I have read a few coments about the Z06 and driving in the rain. I have the stock tires and probably about 340 rwhp. I was waiting to drive the car in the rain to see who was right and who was wrong.
I don't know of a car that handles better on a wet road as opossed to a dry one. The Z06 handles just fine in the rain if you remember that your "race car" on dry streets is subject to the great equalizer of wet pavement. Keep it under 2000 rpm and avoid attempting 1G turns and you will be fine. It handles wet roads as well as any car I have ever owned except those with 4 wheel drive. In deep water, the wide tires may be a bit more of a problem, however, deep water should be atacked slowly in any car. Maybe it is the fact that the Z06 is so far above and beyond normal cars on dry streets, that leads some to believe it is substandard when the road is wet. On wet roads, normal everyday sedans can come much closer to the Z06 performance than could be dreamed of on dry pavement. Drive like you are taking the kids to school in the SUV and the rain should be a non event. I have no choice, as my Z06 is my daily driver.

 

It never rains in Kaleforea.

 

My Z06 is my rain driver my '70 vette leaks too bad in the rain. I have no problems in the rain and I drive hard because it is alot easier on tires to test your car control skills on wet surfaces... I was surprised how well the tires do stick on most surfaces. There are a few slick roads that I know better that any car would slip and I drive careful.

 

 

it's been raining here the past few days. first time my z's seen rain (my z is my daily driver). generally, because i haven't installed the cags eliminator yet, i'll start in 2nd gear since if i go easy in 1st gear i'll hit that stupid shift lockout. lotsa torque in these cars, easy to spin!

once driving in the rain, however, the car is incredibly stable. no worries whatsoever. i'm sure gm didn't design this car to be a weekend driver only.

 

Whew - Thought I was in trouble for a minute there - Skaired me!

 

Actually, it's been raining cats and dogs here for the last 4-5 days. Today is the first sunny day all week. It's pretty funny though, when it does rain here, everybody goes But I agree with the poster. The Z06 handles just fine in the rain unless you're doing something stupid.

 

Z06 tires, GY F1SC, are optimized for dry pavement. Very few grooves for channeling water, as a percentage of gross contact patch. So the tires tend to hydroplane when they encounter even small amounts of pooled water.

There have been many, many Z06s damaged in accidents on wet streets. Aggressive driving the cause? Perhaps.

But what I have learned in both my Z06s is to be very careful when the streets are wet. Still drive it...but using extra care.

Ranger

 

My Z is also a daily driver and has seen may days of rain. As long as I keep my foot out of it I'm ok. I don't travel at the posted speed limit though. If it says 65 I'll slow to around 60 just to be safe. I have 8100 miles on the car/tires and they have 6/32nd's of tread left on them. Not so sure I'd want to be out in havey rain with worn F1's under my butt. At least not with any speed anyway.

Tom

 

My Z was in the rain once, I had to drive over an hour on the highway in a downpour with my DR's....Yikes!
I would think the Supercar tires are far superior to those, I hope to never find out though

 

When my F1SC got down to ~3/32 tread left I could not go more than 45mph on wet roads without the back end breaking loose.
Even with full tread I had it slip a little at ~70mph on wet roads.
Since switching to Toyo Proxes T1/S tires, I can do 80 in a downpour and not worry. They start slipping when down to 2-3 32nds of tread also but are a little better than the F1SC.
I drive mine everyday that there is not salt on the roads so I see a lot of wet roads. I don't use my street tires to race so the Toyos are the way to go for me.

 

If you don't drive like an idiot, it's fine in the rain. I've been on the track when it was wet with the stock F1SC tires. You just have to be careful and drive smooth.

X

 

Last Friday night I got caught in a downpour on my way to upstate NY, first time the car has seen rain. I did anywhere from 45-90 mph, as visibility allowed, and the Z still handled like it was on rails.
Took a good part of the day Saturday to clean it just to get caught in the rain again on Sunday

 

I have done wet skid pad work with my car on stock tires and they have an AMAZING amount of stick in the WET. The issue, IMHO, is not wet traction, but rather hydroplaning in standing water or very heavy rain. With the grooves so shallow it doesn't take much to cause these tires to hydroplane, so slow down in the rain - period. And, in case you didn't know, NEVER use cruise control in the rain, one of our members totaled his car a year or so back when he hydroplaned with cruise on, by the time he was able to get cruise off it was too late.

Les

 

You hit it dead on. I have hydoplaned on the highway on the SCs and I have won many autox events on a wet track. The tires stick like glue on wet pavement, but in heavy rain or any standing water you WILL float.