WOw... i have heard SO much about how much the Z sucks in the rain... ive messed around with a modded SRT4 (290+ @ wheels) and a modded RSX-S (@ about250) at wheels when it was raining on wet pavement... and i catch INCREDIBLY good... i have about 260 at the wheels dyno'd and pull on both of them.... the RSX runs a 13.7 and the SRT runs a 13.4 on... on dry days i am beating the type S(the SRT beats me but i put up a fight)... and thier not ****ty drivers either...they track thier cars with me all of the time... and im on stock tires... thought they sucked.. so im a little confused could somebody please explain for me?..(the races were from a dig)

 

I believe the SRT4 and the for sure the RSX are FWD cars. The Z is RWD. RWD handle poorly in the wet/snow.

 

You’re taking about straight line acceleration in the rain? That will tell only tell part of the story of OEM tire rain performance. Performance includes cornering, hydroplaning and handling.

I trusted the OEM tires in the rain, and had few problems. My trust was shattered when the tires had about 20,000 miles. I took the Z to an empty parking lot in the rain, and did figure eighths. The tires scared the hell out of me, and I replaced then immediately.

 

i know but i can outperform those two FWD cars in the rain.... thatgs y im so confused...

 

why are you even racing in the rain?? You're just asking for a f'd up car.

 

Keep it up and you're going to get into an accident in the rain just like the rest of us.

 

Talk to us when you have hit the guard rail on both sides of a freeway in the rain OR passed a car at a ninety degree angle in the rain when the back end breaks looose. If you insist on going fast in the rain, buy a set of Goodyear Eagle F1s.

 

11/19/04

I suggest that you practice driving in the rain at a track such as Summit Point, WV above.

 

+1

 

That looks like my drive home from work tonight.

I have had my car for about 6 weeks now and I switched to 18" Touring Wheels and Falkien all season performance tires last weekend. Tonight, I took the car to a big empty parking lot to test the wet weather handling. I was amazed at how well the car turned in and the back end stayed under it. Dropping the clutch at 2500 to 3000 RPM on wet asphalt yield a nice controlled crablike drift that was easy to maintain. At no time did the car try to swap ends. It is much better in the wet than two of my other RWD sporty cars of the past (Mustang GT and Toyota Supra). I will still be cautious in rain and light snow but I am much more confident in the car's abilities now than I was after reading some of the post on this forum.

 

yea, why would you intentionally push your car in the rain? that is asking for trouble.


Davidv: Do you race at Summit Point? A buddy of mine is in the Honda-Challenge cup, and I was there watching him race 3 weeks ago. I saw a few Z's...did you happen to be there racing? I was surprised that seemingly stock Z's were beating most of the modded cars that were racing.

 

I agree. All said, the 350Z is a safe car in the rain. The track above has a 100 mph straightaway. While driving, I lost the rear end once, and did a 360. The problem wasn't the car or the tires, the problem was me: my skills are not up to the capabilities of the 350Z.

 

I've driven at Summit Point several times for FATT (Friday At The Track). Its a professional driving class, and not a competitive race per say. Yes, the 350Z holds it own. Why don't you consider FATT. Its a lot of fun.

 

That is awesome. I know exactly what FATT is. Another one of my friends is doing those classes right now to get his NASA license(I think thats the one he's getting). He has a black 2dr civic coupe that is gutted and revs to 11k RPM's..its loud as heck. Not sure if you've seen him during FATT.

I was considering taking those lessons, however my Z is my daily driver, and I can't risk damaging it in any way. If I had the money to rip and tear on it, believe me, I would. For now its just my pimp mobile take me to work every day car. haha.

 

BeaveRun, which is close to Pittsburgh, also has a TrackDay. I believe it is $165 per day with an instructor assigned to each car. I plan on going in the spring. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a Z and wants to really learn how to control the car and find out how good it really is.