The Mike

What's the "+1" thing i see on the forums from time to time? I'm guessing it just means you agree with a previous post?

Well I know its pretty dumb to speed when the road is soaked but I gotta tell you guys bout my buddie's 04 Convertable Z. I was in a pos rent-a-car following him and we came to a light just before the feeder road has a freeway entrance. Well an rx-8 pulled up beside him and they were both the first cars at the light side by side. There was a large thunderstorm that night but it had stopped raining like 5 minutes before and the road was totally soaked but no flooding. Anyways the rx8 was revving his engine and my friend took the bait to race. The light turned green and the rx8 took the lead b/c my friend just spun out. But pretty soon he caught up and they both almost hit eachother on the on-ramp but my buddy had to break so they could single file line onto the freeway...then the race was on again as soon as they were on the freeway. This is all like at 4am and no cars were on a 6 lane freeway. Well needless to say I couldn't keep up in my rented saturn and they were soon out of my site. Later I met up with him and i was like wtf ... the road is soaked.. how fast did you go? Who won? YOur NUTS! He says he and the rx8 pretty much kept within a few car lengths while he was in the lead all the way up to about 135 and coasted back down... but the rx8 gave up around 120. Anyways... if that's any indication... I'd say the Z is pretty well balanced even at high speeds on a very wet road. But there's no way i'd take it that fast on a rain soaked road.

itburns

I'd say the Z is pretty well balanced even at high speeds on a very wet road. But there's no way i'd take it that fast on a rain soaked road.

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It all depends on the rubber. But I think most of us are talkin bout puddled freeways, not wet roads; at least I am. The puddle I hit was bigger than my car, and it felt at least a couple inches deep. This was on a hilly freeway. The point is, even after it stops raining, you don't know where or when you will encounter such a puddle. Also, you may not realize how much wear you have on your rear tires until it's too late.

slaponte

iTrader: (2)

Here is what I have experienced : going straight on the center lane of the turnpike (3 lanes), around 60mph, road is wet with some pudles. The rear end start to slide ("wiggle") to the sides. Enough that I start to feel it is close to letting go. I always end up reducing to 45 or even 40. At that speed, I can still feel it wiggle but I feel I control it better.

I tried Pilots on the rear and didn't notice much difference. I am back on RE040s all around. But after this set, I plan to go to something else all around. I have heard good things of the S03s and Toyos.

Wich brings me to this question : even on dry I feel that the rear-end moves sideways on bumps. Even minor bumps, the car seems to pull sideways in the back. So I am not very surprised that when is wet and lifts, the tendency of the car is to move sideways and around.

The latest alignment was at Nissan and is all by the specs.

slaponte

iTrader: (2)

The "+1" means that poster agrees with the previous poster. It is equivalent to "me too".

n2az

I'm trying a set of 2 Falkens (cheap) on the rear and still have RE040s on the front. I am experiencing a handling problem I didn't anticipate. The rear squirms and wiggles noticibly,even at low speeds, and I am quick to deduce that the swaying is due to weak sidewalls. I know the potenza's are about as rigid as they come but I didn't expect the difference to be as noticible as is. The Falkens are Z-rated and not that cheap, so I expected more. FYI.

I expect the fronts and rears will now wear out at about the same time and I will then go back to a matched set, probably Yokohama.

I realize this subject is hydroplaning, but swaying may be somewhat related causing it to break loose, wet or dry, so watch out running mixed sets. I am somewhat dissappointed with my decision.

Stabber

Really sorry to hear that man, was TCS on.

You going to get another Z?

itburns

Go with the best... Pirelli P-Zero.

OrangeZYa

iTrader: (1)

My wheels were damaged and I'm actually replacing them with a new set and putting p-zeros on. They should do much better in the rain.

chromesilverz

That's what happens to low profile tires when you get a flat or a slow leak from a nail.

If you don't catch it soon enough, driving on it will tear up the inside sidewalls.

When you turn, the backend will slip out from underneath you.

Built2shredZ

It's been my experience that OEM tires on any car pretty much suck.

Found this advice on the internet for defensive driving

This is also the technique I have used and so far so good although Im not sure I would engage the clutch..

Here's some other good advice on avoiding hydroplaning

SilverstoneZ

I hated the stock Potenza tires with a passion

E K

iTrader: (10)

My Potenzas last year. I emailed bridgestone, never got a response. nada.



Changed them out for Pilot Sport 2's.

tmounk

iTrader: (2)

I have Yoko ES100 and they totally suck in the ran. I almost recked in 3rd turning right on a 3 lane street that had just turned green. Luckly they backed off and I was able to maintain the car. Always yeld, even if you don't have to in the rain.

bailey bill

"I was probably going 65-70 in a 70 zone."

"I took my foot off of the gas"

Let me get this straight, your at or near the max speed limit, in a rainstorm, hit standing water, AND...you lift.

And you think the tires are what caused your accident?

Unbelievable!!!

bill

iceburns288

iTrader: (3)

Just to get it out there, if there's heavy rain, even with my BFG KDW2s, I'll do 45mph, maybe 50 max. 60 in lighter conditions. In the right lane, too .

Getting somewhere 5 minutes earlier is not worth damage to my car.

MustGoFastR

iTrader: (13)

Yeah, his mistake was that he came from a FWD car, where you can get away with that...

05-Z

iTrader: (4)

This is some good advice.....70mph in the rain is just too fast. If I'm caught in the rain I become grandpa and move to the far right lane. We had like 12 inches of rain last month, it was crazy.

Glad to hear you weren't hurt.

If they total the car, are going to buy another one?

i8acobra

iTrader: (6)

If you read his post carefully, you'll see he lifted when he felt a "shudder" then spinned. He didn't lift because he was spinning.

If you're going straight and start to hydroplane, the best course of action is to make no adjustments. Don't turn the wheel, don't brake, don't lift off the throttle.

BTW, aren't the Potenzas "summer tires", meaning they're not meant for driving in wet conditions?

dcmidnight

First thing I did when I got my Z was throw on a set of Kuhmo Ecsta ASXs. Cheap as hell and far superior IMHO to the stocks.

jungle

Hydroplaning can happen with ANY tire at almost any speed. It has nothing to do with RWD and very little to do with weight distribution.
Standing water that exceeds the ability if the tire to remove said water will cause the tires to hydroplane. As tire size increases in proportion to a given weight the contact patch is larger and more water removal is required for a given depth of standing water.
If you are driving in an area of standing water that exceeds 1/4 inch your chance of hydroplaning goes way up as speed increases. If the road is wet, but has no standing water you are unlikely to hydroplane. Some tires are better at water removal than others, but even slicks will do OK if there is no standing water. On the other hand if you run into an inch deep puddle at 70MPH almost any tire will hydroplane for the duration of that puddle or until speed slows to below the tires water evacuation speed.
In the case of the Z, regardless of tire type, the larger width rear tires WILL hydroplane first due to their larger contact patch given same tire types on all four corners.