OK, It all started 4:00pm i went to go pick up my Z after getting the rear axel fixed turned out great. After that came home 5:15 Played some BF2 on the PC 7:00pm then decided to go see a movie 7:45pm. After the movie I actually left 10 min before the movie ended cause of traffic on that street and before i got into my car it started to rain ok no problem I made a left out of the theater and made another left onto another street going about 15 - 20 MPH and SWWOOOOSH my car goes out of control and does a full 360 and finally my front end lands on the curb with a BOOM . I really thought i was going to die . THank god i left early or else i would have hit every car next to me.There was nobody on that street, it was a 2 lane sooo Phewww.
This really scared me. I slowly backed up the car off the curb and drove away into the next parking lot to check out my baby and it was a miracle no damage whatsoever Hmmm I checked it agian and agian and agian and nothin, This was a day ill never forget. I've only had this car for a few weeks and i almost crashed it. I want to say to you guys just be very carefull when driving in rain or snow. PLEASE . Its late im going to bed now and tomm ill check it out in the daylight . What a day what a day

 

Wow thats crazy. Hearing all these stories of Zs spinning out on the rain has got me scared now. Glad to hear your incident ended with a fortunate outcome. Does your Z have VDC?

 

note: when the roads are rained on first, thats when they are the worst to drive on, when the roads are pooring down with rain its better condition....so when the rain stops coming down hard the oil sits there that is also worse than it pooring down.....glad ur Z is still in one piece.

 

You're rims hit the curb with a BOOOM and no damage? Very wierd but lucky. I don't ever have trouble with my Z in rain like so many other posts... so I still don't get the prob.

 

That's just the pitfall of having RWD regardless of VDC or Traction Control, or whatever electronic nanny there is. Having said that, there is no substitute for RWD for driving experience. Probably would be wise for a lot of Z owners to take a driving course or at the very least learn the limits of their vehicle in a safe environment.

 

Everyone needs to know exactly what KingOfV6 stated. The most dangerous time for the Z is when it starts to rain, that's when the oil from the road comes up to the service.

 

yea I am so glad I didn't get a base model... I didn't even know that the base didn't have TCS... the first week I had the Z it snowed. I had never even seen snow, let alone drive in it... to make things worse I had never driven a RWD car either. I made the mistake of putting too much gas as made a slow turn and lost control, TCS kicked in and whipped me back into shape and no harm was done.

 

Respect RWD, especially in the rain.

I think everyone should have to take defensive driving, with a wet skidpad, before they go out and get a license.

 

ya bro be careful.... i spun out a couple of times in the rain thank God for protecting me and my baby

 

rain + Z = dangerous.. no kiddin ive spun out 3 times from almost a complete stop to turning.. either from a stop sign onto the highway or elsewhere, if you accelerate while ur turning.. the rear end gets lose and you spin out

im 100% sure im goin to get rain tire or winter tires vrey soon.. its jsut too easy to spin out in the Z in the rain

 

It rains way too much here in ATL but fortunately i haven't had an incident like yours. Although yesterday when i was on an uphill waiting to turn right, my tires lost grip of the road, felt like it was going to fishtail. Kept on the gas a bit and she leveled out. Not too bad for a BASE model without the VDC or whatever other electronic things the other models come with.

 

Rain+OEM Tires=TROUBLE

 

+2. Amazes me how many people I know just dont know how to drive. And I dont mean they dont know how to operate the vehicle, but they have no idea that cars have limits, regardless of how cool or great they think they are or how many mods the vehicle has. I grew up with snowy winters and rainy springs, so I learned early on, cut your speed in adverse conditions, and you can operate almost any car on bad roads, RWD or not. I'm amazed at all the stories I hear, not just here but from my friends, but they usually start with something like "So I was going down the highway at 75mph in a rainstorm..."

Every car has its limitations and the Z is no different. I've driven mine in some bad rains around here though and had no problem on the stock tires.

 

Rain is a real problem for these OEM tires, particularly later in life. Fully agree with the post about when the rain first starts to fall and light drizzle.

But I have to add one other thing - these OEM tires need to be put away LONG before the snow starts falling. There is no way what so ever the Z with OEM tires should be driven in the COLD! They are a "high" performance summer tire only - the rubber compound is simply to soft - in the cold they freeze and it is like driving on hockey pucks.

 

+2. Motorcyclist safety course mentions that its very dangerous to drive when it just started to rain. Very slippery with dust and oil.

 

I almost died in my Z aswell. One time I was driving to go get my g/f, and I fatred (boy it was a bad one) I had to swirve through 2 lanes of traffic to pull over and jump out of my car. BUT THAT'S NOT IT. I was late gtting to her house because of this and then she almost killed me. It was a horrible day.

Anywyas yeah rain and the Z w/ TCS off and stock tires = BAD

 

MyV6IsFaster...... if you are going to do that in your Z I suggest you trade it in for a roadster and keep the top down.

 

No offense, but it sounds like driver error to me. You just need to get comfortable with your cars limits.(including diff. tires) Next time it rains take it to an empty parking lot and test it out a bit. Personally I drift around corners, wet or dry, but I've had many RWD manual trans. cars since I started driving. God, this car is fun.

 

I think the fundamental problem is that people are unfamiliar driving a RWD car with a limited slip differential. In the rain (or snow) it is a lot easier to swing out the rear with an LSD than without. With the LSD - both rear wheels will spin and the back of the car will completely loose traction.

I have driven a lot of RWD cars in my life and none match the Z for its grace, stability and controlability in wet driving conditions - even on the stock REO's.

Be careful out there folks.
jer

 

Ditto...It's mind-boggling to me how many people think they can drive this car like a sports car in the rain. Wide tires, high torque, low weight (relatively speaking), low CG and anti-sway systems (which both equate to very little body-roll under cornering)...All of these things make this car more prone to both hydroplaning in a straight line and loss of traction under lateral loads. The whole "the roads are more dangerous just after the rain starts" thing may very well be true, but most of the time it's just plain unsafe driving given the conditions that is the culprit. The OP applied enough power to the car at high enough speeds to get the car to either brake the back tires loose, or just lose lateral grip, or both. An experienced driver would never let that happen, not because he's a "better" driver, but because he would have a better sense of the cars limits and slow down more prior to making the turn. I'm really not flaming at all, I just get a little irritated at how in all of these posts (and there have been a LOT of them lately), nobody wants to take the blame for these close calls, but everyone wants to blame the road, the tires, the car, the TCS/VDC system, etc. (The OP didn't point any fingers in this case, but the thread as a whole went in that direction). Cars and tires don't lose control, people do.

EDIT: On my drive from Richmond to DC this morning, it rained quite heavily. In a 20 mile stretch of road, we saw one pickup on it's side facing traffic up against the median barrier, a sedan that rolled probably 5 or 6 times based on the damage, and a 4 car collision in very light traffic. Even in our almost 7000 pound Lincoln Navigator, I could feel the steering getting light, so I drove very conservatively. The accidents we saw were ALL based on driver error even though these drivers (those that survived anyway) will all blame their accidents on the weather.