betelgeuse

I ran a test/tune day (in the rain) yesterday with my c5z. It was a handfull even running it in competition mode. The tires were new Bridgestone RE760 sports. They were on the car when I bought it. I don't know how these tires are on a dry track but they stink in the rain.

I was wondering if some of the forum members would share your thoughts about tracking a vette on a wet track.

Thanks,
Greg

RX-Ben

Not so bad with Hoosier Wets.

Paul Schmidt

Some people will drive in the rain, some won't. Living in Seattle we have a lot of rain. I go out to practice being smooth. Driving one gear higher coming out of a turn than I do when it's dry. Being aware of the color of the asphalt will help. The darker the color of the track, the wetter. Driving off line helps too. Less oil and rubber.

Here's a video of me a few years ago in my C6 Z. I now have a C5 race car, so the ZO6 doesn't see any track time anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63USLppGyX8

Short-Throw

How 'new' are these tires? Tread depth doesn't mean the tires are good if they become hard.

I run Hoosiers wets on my C5 race car and they are fine. The hard task when running in the rain is to get heat in the tires, and to do that you need speed, it's a double edged sword.

What is your experience running on wet tracks? The line on a wet track is forever changing, could this have been a factor?


Mike

Jason

Believe it or not it's easier with everything turned off.

Of course, I spin alot. YMMV.

betelgeuse

I've run in the wet many times at this track (NHMS) and a day at WGI and a couple days at Mont Tremblant (all with a BMW).

Not sure of the tires age but it looks like they have 100% tread. Getting heat in the tires was nearly impossible. The first run in the morning was 38 degrees. The highest temp I saw all day was 58.

Very impressed with the power of the c5z. I'm not sure why people are looking to get more. It seems to have enough.
Can't wait to get it out on a dry track.

Greg

betelgeuse

There was a lot of that going on yesterday

Greg

ZoomFreakinZoom

I love racing in the rain...best way to learn car control.... a lot of car control haha. The important thing to remember is to keep it smooth with the pedals. A little throttle goes a long way in the rain. That said, with my car I use R6's rain or shine, soooooo with a good rain tire the power down is actually pretty darn good.

sperkins

If this is the tire you're talking about, then yeah I can see why they would suck in the rain. There are no open tread blocks on the outer edge of the tire to allow water to escape it's center grooves. Looks like a terrible design to me. I wouldn't even want to run those on the street in the rain for the fear of hydroplaning.

drivinhard

Also, tires will generally feel crappy in the wet on a race track because the track surface is polished up nicely from all the abuse over the years from dry running (why generally the "wet line" is different from the dry line).

ZoomFreakinZoom

They probably have more grip than the tires you used at RA in March. Just sayin

sperkins

No argument from me on that one!

betelgeuse

Those are the tires. I had a new set of BFG R1s with me (just in case we got a dry session). I bet they would have been as good as the 760s.

I was amazed how well the AH worked. I could feel it applying brakes to one corner and then another a split second later. I should have tried it with everything turned off but it was the first time on the track with this car and I didn't want to take a chance on wrecking it.

Greg

betelgeuse

NH is kind of a unique track. It's built around a NASCAR oval and isn't very wide. There is really only 1 line.

Greg

naschmitz

Greg,

I'll drive in the cold. I'll drive in the wet. But I won't drive my C6 in the cold and wet anymore. Data log those tires in the cold. You will see the performance drop off to wet levels even though it's dry. The Michelin Pilot SuperSports I ran at Mospsort under similar conditions to what you had this week at NHMS were awful and they were new. No heat in a summer tire means no grip. If you want to drive in the cold and the wet, you really need Hoosier Wets or something that works cold.

See you at SP.

Bert

waddisme

The one time I ran in the rain, I tried all the different traction control settings to see exactly how they affect the car. Interesting. I thought it would be a safe way to try some other things at slower speeds, so I was pretty aggressive - until - I saw a Ferrari spin off the track, caught his front nose clip in the grass and pulled it off. He had driven to the track, and his car was driveable, but he had nowhere to put the clip. It wouldn't fit inside nor in his trunk. Not sure what he did with it. I ended up leaving early.

TedDBere

There are 100 things that can happen to you when you drive a Corvette in the rain, and 99 of them are bad.

If you're competing for a trophy or contigency money then learning how to track a C5 in the rain is important. If you're just having fun learning car control then using street tires will give you that experience too, without the 200 ft slides that the rain will give you. Get onto wet grass and the only thing you'll learn are the limits of your insurance policy...IMHO.

VTME13

These came on a set of wheels I bought... they suck on dry pavement, too.

rayk

I've only been on BIR once in the rain with the mustang. I never appreciated dry pavement until I slid around on the wet track with the ABS kicking off. It was a lot of work at first until I figured out how fast(or slow) I needed to go. It was a good for a few laughs with a friend of mine watching each other slide around. There was jetta that I could barely stay in front of in the twisties.

betelgeuse

Thanks for the info Bert. Good to know that it was just too cold for the tires. I don't think they're that good of a tire anyway. I'm not going to run the vette in the wet anymore. I'll take the BMW. I have Hoosier wets for that car. That said, I can't wait to get the vette on a dry track.
BTW. I'm not going to Summit Point. Too long of a drive to take a chance on the weather. Probably see you at WGI....or maybe one of the NH events?

Greg