on the Z.

Watch those puddles, they WILL get ya!!

 

I have to agree with Tas, I've had 2 sets of the Cobras and could tell a dramatic difference in the wet handling. I do also slow down a little in the rain.

 

I spun out 'bout 3 weeks ago into a retainer wall going about 65 or so when it was doing that misting/sprinkling thing, but I blame more of that on my crappy Eagle GAs that were on at the time. My new Kuhmo Supra 712s have no fear though.

 

well, my car will fishtail when its raining shifting into second.. even when im barley touching the gas.. but i contribute that to my shift kit.. but still its dangerous, can't even turn out of a parking lot when its rain without fear of loosing control..

 

Maybe yall should trade in your f bodies for a Volvo. I did not know that Ralph Nader was among this crowd.

Wide tires = low ground pressure = good grip in the dry.
Low ground pressure = poor grip in the wet due to the car floating on the water rather that penetrating the water. Water can not be compressed with an agressive tire it has no where to go.

Gator Backs best in the dry. Worst in the wet. read dangerous!
GSC not as good in dry better in the wet managable.
Brigstone Potenza better thatn the GSC in wet and dry not as good a Gatorback in dry.

Ever wonder why they dont race Nascar in the rain? But a city bus has no problem in the rain?

Quit crying. Drive like you have some smarts.

 

I live just south of the only rain forest in the lower 48. I get 140" of rain here in my town. Good tires make all the difference. If I had to drive slow every time it rained i'd never get anywhere. I've had 2 sets of coopers and they were decent but would still hydroplane on standing water. I've got a set of Pirellie p8000s now and they are awesome. I havent felt them hydroplane yet. I'm always driving 60 around corners, only thing i'm worried about is where the next rock/mud slide is waiting.

 

Glad to see I'm not the only one that thinks like this!

 

I don't buy the car being at fault for one second.

I used to think that way until I bought my 4thgen. IF there's any car out there that's gonna have similar handling characteristics, that's the one. The rear suspension is identical, for pete's sake.

And you know what? My Firehawk inspires CONFIDENCE in the rain, and it has 275 series tires (vs. the 235s and 255s on my thirdgen), so it isn't the tire width (or at least, not entirely).

The car was also all over the road in the rain even when powered by an anemic 100hp 2.8LV6, so it's not the motor (again, at least not entirely)

It's the tires.

I have Firehawk SZ50's on my Firehawk, and cheapo Dunlop GT Qualifiers on my thirdgen. I'm about to replace my tires, too, and I'm getting the same Firehawks I have on my fourthgen only in a slightly narrower size.

Yes, it will never handle like a front wheel drive Civic in the rain. But I should be able to make a left turn with light throttle and not have the back come out on me, and maintain 70 mph on the highway in a light-to-medium rain without feeling like I'm in danger of losing control at any minute.

Cheap tires are just that, cheap. Remember the Michelin slogan... "So much is riding on your tires". It's the truth.

 

Geez, all the guy did was ask if anyone knew why thirdgens handle horribly in the rain. You're the only one on here whining.

 

I have SZ50's rear and SH30's front... handles great...

 

My car doesn't have the best tires on the market, but they have an A traction rating, and they are all season performance tires. I realize that going with some better tires like BF Goodrich Comp TAs should help some, but given that my current tires are supposed to be decent in the wet, I'm not sure why the car handles so bad. I've had a school bus out brake my car. Thats pathethic.
I've wanted to get some new tires, but the ones on the car have about 50-75 % of the tread left, and I need the money for the motor, so I'm gonna try to bear with them for a while longer.
As far as brakes go, the ones the car had before were garbage, but the tires would lockup real easy in the wet. I put in some Performance Friction pads this weekend, but I haven't had a chance to drive the car yet.

 

The "A" Traction rating is DRY traction.

Edit:

Actually, it's wet BRAKING traction. I stand corrected.

 

re: the tires being your obvious culprit. My old 15" rims had 225 BFG T/A's on them and I was sideways at every corner, anything over half throttle. Now with a set of 245 Goodyear rain tires, it's night-and-day.

 

Nitto says of the traction rating, "This is a letter grade which represents the tire's ability to stop in a straight line on wet pavement. From highest to lowest the grades are: AA, A, B and C."

--www.nittotire.com

 

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle.

Absolutely correct, it is wet BRAKING traction.