I'd taken my Z on a road trip to Rhode Island (from WVa) and was on my way home about an hour and a half out. It started raining somewhat heavily, but there wasn't a whole lot of standing water on the road.

I'd heard a few other stories like this one, and I guess they weren't BSing. I hit a small puddle and the car sort of "shuddered" back and forth very slightly. I took my foot off of the gas and didn't move the wheel at all, but almost instantly the back end shot out probably 160 degrees and sent me flying off the highway and into a ditch.

I'm ok, but the rear of the car is totally wrecked (exhaust mangled and hanging off, bumper shredded) and the front driver's side is also pretty much destroyed. The body of the car isn't in bad shape, but the whole suspension is ruined and the wheel is inward at around 45 degrees with the tire hanging off. Might be totalled (hopefully). Now I have to wait for the insurance company to do its thing and decide my fate.

My advice to new Z owners: lose the Shitenzas before this happens to you. I was going over a straight stretch of road at or below the speed limit and they just totally lost traction in a small puddle. I'm just glad nobody was beside me and that there was a ditch off of the road and not a cliff.

 

Sorry to hear that happen

How fast were you going??? Are the shitenzas summer high performance tires

 

Wow! I'm glad you weren't hurt. I've got the Potenzas on, too, and I have driven on them in the rain without too much trouble. I'm curious, though, had it just started raining when you had the accident? Or was the road recently re-surfaced? You're probably already aware, but at the onset of a rainstorm the road surface is more slick than it is after it's been raining awhile.

Either way, I'm glad you're okay and I hope your insurance company plays nicely and totals your car.

 

I was probably going 65-70 in a 70 zone. My car before this was FWD with all seasons so I didn't realize I had to slow down even more than that.

I'd been driving in and out of rain for about 15 minutes, so it may have just started, I'm not sure. I think it had also been dry, so there was probably more road debris than usual as well.

 

Sorry to hear about this OrangeZYa.......glad you are ok.....

 

Sorry to hear that bro. Not to make you feel bad or anything but just in case this happens to somebody else. I've been told to never let off the gas if you lose control in the rain. It's best to keep a steady pace until you regain control. It sounds like this happend too quicky so it doesn't pertain in yer case, but just a safety reminder to others

 

all depends on if his front came out or his back. Did you have VDC??

 

Man that really sucks. Good luck with the insurance company.

Same thing happened to me in the middle of I-30 in Fort Worth. I was was on a slight bend when my back end slid out. I did a full 360 and came to a stop still on the highway. I was very lucky and wasn't struck by oncoming traffic.

 

No VDC--it was an Enthusiast.

The back end kicked out way too quickly for me to react at all. I'm still kind of at a loss as to how it happened, because there wasn't a whole lot of standing water on the road and the tires only had 5000 miles on them.

 

Ouch... glad to hear you're ok.

Totally natural instinct to let off the gas. Wasn't there so I can't say 100%, but letting off the gas did two things. One it shifted the weight from the rear-end, making it lighter, reducing traction, causing the slide. Two... kind of the same thing but it also unbalanced the car making its handling unpredictable... making it tougher for you to fix the problem.

Can't wait to see your new Z!!!

 

What state was this in?

 

ive always thought this car was very stable in rain... i had the shitenzas for 30k, and they were OK... I had close to urs instances of rear end trying to run away from me, but the VDC fixed it right away... i love the VDC on this car, it works great!

 

Yup, it's counter-intuitive, but zero driver input is the best course of action in that situation.

I would also like to add that most people aren't used to driving a RWD car which is less forgiving to overzealous driver input during emergency maneuvers. In fact, one of the primary reasons manufacturers are starting to build more RWD vehicles is due to technologies like TCS and VDC.

Not defending the Potenza's directly, but any low profile tires will tend to float over puddles rather than plow through them. And yes, the 17 inch stockers fall into this category, albeit on the low side. Sport Compact Car recently wrote of their project 350Z with 275's all around, a normal grip monster in dry weather, consistently hydroplaning on a wet track posting one of the slowest times of the day.

 

If his front end went out first then letting off the gas would've been the correct procedure. If it was the back, would've made it worse

 

Damn I had Two Bridgstone/Dayton Dayton's Blow out on me this week! I got them June 1!!

Sidewalls came undone.

 

Holy crap man...did u overinflate it or something? thats just like a little over a week.

 

No, They were installed by the dealer on June 1st and the first one popped on june 2. He inspected the other three, checked pressures and the like and the next one popped on June 6th!

 

Jesus...

I sure hope that is covered by the tire warranty, along with the inherent damage to your rim and anything else that may have taken a beating as a result.

 

+1......you've got to remember that totally letting off the gas at speed like that is the same thing as slamming on the brakes. If you're going straight and you go over a hump where the car gets light or you hit something slick the best thing to do is stay in the gas because letting off is just like you hit the brakes and you'll spin. No matter what tires you had you probably would have had the same result by letting off the throttle at highway speeds.

 

If my back end is losing control, and my front is head toward the freeway cement divider; my instinct is let go of the gas.