Just wanted to say that Im impressed with the poise the Z had in the heavy rains that hit the tristate area last night...I got caught in Perth Amboy Jersey last night and had to make the long journey back the Brooklyn...The amount of rain that fell in a short period of time was ridiculous...Flooded roads were a bit of a problem but I just slowed down to about 5mph and it just keep poouring....I finally got on the highway and cruised at around 55-60mph all the way home...Ive seen some say not to drive the Z in rain or snow cause it will spin on you but I had nothing but a feeling of stability and never once felt in danger of spinning...Matter of fact I wanted to see how fast I could go but better judgement took over...I feel better about this car every day

 

First day I got my Z I hit torrential downpours. I literally had to pull over because I couldn't see 10 feet in front of me, and was already going 25 on I-95.

Today is started raining a bit. Only time the tires got lose (with TC on) was when I was trying to get out from a stopsign in somewhat heavy traffic. I wasn't being hard on it anyway, but it did very well.

 

tires help alot too...

BFG KDW's are nice when the wet stuff hits

 

I have Nitto 555 ultra performance tires...
I hydroplan all over on the freeway on rainy days.
Gotta get me some Michellin Pilot PS2's asap.

 

Thats funny you mention Nitto 555...That what I have on my 20" Iforged...I went as high as 60mph and didnt hydroplane one bit...Believe me it was monster rain tonight ask any tri-staters especially Jersey heads....Mine are brand new though so maybe I should look out for that hydroplaning in the future....

 

I don't feel safe in my car AT ALL when I'm driving on the freeway with heavy rain
Good thing you're not experiencing any hydroplaning.
The first day I got the tires I was sliding sideways on
the street in light rain(I wasn't gasing hard at all).
Little powersliding action is kinda fun but dangerous in the rain lol

Our tires are rated pretty bad in wet conditions.

 

I hear ya...Ill keep that in mind next time it rains...Dont want to get too overconfident because of this one good experience I had last night.

 

Yeah it all comes down to your tires. The stock potenzas do pretty well in the rain.

 

ive never had a problem in rain or snow............granted i have a set of snow wheels but thats besides the point

 

Good thing you have Nitto on.

A few members on the forum have suddenly lost control of the car(and totalled it). Especially on stock tires.

 

Consider yourself lucky, with the RE040 it is not a matter of if they will let you down but when. There is a reason they rate 49 out of 50 on Tire Racks customer survey.

Chris

 

Depends on the tires. With Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 I feel confident at 70mph in a downpour.

 

All depends on tires. I have had about 4 different sets:

OEM RE040 - Crap.
RE050 (on G35 19s) - Pretty solid until about the last week (I have maybe 20% tread left).
Pirelli P-Zero Nero - Pretty Solid.
Some Kumhos - Not good.

Overall I'd say the Z is a little less 'safe' in the rain than say an Accord with all-seasons, but I can usually do a good 65 in steady rain without feeling too unsafe. In downpours, however, I usually slow to below 50 as the car hyrdos more than normal.

 

We hear all the time about people complaining about how heavy the Z is. But a heavier car is more stable at speed in wet road conditions. Granted, tire tread, speed, etc. play a big part in hydroplaning as well. I've driven through plenty of rain here in KC since I got my '06. It handles like a dream with VDC on. And with VDC off in the city, it's fun to kick out the rear end a bit around corners just for kicks.

 

You are forgetting that the most dangerous time is at the beginning of a rainfall when just enough water is on the road that it brings up the oil and grease and whatever to the surface and into the thin sheet of water layer. That combination acts like a very slippery oil slick, and that is when you ususaly get the most lose of control and slipping.

After the first initial period of rain, you get a period where there is a lot of rain water on the road which dilutes the oil slick solution you had before, hence why you don't feel that much of a lose in control in heavy rains.

This is one of the first thing I learnt when I bought a sports car with summer tires.

 

my z scares the hell out of me in heavy rain on the highway, the rear end feels likes its all over the place. It all has to do with tires though, when my stock tires and my current ones had full tread they worked great.

 

I think the Z handles extremely well in the rain. I have a 40 mile drive to work and with all the rain lately I haven't had a single problem. I have never owned a FWD so I don't have the comparison really, besides driving my mom's car from time to time. But I've had a 70 Dodge Dart, an 80 Sting Ray, 80's Camaros, 88 Wrangler, and a 90 300zx. The Z is tighter and feels heavier in rain then any other car I've owned.

Are you guys new to RWD that are experiencing these problems? I'm still on stock tires, but will be buying the BFG KDW's to wrap around my new rims next week. Hydroplanning occurs in everycar at highway speeds, but the Z holds its line. My rear end doesn't spin out in the rain unless I'm messing around, like 40 around a corner. Just wondering if you think this car is bad in the rain and snow you gotta try a 5.0 HO Camaro without posi traction, that was my dailey driver in college. Tires were really important on that car if you wanted to make it anywhere.

 

I think (and hope) it has to do with tires. Cause I just got my first heavy rain on the highway experience yesterday on stock RE040 Ponteza's and I was ready to sell the Z, it was absolutely aweful, almost undrivable.

 

I've got Goodyear Eagle RS-A, so maybe that was why it behaved when I was driving.