tsts

I can't recall reading any other threads over the years that contained as many self-rightous opinions as this thread and I'm talking about all sides of the issue(s).

billythekid310

I have had this sensation one time. I was headed to lake Hartwell, in a tank top with sunglasses on. Driving with the targa top off. Glorious. The looks I got were worth it alone. This was in one of the C6s I owned.

Thanks to the OP for sharing and letting me remember this moment!

probono

Exactly...

All I was trying to point out was that you can keep relatively dry when driving in the rain with the top off, as long as you keep moving..

That's it...

Ken

10mm_

I drove mine home from the dealer in one of the nastiest rain storms I have ever seen.

BladeSilver2015

The day I picked my car up rain was predicted in the early afternoon. I told the dealer that if we had not finished in time to insure that I could get home (55 miles away) before the storms, I wanted a loaner and the car to be kept under cover until I returned when the weather was good. They said they completely understood and that would be no problem. As it was, we got done with all the paper work in record time and I was on my way with no rain in sight. I love my dealer!!


This reminded me of a member of one of the Shelby forums I use to frequent who added a Hellcat to his stable. Decided to risk driving it home in a snow storm. Just could not wait to get it home. If I recall correctly, he made it over 100 miles to a road near his subdivision before skidding of the road and wrecking his new car. Was it worth it? You be the judge.

Woodson

That's what you get driving on summer performance tires in the snow. He did not do his homework.

BladeSilver2015

Not really. He also owns a later model Shelby GT500. He and all other Shelby forum members are painfully aware of the limitations of the R-Compound Eagle F-1 Super Car Tires that come on Shelby GT500s and the similar high performance tires on cars such as the Hellcat. I chalk it up to bad judgment. Will never happen to me because I will not drive the my high performance cars in any bad weather.

10mm_

Rain is not the same as snow. Duh.

BladeSilver2015

Thanks for filling me in on that 10mm. I bet you would be singing a different tune if the nasty storm you drove home in had started dumping some quarter sized hail on your new C7.

10mm_

Do I really need to explain that hail is different than snow as well? Driving a car home on summer only tires in the snow really has nothing to do with getting caught in a storm, at all.

And just for the record hail or any other act of nature is part of life, why waste your brand new Corvette by keeping it cooped up all the time? What about if a tornado hits your house? Flood? Asteroid? Thieves? Sure hail could have fallen on my car, you could get blasted by a drunk driver on a day with clear skies too. Where you draw the line of hiding from "bad stuff that might happen" is up to you, but a little rain isn't going to hurt anything. Shows off my wax job and gives me a nice excuse to wash and wax it again

But someone wrecking a Hellcat in the snow is completely irrelevant to the discussion of driving a Corvette in the rain.

crawfish333

Here is my take on it. My Corvette is a weekend driver and a road trip car. If I am at home and I look out and see that it is raining, we probably go in the pickup or the caddy. Sometimes when it rains here, it comes down in buckets and my truck (and even my Caddy) has more ground clearance, so if I run across flooding or heavy puddles, it will not come halfway up my doors. Also, if the car is just detailed, why get mud all over it going for a loaf of bread.

It should be noted that when we do road trips, we almost always see some rain somewhere along the way. The Corvettes actually handle very nicely in the rain because of the anti-skid feature. Driving in the rain is no big deal unless we get into a flash flood type of situation. If this occurred, we would seek higher ground as we would in any low clearance vehicle.

I will say this, my wife once drove our C5 though some standing water during a heavy rainfall. The unfortunate result was that the computer that controlled the brakes got water inside and Cabluey (sic,) it shorted out costing us almost a cool 3 grand in repairs. Not sure if this could happen to the C7…

In any case, the guideline for us is no for errands in the rain, but no problem on road trips and planned cruises.

BladeSilver2015

10mm: Thanks again for helping me understand the weather better. The point of my example was taking a car like a C7 out in bad weather conditions is risky. You seen to understand that in your follow up points about a variety of risks. I promise to explain my examples more carefully in the future just for you.


Nobody can completely eliminate risk in any aspect of life. You cannot control where a tornado or an asteroid with strike. However, you can reduce some risks. Keeping your car in a locked garage when not in use reduces the risk of vandalism and theft when it is not in use. Taking a brand new car out in the "nastiest rain storm I have ever seen" (or in the snow), may not be a good idea from a risk management standpoint. As crawfish333 rightly pointed out, taking a low profile vehicle out in potential flooding conditions (like you would find in a really nasty rain storm) is risky.


Actually the example was not as much for your benefit as it was a subtle poke at Woodson. Recall earlier in this thread that he promised to post photos of twin rooster tails while driving in the snow this coming winter. I don’t remember you pointing out to him that his post had nothing to do with driving a Corvette in the rain.

10mm_

Read the title of the thread if you're unclear what it's about.

I don't see the word snow lol