I keep hearing all of these horror stories about people with their f-bodies (L98, LB9's, LT1's, LS1's) driving in the rain or just plain being stupid and spinning their cars around at intersections on accident. I can see how even a slight amount of gas in an f-body with one of the aforementioned engines could send you sideways in bad weather, but i dont really think our LO3s could do that. I just want to see if you guys have ever experienced problems due to underestimating the power (or lack thereof ) of our cars.

Personally, the only problem i've had in the rain would be going up big hills when its downpouring at 55-65 MPH--Car felt like it was sliding all over the road; but that has nothing to do with power. Ive never had any problems like spinning out or the rear end kicking out or anything, but then again i have decent tires (stock Goodyears) and i baby my car.

 

yea one day here in CT it was raining and the roads were soaked. I took a left out of a parking lot with very little gas given to the motor and my rear tires spun and the rear end swung out almost spinning me but somehow i got lucky and got control of the car before cars came close or before i spun. Might have been the tires which are brand new Fuzion Zri's which suck in the wet stuff only good on dry roads so sticky.

 

ive done that in my RS but not too bad where i was spinning like crazy i think i just hit the gas to hard but in my GTA i had i would just with a little and even when it was dry like on a u turn but you just get used to it and take off nice and slow its all on the driver i think

 

You guys are afraid of the unknown....You should seriously consider attending an autocross test and tune session (you'll get more runs in an uncompetitive atmosphere), preferably in the rain. There's nothing inherently wrong with an F-body that will make it just magically spin out where you'll have absolutely no control of it. A car won't do anything unless you tell it too. After an afternoon of trying to pilot your car around a bunch of cones you'll feel much more secure in what the true limits of your car are and how it behaves there. Most of the time "spinning out" has to do with too much throttle followed by snapping out of the gas and going for the brake. The engine braking from lifting completely out of the gas combined with weight transfer of stabing the brakes pretty much unloads the rear end and sends it on around. Autocross will teach you to just lift slightly while still putting down power, and to be very smooth and deliberate with your steering and brake inputs when your at the edge of traction. Experience is key, you have to remain calm and be able think quickly and clearly when something goes wrong. If you've spun out 10 times on an autocross course your not going to get quite as excited when the rearend of your car steps out on you leaving a wet parking lot.

My wife is a car nut, only she just enjoys the strait line aspect of auto racing. I still took her to a parking lot and we practiced threshhold breaking as well as emergency lane changes while heavy on the brakes. She learned alot and feels much more confident now. We're in the process of adding more power to her car, and it's going to get squirely into second, so now she's preparing for the added power by getting the tires spinning in the rain and seeing how far she can keep the tires spinning and the car sideways (posi). That way she'll have an idea of how the car will squirm and try to swap ends when she looses traction in the dry.

 

o no i can handle my car no doubt its just that one time when i was 16 and it was raining and my tires dont like the rain one bit. But i do know my cars limits and what it is capable of because i play with it every now and then.

 

Considering that I could put a stock 170 HP Q-Jet 305 powered van weighing 5,500 lbs sideways on dry pavement, I see ANY thirdgen being able to exceed the limits of the tires to stick to the road.

 

yah i run goodyear eagle gt2s that are worn out on the rear and mine don't like much throttle in the rain.

Theirs definetly no reason you can't control the car though, i only spin mine when i want to.

I can matt my stock l03 in the rain and the tires will spin 75+mph before they catch while getting squirly shifting pretty much every gear it went through.

The only thing i ever worry about on mine is the fairly snappy 1st to 2nd shifts with anything more than 2krpms in the rain. Lukcily for me no posi means it's easier to drive in that situation.

 

Oh good lord. I have spun out(180* 360* spins that is) so many times with or with out the help of wet roads. If im on wet roads i can punch it at twenty or thirty and break em loose. I was coming home the other night from my sisters apartment and was making a turn at a four way light. I didnt even give it a quarter throttle and the tires broke loose and bam i was turned around 180* I could have sat at the other stop light because it turned me around facing it. Luckily there was nooone in my way when i spun or id of been F'd.

 

Spinning out in these cars has little to do with power and more to do with the afore mentioned items that BMonte posted. You can lose it with an Iron Duke or any other power plant. I slide in the rain on a banked onramp at a mere 25mph that sent me into a wall. The road surface was slick (fresh rain after a drought) and I lost it (was not on gas but was on brake). However, after I came to a stop two FWD cars behind me had the same fate (and were going the same speed). Understanding your car and the conditions of the road keep you off the concrete walls. It has been over three years since then and I am still rebuilding the damn car.

 

Also, I have heard that camaros are notorious for having bad handling and traction on wet roads and in the rain. Every time my car has 'spun' its been user inacted. I agree cars dont just break loose with out something being done from the user. Duh

 

Well, it seems the pattern is rainy weather and I have had this proble too. I was on a winding road one time and it had been raining allll day, I floored it and went to go around someone poking along and the back fished around and I almost lost it. If I had I would have went staright into that oncoming traffic

 

Monte had the right idea, practice. You can lose control in a Geo Metro if you are not driving according to the conditions.

You all need to move to Oregon, that will teach you how to drive in the rain.

 

One Word....
TIRES

I was driving my RS with the below mods in the pouring rain last summer. The tires were low but still within the limits. I couldnt accellerate AT ALL! It didnt matter how lightly I let go of the clutch... As soon as power got to the rear wheels, I was sideways. I litterally had to drive the car slightly sideways to get any kind of speed up. Once i got some speed, I was able to ease off the gas and straighten it out.

 

Thats probably that posi of yours.

 

Im sure that had something to do with it as well.. But it was still crazy. People we looking at me like I was trying to commit suicide!

 

yea its all about the tires but also car. recently i just had a 95 2.3 grand am 5 speed with yokohamas. Tires sucked in the snow but the car never fished unless i pushed it real hard with turns adn lots of gas. coming to a stop with the abs in the piece was a different story couldnt stop worth a **** on wet or snowy roads.

 

I love the yokohamas on my beater car. I guess it depends on which model you get. I have the AVID Tourings on my Cavalier and they kick ***. Snow, rain, dry, it doesnt matter they grip.

 

I guess it would be a decent idea for me to get accustomed to what my car feels like sideways.

I would assume the best suggestion would be to find an empty parking lot in the rain?

 

yea i had the touring avids and they can grip. just drive the car and see what the limits of it are and once you know then youre good to drive in the rain.

 

double post sorry laggy internet

 

First week I had the car, stop light, light turns green, I drive slowly through some water, exit the puddle, make my turn at 15 mph or so and do a complete donut. I just stepped on it a little bit, that was it.

Each time it rains, I have to be careful at take off.

Base TBI engine may not be a horsepower monster, but it has enough torque to start with.

 

NAH, the roads probably get worse down here. Lack of rain gets the roads very oily and greasy. Alot of the time it rains very little. The roads turn into a slick mess. Touch the gas and you end up sideways. When it rains heavy enough, the roads are setup poorly for drainage, and up to 4-6" can sit in places!!! Hit a wall of water at 40 mph and see what it is like. All you see is water everywhere!

 

I hit standing water all the time, I have driven in rain, in many places in the US. I know the roads here are built to deal with water a little better, but the practice of driving on wet roads for 8 months a year, makes it easier to drive on we roads anywhere you go.

 

I put all Seasonals on mine, For many reasons, and ive never had a problem in the rain.. and did i mention i only have low speed wipers? so when its down pouring and the wind is blowing like a SOAB and theres limbs in the road, i cannot see a Da*n thing going 10mph.. and i live on a mountain, almost at the tip top, which is only 1000ft up the road.. and this hill is steap! i'll have some pics with my car on the hill sometime.. but I have never had any problem, unless i push over 1/4 throttle at a stop, and then she spins.. wet or dry.. But i usually take it easy..

 

I am basically a professional drifter because when it rains and I take a turn 25-50% of the time it slips out from under me. And the reason is because my tires are completely bald. But I also do it on purpose if its safe too.

 

It freaked me out a little the first time my old '85 got sideways in the rain. Then I realized it was fun as hell and kept doing it only once did I use too much throttle and I did a 180 up onto a median. Bent the rear rim LOL but it drove fine.

Now with my '97.. I can be going 25 on dry roads and floor it in first and completely loose traction Course this is fun as **** too, lots of smoke, lots of burnout marks and lots of annoyed neighbors Need some new shoes though My '97 will however break traction at 45 mph+ in the rain, in first, second or third. Havn't tried it going any faster lol

I need new tires ....

 

I kicked my car out pretty good coming out of the car wash because the guy that detailed my car loaded the tires with armor-all, I just stayed on it and went about 200ft sideways so it looked like I did it on purpose... thats about it.

 

I always suspected that GM designed these cars to make easy brokeslides . To me its a good thing , to my neighbors it's not ... wonder why .

 

the first one i had i ghetto rigged an open element on, but i forgot to plug the vacum line for the thermac valve, so when i drove it around the damn thing was lurching and surging and i thought i f'ed up big time, quick fix but boy did i feel like a dumbass after that one.

aside from that the only problem i have with the LO3 is the stock performance. sucks being poor dont it fellas?

 

Spun my car out into a retaining wall (no damage though as the tire hit first) on the interstate. It was doing the misting raining thing and I had some really sh*tty Goodyears on them. I also didn't exactly know how my car reacted yet as I had been driving it for only 2 weeks at that point. The torque can definately cause problems though. I don't think it could spin you around, but it will cause you to sit there and get a little squirly when you probably shouldn't be.

 

I only lost it twice in my camaro. Once I was 16 = enough said. And once I was sitting at a stop sign at 6000 rpms in 3rd gear powerbraking it and I attempted to go around the corner. Fishtailed back and worth about five times then had to get on the brakes or go into a ditch.

 

Oily intersections are the scariest. It doesn't take much to break it loose in the dry, let alone after a little rain and the oil floating to the top...
After a few close calls, you learn that what makes it so fun to drive on dry roads makes is so loose on the wet. You just have to take it easy.