Wet Grip

[MrE]

Only had the car for a month or so now and most of the driving I have done has been in the dry. Last night (in the wet) went into an uphill corner and out of nowhere I nearly lost it. Not sure if it was a combination of a bump in the road and the turn, or am I being naive thinking that grip shouldn't be too much of an issue on a fairly gentle corner at 45 mph in the wet?

Edited by MrE on Saturday 13th October 12:44

[Jasandjules]

Take it slow and steady in the wet. Keep the revs low down. It is a light car with lots of power. A lto can depend on your tyres too IMHO, when I had SO2s the car wasn't hugely stable, but when I put on new SO3s she seemed to have a lot more grip.

It may be prudent to go on a skidpan day or similar as well?!?

Edited by Jasandjules on Saturday 13th October 12:46

[MrE]

Thats my next step. I was planning on one of those ride drive days, but i think first off I'd get more out of a skid pan.

[GreenV8S]

The wide tyres on these cars grip extremely well in good conditions but the grip drops off very quickly when the road is cold and wet. The massive mid range torque of these engines makes a tricky combination in slippery conditions. I suggest you treat it extremely cautiously until you have got a feel for the way the grip changes with conditions, and be aware that it can bite at any time if you let your guard down.

[OscarT]

After a dry spell and particularly on corners where rubber, oil and diesel deposits naturally occur the road surface can become lethal with the addition of just a little rain. This is particularly apparent when driving light cars with high levels of power and torque.

OscarT

Edited by OscarT on Saturday 13th October 14:51

[Timja]

I've had quite a few interesting moments in the past couple of weeks in the wet!

One time i was accelerating not particularly hard in a straight line at 50mph in 3rd gear (3k revs ish) and the rear wheels spun and back started to come round!

Aquaplanes nicely too! - As already said, light car with wide tyres and lots of torque = interesting in wet.

[SpudMurphy]

Ditto to all of the above. I think that it happens to all of us when we're least expecting it and usually on a wet or even just a damp road. No sudden accelerating or changing down for engine braking when it's wet - ever. Gentle on the accelerator and the brake and pay particular attention when within a couple of hundred yards of a roundabout.
Live to drive another day.

[Al 450]

I have a 3000 revs rule in the wet, never exceed that especially not whilst cornering. I need a brick to put under the accelerator or something!

[MrE]

Thanks for the replies, I think an even more cautious approach needed than have been using! It's just so tempting to squeeze the right pedal just a little.

[GreenV8S]

Al 450 said:

I have a 3000 revs rule in the wet, never exceed that especially not whilst cornering. I need a brick to put under the accelerator or something!

It's good to be cautious, but worth remembering low revs in a high gear exposes you to some really nasty characteristics, it doesn't remove the danger.

[CaptiV8ted]

You haven't stated what tyres you have, but as many will tell you, if you have Toyos and they're new, they take a while to bed in, until which it's like driving on marbles in the wet.

Irrespective of which brand you're running, you have a very torquey engine in a very light car. Treat it gently in the wet! Mine bit me at 90+ mph, 4th gear on a dampish road a while back when doing a bit of post repair testing - wasn't expecting that!

You still need to call me ref your stereo!

Nick

[That Daddy]

I still have my driving Capri,s in the wet head,and they were bloody awful dident stop in the wet either,i dont find the chims to bad unless you start playing with the throttle(not recommended)they dont like greasy roads this really shows the cars light weight.

[wildcard500]

This sounds kinda familiar

I lost grip when giving it too much welly up a damp, straight slip road in 3rd (thread here) -- cold road and cold tyres -- back end broke away, bang. Happened in a bad place, passenger side smacked straight into the end of a transverse barrier blocking off a disused lane. Damn good job nobody was riding with me. It happened less than a couple of minutes after setting off, forgot about the conditions for one moment, and that's what happens.

The car's probably a write-off, thankfully I'm not.

Mind how you go.

[wildcard500]

Oh yeah, forgot to say I've had practice on a skid pan, not much admittedly, but it seems as much use as a chocolate fireguard when you lose control at speed. At the skid pan you'll be doing 20mph max, giving you far more time to react, plus you know you're going to lose control. In a situation like mine I think only trained reflex and skill (which I don't have) with a lot of luck thrown in could have saved me.

[shadowninja]

Decent tyres will help immensely. I preferred Avon ZZ1s when I had my Chimaera.

[MrE]

That is my worry re: skidpans. Can they replicate a real event when you're not expecting it? I think I got lucky, managed to control the slide without really having any experience to fall back on. ps the tyres aren't an issue.

[shadowninja]

The skidpan trains you not to brake when you panic, for instance. If that increases the chance that you don't end up going through a wall backwards...

[GreenV8S]

MrE said:

That is my worry re: skidpans. Can they replicate a real event when you're not expecting it?

Things tend to happen far slower on a skid pan so you have more time to react, don't need to be travelling as fast and need less space. It's no substitute for training under more realistic conditions. But it is useful to get the basic reactions established. Just be aware that when it happens on the road it will be much faster and more violent and you are less likely to be expecting it. Skid pan training doesn't make you a safe driver on the road, it's just a step along the way.