13Beast REW

Tired of hearing people cry about how FD's or any turbo FR can't be driven in the rain so I figured those of us who daily drive in the rain or track in the rain should offer some tips to those who are afraid.

When driving a boosted car in the rain (in order of importance)...

1) Keep fresh RAIN CAPABLE tires. Everything below becomes exponentially more important the less capable your tires are in keeping grip in the rain. Whether on slicks, extreme performance summer tires, or simply worn tires in general you need to be even more cautious than even suggested here.

2) Drive SLOW(er than usual). About 10 to 20 mph under the speed limit should be safe for any person that isn't comfortable driving in the rain.

3) Try to handle ALL BRAKING duties while traveling in a STRAIGHT LINE. If it can be avoided, DO NOT apply brakes while turning. If you must use the brakes while turning such as to avoid an obstacle, EVEN WITH ABS, apply the brakes lightly. FIRST get your speed down, THEN maneuver to avoid the obstacle.

4) Stay off of boost. Alot of people would say this is more important than 4th but if you've ever tracked your car in the rain on good tires, you should know that you can hit a full 10lbs of boost in an FD (in a STRAIGHT line, on GOOD equally treaded tires) without loosing control. Regardless... while on public roads and without significant rain experience avoid boosting as much as possible. For those novice drivers who are unsure of what this means... it means apply VERY LIGHT and GRADUAL pressure on the accelerator pedal while trying to build speed. If you listen closely to your car while accelerating, you can hear the stock BOV venting into the stock air box when you aren't boosting. If you've vented the stock BOV instead of having the tubes run back to the air box then the venting will be even more audible.

5) If you are comfortable in your throttle control ability (meaning you should have no problem staying off boost), then apply SLIGHT throttle while turning and hold the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock. This will help with road feedback and steering correction should you need it but if you're driving correctly you shouldn't. Mild acceleration while cornering will help to maintain forward momentum but too much acceleration will ofcoarse cause the rear wheels to spin and cause the rear to swing out.


Anyone else with something to add please post but no crying saying the car can't be driven in the rain because I do it all the time and I know several other people do too.

DamonB

I don't drive my FD in the rain any differently than any other car. The FD will not just leap up and wreck itself. Use some sense and there are no problems (but I will admit to seeing in others a general lack of sense quite often).

13Beast REW

I agree. I admit that the very first time I ever drove my FD in the rain I did spin the car. That was back in 2002, I haven't spun or even thought I was about to lose control since that first time and quite honestly the only thing that I do now that I listed is keep the tires fresh and (EDIT: ONLY) brake in a straight line. The braking in a straight line thing I've never noticed mentioned in any of the "I wrecked my FD in the rain" threads so I figured I'd add that in. I actually picked that up from track experience.

1sexyfd

iTrader: (1)

I don't let my car see the rain, only sunny, moderately warm days. But I'd agree with you 13beast rew if I ever did have it caught in some rain storm. I use my Subaru for those unpleasant days tho

Shinobi-X

I'd say, for the most part its in the tires, then the drivers concious effort to drive more defensively. I haven't had any trouble driving the FD in the rain with proper throttle control and keeping the RPM down. The problem is most drivers behind me get impatient because I'm either not rocketing off as the light turns green or driving slower than the posted limit. As with most cases in driving though, its other people you have to watch for. Most drivers overlook the FD's small size, weight, and relatively high kick in power from the turbo.

Force13B

iTrader: (19)

I usually take my FD out in the rain just to spin out and have fun. Never had a problem driving the streets with it though.

13Beast REW

Thats something I'd recommend to drivers that are afraid to drive in the rain. Not to abuse the car but to practice controlling it in the rain in a open lot if one is availble. Samething with anyone driving in the snow. I'm not saying go drive the FD in the snow tho... for the snow personally I dont drive the FD. I drive either a truck or FF vehicle. There are entirely too many unknown risks when driving in the snow. MOST people can't drive in a manner safe enough that I'd be comfortable around them in ANY car let alone an FD.

XSTransAm

hell ive driven the fd in a couple inches of snow, long as your not a dumbass it can be done.

Force13B

iTrader: (19)

^It's the best time, its less abusive on the cars drivetrain, when done in a open parking lot it's quite fun. As for driving and FD in the snow i think i'll pass on that one. Get a subaru or something.

13Beast REW

Oh yeah, most definately. My problem with it is I see an unacceptable number of drivers around here spinning around in the snow even just trying to pull off from a red light let alone turning. Thats far more risk than I'm willing to put my FD next to so it doesn't see the snow unless its an open lot. My old ford probe used to see the snow and now my rodeo handles it. Looking to replace the rodea with a Mazda6 now tho.

Force13B

iTrader: (19)

Agreed, it's not my driving i'm worreid about it's the dumb *** next to me.

Veger

well it seems to rain 50% of the time here in the uk and my FD is a daily drive. never had any issues with it in the rain, you just have to keep it all smooth and fluent. these cars only bite if you kick them.

13Beast REW

Yes. Smooth transitions in steering, braking and accelerating. This should be done all the time really to reduce wear on the car and its individual parts but especially in adverse conditions.

Julian

iTrader: (14)

BE SMOOTH in all control applications: steering, throttle, brakes ... but that should be true for driving any high performance car, wet or dry and any car in the wet!

JyRO

iTrader: (3)

Keep this in mind if you go to practice drifting on snow in a parking lot. I went with my 4WD Ram long bed just to have some fun (when I lived in MI). Talk about drifing, drifting my truck was like trying to shut a big ole barn door real fast. It was so big and long wheelbased (155") the drifting was very predictable, and FUN. But took up A LOT of room.

The kicker is, you should be carefull doing this in deep snow. You can hit curbs, and you CAN get stuck. A few times as I was drifting my truck, it would come to a stop sideways with the rear wheels spinning. A couple times, with it stuck and spinning, I actually got out and walked around the truck and watched the rear tires spin (at idle,). I could not get it to move either direction in 2X4. But slapping it in 4X4 I could pull it right out. So ... don't get those FD's stuck in a parking lot for the sake of practicing drifting. Just a little snow will do the job and likely not get you stuck.

- JyRO

a3dcadman

iTrader: (1)

I live in the Seattle area where it rains a lot. Even though I choose not to drive in inclement weather conditions, I sometimes get stuck having to deal with it. Never had a problem with braking but have had several incidents with acceleration even at freeway speeds. The car fishtailed pretty severely but I had no problem getting under control after taking my foot off the gas. I recently bought a set of Toyo Proxes 4 tires which made a phenomenal difference on wet roads. The original tires were worn but had 1/3 to 1/2 of the tread left and were a lot of work keeping them tracking under acceleration on wet roads (BF Goodrich TA's).
chuck

13Beast REW

On the highway, or whenever alot of other cars are involved I usually slow down quite a bit. Generally though, I'll feel my way through the water depending on how the car is handling. If the grip is there I'll travel closer to the posted speed limit but if the water is higher and moving, I usually keep it down. It all depends on how its handling.

speed7

rain = fun with the FD. But I think thats just me then.

People who are afraid to drive in the rain I think are afraid of the car to begin with. I suggest www.bondurant.com , good school and it'll teach you how to counter stear which is what you need to know.

BTW:
Location says San Diego. But I grew up from 0-18 in San Francisco with an FB as a first car. So yeah I've actually seen the rain.

jaception

Haha yea rain is fun. thats where u can slide more easily. me and my friends love these days. just need to know what speed7 says how to countersteer. better day for drifting with cheaper cars like mine haha. well as for an fd imma find out soon enought when i get mines this week YAY!! mountain passing anyone?

FLA94FD

I've never driven any slower then the posted in the rain with 30% or better tread. As long a traffic and visibility aren't issues I've never had problem with posted speed limit. Tire are the real key.

I also agree with the others who have stated that it's good practice for controlling slides and recovering. If it wasn't for my horsing around with limited tracking I would never learned how to handle the car in a slide at much higher speeds in good conditions.

I'm not so sure I agree with the braking advide though my ABS has never induce a loss of control. That not say that it can do the impossible but rather that it does it's job as advertised.

13Beast REW

You can brake while cornering its best to try to handle all the braking you have to do while still going straight since thats when your braking ability is optimal. You'll shed the most speed the fastest in a straight line rather than corning by virtue of weight transfer, the general concept of the tire's contact patch and furthermore the concept of the traction circle. Understanding the traction circle will show you why its better to be as much off the brakes as possible once you are into the turn. Not trying to turn this into racing school principles though.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

I don't think anyone said you CAN'T drive an FD in the rain. Heck, I'm pretty sure Mazda had a pic/poster of the FD in the rain lol. But, in the words of Chris Rock "Yea you could do it... but that don't mean it's to be done... You could drive a car with your feet if you want to...but that don't make it a good idea!"

Point being, just because you can doesn't mean you should. The FD is VERY light - substantially lighter than other cars on the road, and has incredibly peaky power. That's a very bad combination when it comes to less-than-ideal driving conditions. There are certainly a lot safer cars to drive in the rain. I mean c'mon... it's like "hmm... I wonder what I should drive...oh yea, lemme take the most dangerous car I own into the rain! Yea! There's a good idea!"

Plus, there's the obvious logic of...who cares if you wreck your daily beater. That's why it's your daily beater! But when you hydroplane cuz the stock headlights are worse than flashlights, and you didn't see the upcoming puddle...and the car's so light it went into a spin, slammed against the guardrail/center divider, and since the car's made of tin foil, it crunched up like the foil you used to wrap your lunch, frame damage and all... there goes your pristine, highly modified hardcore sports machine...yea, I gotta tell you...unless you had extenuating circumstances and simply got CAUGHT in the rain, I think it's ALL on you cuz you made a bad CHOICE to drive the FD in the rain. You're at risk every time it rains, and driving an FD only adds to that risk - it in no way decreases it. Bottom line: it's not smart any way you cut it, and I'm sticking to that.

And that's my $0.02
~Ramy

13Beast REW

Hey absolutely, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. When it comes down to it though, the FD is just a car and it does the same thing that any other car out there does on wet pavement. It really shouldn't even have to come down to a matter of risk selection. Given the proper driving skill it should warrant the same matter of personal preference when choosing to drive the daily beater on a sunny saturday afternoon or the FD on the same day. With the proper shoes one, the FD is still an above average performer on the rain. You will still be able to stand out as a high performace vehicle rain or otherwise.

RedR1

iTrader: (5)

Exactly. I still scratch my head when people say they can't drive the FD in the rain (not from not wanting to have it rained on, but are scared, etc). I mean, in this car, do they always keep the throttle pegged to where you're boosting all of the time and can't catch traction? I mean, it honestly boggles me. Is this the first car that you're learning on or something? Hell if you can't drive this car in the rain, then sell it, or trade it in for something you CAN enjoy without driving in fear, regardless of weather situations. Sorta like. . . . you go to a resuraunt and buy a nice 20 oz ribeye sauted with onions, medium rare, but yet are afraid to eat it because you may choke on the meat? Just eat carefully, no one should have to tell you how to eat, because that's what common sense is for. Is common sense really gone with this new generation of people?

Its common sense that more care should be used when driving in the rain. Water acts as a medium to reduce traction, which doesn't take a scientist to figure out. If there is less traction, then just drive with more common sense. If you're the type of person that loves cutting the wheel to the right as hard as you can to take an onramp, which has stagnant/puddled water all in it, mud and tire tread marks that lead off to the side of the road into a ditch, then I just view it as natural selection, and one less thread i have to read about someone taking a turn in 2nd gear at like 7k rpms, and wrecked their car.

Common sense is all it takes to drive in the rain. I dunno why this thread sorta pissed me off. . . . . but to be scared to drive a car, the car you love because of incliment weather is . . . .well. . . it's beyond me. Just my .02 cents as well.

Chris-

BobfisH

the way to drive an FD in the rain is sideways.

Scratch braking in a straight line, brake while you turn - shift all the weight to the front of the car and enjoy the rear wheels sliding.

I think its a MUST for everyone to TRY and spin their FD in the rain, in a very large open space. The more you do it, the less likely you are to wreck your car when you do give it a bit much throttle, or have to brake and turn at the same time.

Cmon guys - rain is a lubricant, and we all know what lubricant means! fun!!!

Dont be scared of your FD, drive it safely to the edge of your ability and it will make you a better driver.