I haev been driving for many years,
but i can't seem to keep my '95' *** from walking around to right in the rain.

I even notice when its dry, that the cars rear wants to walk off to the right and i have to steer to correct it.

I thought that there was a LSD in these things to apply power to both wheels evenly.

What am I missing here?

(Im NOT driving this thing in the rain anymore)...

 

LSD's will always try to walk to one side in low traction conditions, it is, however, very predictable.

 

As he said, LSD will go to one side or the other under low traction conditions, but if it ALWAYS goes to the right, several things come to mind:

1) Unevenly worn tires, with the RR one having better grip
2) Uneven load on the two rears (car cross-weighted), with the RR more heavily loaded
3) Pavement more grippy on RH side
4) Pavement sloped to the right
5) Rear misalignment

Other problems such as uneven damping in the two rear shocks, etc.

 

Another suggestion is stay out of boost in the rain. Use very light throttle and very low speeds. Personally I turn on my hazards, pull to the far right lane, and drive 5-10mph under speed limit. I also launch in 2nd gear if first is repeatedly spinning tires. But bottom line is make sure your tires have better than good water traction, be easy on the throttle to stay out of boost, and use low speeds.

 

I'm thinkin i'll install spikes.

 

How fast are you taking the turn? I drive mine in wet road or dry and the only time that happens is when I am going fast on the corners, I wet condition's I make sure to just feather the gas and never have problems..

 

You might mention what type of tires are on the car, what the mileage on them is, and what amount of tread they have left...

With good tires, driving in the rain isn't a problem. You'll only lose the rear end if you're not being careful, especially if you're boosting on corners at higher speeds.

On the other hand, If you're driving around on drag radials, track tires, or street radials with very little tread left, you're asking for trouble. It doesn't take much water on the road surface to hydroplane a tire that started with only 5/32" of tread depth.

 

Bad tires, and especially a heavy foot will cause your problem. Check both carefully

 

Yea, I just stay outta the boost and my car is as tame as a kitten in the rain. I'm using Yokohama AVS S1's and I'm pretty happy with them but they arent the best for rain, I'm just very careful when its moist out.

Better tires will help grip in the rain but the boost is what gets these cars out -- even in dry terrian they can step out rather easily.

 

I agree with the others.

1. Check your tires, even if they have a lot of tread make sure they aren't really old (4-5+yrs) and have the proper pressure.

2. Check the alignment, if you drive on the street exclusively keep close to a stock alignment.

3. Check general condition of shocks and suspension.

4. Keep out of the boost on corners.

 

Either learn how to drive or learn how to maintain your car. It's as simple as that.

I have just been thinking to myself the last few days how well the FD handles in the rain with decent tires -- I'm running Toyo T1-S with about 9k miles on them, including 3-4 track events. I have zero problems controlling wheelspin, even on freshly damp greasy pavement.

 

I run Yokohama Avid V4's up front and Hankook/Ventus H405s in the rear. Have no issues in the rain anymore

 

Ive run around with drag radials in heavy rain on the highway at 80mph. I can floor it from there and I'm making ~400rw on low boost and I don't lose traction
Not once have I ever had an issue with traction in the rain. Even if I do floor it in first the car spins and stays straight and so did my last one. Also, don't shift fast. I can make the car wheel hop like crazy in the rain by shifting hard into 2nd from 4000rpm in first but it still stays straight. It's all about knowing how to handle the car and it sounds like yours has some issue maybe

 

In lieu of taking a race driving course, here is a quick piece of advice to hold you over. In the rain, brake in a straight line, and accelerate in a straight line. Don't try to brake or accelerate while turning when traction is limited. If you're getting wheelspin in a straight line, then you simply need to lay off the gas. There's no good reason to crash your car.


Also make sure your tires are in good condition and inflated to the proper pressure. For rain I would advise that you use the pressures recommended on your door, you might even want to deflate your rear tires by 1-2 psi vs. stock settings, for a little more grip.

If those things don't help, check your alignment and possibly have your shocks replaced.

-scott-

 

Go nonsequential and you won't have that problem

Seriously, I think something is wrong with your driving style or your car. I've never come close to spinning mine out, wet or dry, and I don't know how to act when I drive. Perhaps I'm just used to a TURBO rotary which has the greater potential to spin tires...I know with those s5 NA's you're accustomed to it isn't a real problem

 

Since you mention that the car does this in the wet and the dry then i disagree with all the posts that suggests that you get better wet traction tires and/or learn how to drive. Sounds to me like you have a legitimate problem. My car has been doing the same thing, and think the cause is that the rear wheels are toe steering. In my case the car starts to drift left when the power comes on, then goes back to straight when i get off the power. I noticed when i replaced the rear suspension pillow bearing 1500 miles ago that the bearings in the toe links were worn, so i suspect that is the problem, the toe links are worn enough to let the rear wheels steer a little bit (in my case the rear wheels are steering right, which causes the car to drift left.) I just ordered replacement OEM inner and outer bearings/bushings for the toe links from Ray. An outta whack rear wheel alignment can also cause this problem, so after i get the toe links redone, i will have the car aligned.

Mike Parsons

 

Great. Let us know in advance where to send the flowers.

 

If the tires are old, it's possible to have traction problems wet or dry. I swapped the P265 Toyos that were on the back of my '7 onto the Supra when I wore out my second set of drag radials in 3,000 miles, and they were **** in the rain and on dry pavement. They'd sat for a few years at that time, and were hard as rocks. I eventually just burned them down to the cords with a few John Force-style burnouts and tossed them.

 

yea jus don't boost, if u do, jus don't go WOT

 

I beg to differ. When wet, my '91 NA would lose its *** end at even a thought of the throttle...

 

coefficent of (static) friction of rubber on wet asphalt= ~.3
coefficent of (static) friction of rubber on dry asphalt= ~.9

in other words, wet roads are slippery.

 

Are these for fathers day? I better not be a father yet
Flowers for me....you shouldn't have lol

I have drag radials for the street so I can get traction and sometimes I get stuck in the rain on the highway when I go home for the weekend. I suppose flooring it isn't too bright but honestly these cars are SOLID and I know when to stop! If I floored my mustang like that at 80 in the rain yea I could see crashing

I really don't see what the problem is with everyone driving in the rain. Maybe I'm super conservative and I just don't know. I think dry conditions are more dangerous because you try to take turns real fast and don't think about sand or oil that could be on the ground.

 

Those are all some great suggestions! Now you all have me thinking I need a four whell aligment.

I would highly recomend the P-Nero tires. I have them on my Audi and they stick like glue in both rain and on dry pavement.

 

This would be due to too much throttle mid-corner. Even my 80hp RWD Corolla would get the tail out mid-corner in the rain, if you gave it enough gas.

Do none of you understand the concepts of race driving? or physics? Tires have a certain amount of friction (grip) available. You can use all of it to turn, or all of it to accelerate, or a portion of each to accelerate while turning. In the rain, the amount of grip is much lower, so you can't ask as much of the tires. You've got to accelerate (and brake) more slowly, and you can't take corners at the same speeds. Accelerating mid-corner is just not a good idea in the rain!

-s-

 

The word from Seattle, where it sometimes rains for months ...

I still surprise myself once in a while breaking loose on wet roads when I am not watching for it.
The most common time is under moderate acceleration when the first turbo kicks in around 3500. With low road friction, the rears often will break loose from the jump in torque.

Above wisdom to accelerate slowly can also be more specific by driving the tach on wet roads and staying below 3000. Unless you like the exciting chance of fast rotations in the horizontal plane.

Tires: I have had 4 different sets on two different cars. Tires make a hell of a lot of difference. Even good tires change noticeably with wear changes. The original equips were unsafe at any speed in rain. Current Bridgestones are much better. Since these cars, in my opinion, can be dangerous in rain, I would check the tire ratings online, and only buy performance tires that are top-rated for performance in rain.

Next level: If you think it is fun in rain, try a little skiff of wet snow!!!
Snow recommendation: thats what a cheap beater with studded snow tires is for.