Steve Abitbol

Im not talking about drizzle, heavy rain, how does your rx handle it? any problems?

mibad

The *** end breaks loose as soon as I hit the gas and I laugh.

SRA-FD3S

same here but my 275's will clear that up soon

rynberg

The FD handles very securely in the rain. The main danger would be hydroplaning, especially if you have wider tires than stock. Just be smooth and easy with the throttle and the car is quite easy to handle.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

It's fine as long as you have decent rain tires and you're not on the throttle.

The latter statement should be obvious, but sadly it's not.

Dave

mibad

Professional Driver. Closed course. Do not attempt.

sonix7

I went 90 mph on the freeway through a major down pour going through KC, and it handled very well. Visibilty was terrible probably because I was going so fast and you would want to watch the hydroplane issue but should be ok under normal adverse weather driving conditions. Just my experience, hope that helps.

FLA94FD

Not real bright are you...

I really depend on you tire. I just put on a set of Goodyear F1's and my wet traction was improved dramatically, hydroplaning is also greatly minimised. All the other Max performance tires I have used sucked in the rain. More than half throttle induced wheel spin in 1st and 2nd. The latest generation of tires are key because now you don't have choose between wet or dry performance.

WaLieN

As long as you know how to modulate the throttle so that it doesn't go into heavy boost, there is really no reason to be afraid of the rain.

California Dreaming

Like everyone else said, as long as your not pushing the throttle hard you'll be fine. A few weeks into getting my 7 I was caught in a serious down-pour. Not knowing the extent of the cars traction in rain, I stayed on the throttle and slowly felt the back end slipping out. Not the most pleasent experience when your on a busy road.

Mr. international

breaks loose in the fkng rain....... rather park it and drv the envoy

Max13BREW

Dropping 20% off my normal driving speed it is fine..

as others have stated however there is no trouble getting 1st/2nd/3rd/and even 4th to break free if you mash the throttle..Basically drive like you mother would and you will not hurt the car against a guard rail somewhere!

Main thing i hate is driving in the rain at night...the stock standard lights are pathetic!! A bit of Rain-X on the windscreen however works great..no need to turn the wipers on at all..the angle of the screen with rain-x = perfectly clear screen!

One other thing i notice is the rain improves the engines performance. Might be due to lower temps / or maybe increased humidity? just means the right foot has to remain REAL light...

At the end of the day however...it is a car with a closed roof...rain shouldnt hurt it..

BobfisH

i dont know peoples problems with the RX7 and rain. I Think its a similar problem to a guy a while ago, he said that he didnt want to make his RX7 faster because it would make it handle worse.

Well, my answer to both is ONLY IF YOU CANT DRIVE!!!!

The RX7 is just like ANY other car in the wet. It may be rear wheel drive and high powered, but dont drive like a ***** and you will be fine, the car isnt going to fall apart ffs is it?

I have been going around a corner once and lost the back end in third...i lifted off and it snapped back in, i was lucky - but the simple answer to this question is unless your on empty roads and really know how to control it, just dont get on the throttle.

Although having said that, when i come up to a T junction to turn left, i do love to show the cars coming from my right the left hand side of my car as i pull out :o) First gear in the wet rocks if you can control it. Not too fast, not too slow, great fun.

REAmemiya FD3S

I was driving on the highway this morning on my way to work in mild rain on the left lane and my car would sometimes suddenly pull to the left or the right. the car felt at times almost uncontrollable. I was going 60 mph in 5th gear with brand new Yoko AVS ES100s. Is there something wrong with my suspension? I'm running stock struts with Swift Sport Mach downsprings. i must admit, my alignment is slightly off.

BobfisH

err how do you know its only slightly off? if youve measured it then you must have the tools to put it right, so DO IT!

If you dont know its only slightly off and you havent measured it, get it all aligned and ask that question again.

bajaman

My FD handles okay in the rain, and like most others have indicated already, the most common problem is accelerating too hard and spinning the tires...an easy problem to overcome with driving-habit modified for conditions.

Hydroplaning is not that bad with good rain tires. My Volvo and my Suburban resist hydroplaning better than the FD, but that is not to say the the Mazda is ready to fly off the road at the first puddle....lol!

DaveW

What width are your tires? Sounds like you aquaplaned.

The two keys to secure driving in the rain are:

1. Tire resistance to aquaplaning (determined by tire width, tread pattern depth, and tread pattern)

2. Tread compound (some compounds are much better in the wet than others due to being softer and having more hysteresis)

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

3. Speed (given an amount of water on the road, there is a maximum speed, above which you will hydroplane). So in heavy rain or puddling there is a point where you must slow down.

yuichiror

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, this rain really sucks. We've had so many good weekends and now this. I was going to take the FD out, but it looks like I'll just spend the day doing reliablity mods and cleaning house :-)

DaveW

HEE HEE.

Yup. That's true for any tire, good or bad rain handling.

However, if a tire is lousy in the rain, the handling is unpredictable, even if you don't hydroplane. A really good compound allows one to drive in the rain just like you would in the dry, only somewhat slower. The handling will be predictable (except for aquaplaning), not treacherous, and small slides can be controlled (depending, of course, on driver skill).

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

And even with the good rain tires, that capability steadily disappears from day one as the tire wears down. Deep tread is critical for rain performance, and when the tread depth wears down, the speed you can safely travel in wet conditions goes down. So those fantastic Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires will not be quite the same rain tire after 15k miles. This is the reason I try to replace my tires before they reach the minimum tread depth.

Anyway, this dead horse is pretty well beaten by now.

Dave

quicksilver_rx7

I tend to agree with most of what everyone has said. However, the one thing that was forgotten to be mentioned is the weight distribution. The fact that the FD has no more weight on the drive wheels than it does on the other end of the car makes it a lot easier to loose control of in any adverse weather conditions than most other cars. You can have all the tread you want on a set of tires, but the breaking point is going to come a lot sooner in an FD.

Joe

HAI-TEK7

iTrader: (31)

I treat the dry pavement like rain, and treat rain like snow.

Trevrxuk

You shouldn't be drivin on the pavement mate

I think rain is only a problem if you're inexperienced. I drive just as hard on wet straight roads - full throttle over taking, but obviously back off for bends and round abouts.

When I got my 1st FD I had to drive it home 150 miles in heavy rain with smooth rear tyres.
Very twitchy handling but it was gd fun.
Road surface condition plays a big part too , smooth tarmac is very slippery, but over here alot of roads are surfaced with grit/chippings which is very rough and grippy.

HAI-TEK7

iTrader: (31)

^^ i meant that my car breaks loose very easily on the dry and very very easy in the rain. So when its raining im very careful, that doesnt mean i dont bust it sideways and rip 2nd gear all the way up the block. I just am careful, i dumped alot of $$ in this car and im not gonna smack a guardrail just because i was going alil too fast in the rain.