I thought it would end after I got rid of my kuhmo ASX tires but it hasnt, I currently have yokohoma S-Drives with around 70-80% tread on the front and back. I was driving down the interstate this morning and I just felt like I was sliding all over the road. The back end felt real loose and half the time I had to slow down around 50mph to feel comfortable.

Druing this I noticed people in the left lane just flying by me going around 70-75mph which is beyond me since I figured with my tire set up I would have good control and traction.

A good example is when a truck is in front of me and gets out of the same lane my car likes to follow the water wake hes leaving as he moves over. As soon as I try to compensate my car shimmys a little and I feel in less control.

I suppose Im just curious if Iam just paying way to much attention every little move the car makes or if everyone else has this happen to them.

I would guess with 9.5/10.5 wide tires I assumed I would have better traction and control during rain but I dont remeber this uncomfortable feeling when I had 7.5/8 wide stockers.

Not sure if this should be in the wheel/tire section but it seemed appropriate.

 

Yokohama tires suuuuuck in my experiences.

I have Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position tires, and even in very heavy rain the car feels planted and stable.

 

If you are uncomfortable try new tires, if not, just drive safe. Who cares how fast other people are going, you drive to what you feel is safe and right for you.

 

I have Yoko Advan and they are not that bad in the rain...

 

so far on the Z I've driven on toyo t1rs and falken fk452's. both have been very impressive in regards to wet grip.

rain is super common in my area so that is important to me. : P

 

Nitto Invo's rock in the rain, out here when it rains it come down hard. 80mph with confidence, and even better on the grippy roads when i head to cali. Falken 452's would rank 8.5 on the scale if i made INVO's a 10.

Also your alignment could be out, wrong stagger in tire height could also make your problem worse.

 

I was thinking -camber could be causing issues with the rain..but its common to run between -1 and -2 camber on a Z..It is kinda weird though, I didnt really notice it until I got rear camber arms and toe bolts installed...front tires are 245/35 and rears are 275/35

 

It's probably your camber

 

so, would it be safe to say the more negative camber you have the more dangerous it is to drive in the rain? Would that be an accurate statement.

If this is so...I would definitely like to know the reasons why..Im trying to think of how it would but I guess it just doesnt compute in my head.

It would be nice to get some of the guys that run stretched tires and negative camber in here.

 

Your stockers felt better because they were. A smaller contact patch is better for the rain.

 

falken fk452 ftw

 

I and other members have driven HPDE in rain. The 350Z is excellent. However, 9.5/10.5 wide tires is a recipe for hydroplaning.

 

Seems like common sense, wider tire= more water under the tire, Whats HPDE mean?

 

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My car has low offsets , stretched tires, and -2 rear , -1.5 front camber and tracks fine in the rain. The OP's car was just aligned, i would have to bet it was aligned close to ZERO for rear toe, that will make it a little happy in the rain.

 

wider tires/wheels mean thats more water your tires are trying to go through and push out through the tread, which is leaving more water trapped under you wheels while driving. Similar to how people go as narrow as possible with winter tires.

your camber is causing an uneven contact patch which IMO would make the vehicle less predicatble considering thier is more pressure and force on the inner tread rather then the outer.

Thats just my observation on the subject but my Z that i recently bought amazes me at how well it stays planted to the ground even in down pour conditons and thats coming from someone who has drove AWD/FWD cars the last 4 years.

 

Ding, ding ding. This is your problem. The wider the tire, the more fluid the tire has to evacuate to retain traction. Remember, you can't compress fluid so when you come across a lot of water on the road, your will absorb some of it between the treads and try to move the rest out of the way to retain traction. If you keep adding water to the mix, eventually, the tire will not be able to push the water out of the way and you'll end up with fluid between the tire and the road AKA hydroplaning. The faster you go, the harder the tire has to work to evacuate the same amount of fluid because it has less time to move the same amount of fluid as before.

Your alignment could be an issue but it's highly unlikely. Here's why: if you had excessive camber, your contact patch would be smaller vs. less camber, considering that you're traveling in the straight line. Therefore, to some level, negative camber should resist hydroplaning more than less negative camber. Think about it, take a piece of board 1 foot across and quickly run it across the surface. You will feel the force the fluid is exerting on it, pushing it back. Now, try the same thing but this time tilt it to the side thus reducing the effective area the fluid comes in contact with the board. You'll notice it's a lot easier to "cut" through the water. Essentially, more negative camber will do the same thing.

Welcome to the world of wheels and suspension. Wider is not always universally "better". Your setup may perform much better in dry conditions but as you're finding out, in rain, you're sacrificing the traction, given enough water on the road. This is the trade-off you opted for with wider rims/tires. As your tread wears out, this condition will exaggerate itself when you drive in moderate or heavy rain. Expect it.

 

Once again, TOE , not camber. Camber is fine as explained above, but toe will really make the car wander. Specifically rear toe.

Tire design will also come into play. Camber on a tire not designed for it may have weird effect, thats why i like the INVO's. They are made for cambered cars, and the rain groove is in the proper location for a cambered car.

 

Im gonna have to get my toe checked again anyways..my last set of rears had tread wear that looked like the tread was being pushed to the outside slightly...Weird thing is it didnt have wear like that until I got my rear camber arms and toe bolts installed.