what do i know?

I'm trying to understand the reasoning for not driving in the rain or even the possibility of rain. I just just can't see having this fun/expensive car and not getting the most drive time as possible out of it during our short good weather season. My husband and I live in the northeast.

I understand that wet roads kick up oils and other debris. I'm not talking about going out if there is a high probability of strong winds or hail.

I love to drive it too. In my mind the car is going to get dirty anyhow. Isn't washing it part of the "deal"? Isn't it part of the "total" experience of ownership? Maybe I have it all wrong. But what do I know.

aj98

Practical:
vettes are bottom breathers - the air intake is not too far off the road surface - deeper puddes runs the risk of ingesting water.
Harder to be seen, especially in grey or black.
Other drivers stupidity: Yup, its raining. Who needs wipers... or lights?
Rain?? So what - lets do 75 anyway!
Even in W mode, easier to break the back end loose

Vanity:
dirty car

Fick

For me it was just a cleaning issue. With my other cars I would just quickly run them through a car wash if I did not have time to clean them. Since I retired I replaced the Miata with a C5 Vert so I have to drive one of the Corvettes in the rain and now I have plenty of time to clean them up.

fyreline

Some Corvette owners seem determined to preserve their cars for the next owner. Makes no sense to me at all. You bought it, you paid for it, YOU drive it & enjoy it. If your idea of enjoying a car is sitting in a lawn chair in your garage admiring a perfect machine - why not just buy a nice photo of one instead and save a lot of cash?

Ships are safest in port - but that's not what ships are for.

Just my opinion, of course. Your cash, your call . . . but if you aren't driving your Corvette at every opportunity, you're cheating yourself out of a lot of joy. Get out there, and don't forget to wave.

1SG_Ret

If I have a second car, I'll opt to drive that in the crappy weather rather than the Corvette. As much as I love driving the C7, piloting it in in a rain storm "dampens" the enjoyment (plus encountering idiots (and the "Magoos" we have in SW Florida), that do not adjust their driving based on conditions).

Steve_R

Ah yes, this topic again. OP, you're new here, you'll quickly learn there are two kinds of C7 owners; those who drive them a lot and those who drive them very little. I'm in the former camp, and daily drive mine to work unless there is snow/ice on the road. Rain won't hurt it, and it's not some exotic supercar, it's a depreciating Chevy (and it's depreciating whether you drive it or save it for the next owner).

Neither choice is right or wrong, it's simply two different choices. This subject has, however, been beaten to death over the years.

And welcome to the forum.

sTz

^^^ This

dvilin

I have 3 vehicles, the Vette is strictly a "toy" and I drive it when I feel like it. Not preserving it for the next owner it is not wrapped in plastic etc, like many owners do.It simply is not the vehicle I choose to drive each day.

Kevin A Jones

Some just like keeping their Vette/s in as pristine condition as possible, nothing wrong that. Just like there's nothing wrong with driving your Vette in the rain if you so choose.
My daily driver was practically built for poor weather driving and I like to keep my C7 in a showroom condition as possible. What little pleasure I would get from driving it in the rain
is not worth the effort to detail it from doing such.

JoesC5

Are you sure about that?

The C5 was a bottom breather(100%). The base C6 was combination frontal(60%) and bottom(40%) breather and the C6 Z06/ZR1/GS/427 Convertible were 100% frontal breathers.

The C7 is 100% frontal breather.

Whether the car is liable to ingest water depends on the location of the air breather's intake opening, and the C5/C6/C7's air breather intake openings are no more prone to ingest water than say, a Camry, with normal driving in the rain.

TXshaggy

It's not a function of preserving the car or not getting it wet for me, but rather enjoyability. Just like I don't play golf in the rain or ride my CVO Harley, I find little enjoyment in driving my Cup equipped Z in the rain. But hey, everyone should do what makes them happy and not worry about what others think.

sunsalem

My POV:
Driving my Vette is ALL about having fun.
For me, that means driving fast (aggressively around corners, etc.)...something not advisable in the wet.
Going to the grocery store or downtown doesn't involve driving it in a "fun" manner.
If I go somewhere where there is a lot of LEOs, it makes driving less of a pleasure as well.
As a consequence of the above situations, I don't normally put as many miles on my Car Toys over the year as I might like.
Although I am ALWAYS looking for a situation to drive my Z, more times than not I take my Grand Cherokee for errands, etc.
Much more comfortable and WAY easier to get in and out of (sorry, I'm old).
Anyway, it's just my perspective, and of course, YMMV.

JerryU

:agree: Not only is the C7 NOT A BOTTOM BREATHER and air goes into the radiator only from the grill, the air intake for the engine comes from an opening on the passenger side of the engine compartment. There is a space between the engine compartment and the fender where the air cleaner is located. It is above the center of the wheel.

However the C6 had the air cleaner opening in the front and lower than the C7.

saleen556

To each their own. I've never enjoyed driving high HP cars in the rain. The corvette is a toy for me. No sense in risking some idiot sliding in to me because they are going to fast on wet pavement. Plus rock chips here in the fall/winter are common. I'd much rather drive my truck for the peace of mind. Maybe if I lived somewhere drier I'd drive the car more often though.

Bill Dearborn

C7 isn't a bottom breather. C4s and C5s were bottom breathers. Even then it isn't that big of a deal to drive in the rain or through puddles.

All Corvettes do quite well handling in high winds and heavy rain. There is a large number of people who don't drive in the rain because they don't want to get the car dirty and they tend to clean a Vette more than they would another car. There are others who just don't know how to drive a high torque car with wide tires in the rain. Some of them are quite challenged in driving one on dry roads and are extremely challenged when it comes to driving them in the rain.

Any C7 can be driven in the rain including ones with the Cup2 tires. When new they work well in heavy down pours and have plenty of traction even in temps in the upper thirties.

The biggest problem I have encountered when driving in the rain is driving near large trucks. They throw a lot of spray off the tires and it sort of blinds a Corvette driver since you are sitting so low. It can blind people driving large SUV's as well but when you are passing one in a Corvette in a heavy downpour you are down in the muck and can barely see the truck let alone what is in front of you.

Bill

vbdenny

Two reasons I don't drive my Corvette in rain. First, my AWD Highlander is much better in rain, and secondly, because I don't like washing and detailing after. I have had it in the rain, inadvertently however.

what do i know?

Well....my husband bought it AND paid for it
I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Life is short. It seems more trouble to me than its worth if you spend more time worrying about a scratch or dirt. I wish it was more of a joy than one more "thing" to worry about.

Sorry if topic has been beaten to death in the past. He bought a 2016 new and this has been a constant difference of opinion. I was looking for other views.

AWOL

There is not a problem using the car in all weather conditions, have done so, even in the flooded streets of Harvey with water coming over the hood. Never had a problem.

SilverGhost

Driving in the rain is no big deal......until it is, as these two forum contributors shared:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...t-problem.html

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ine-light.html

-HAIRBALL-

1. I live in SoCal and when it rains many people lose their ability to drive and prefer to run into everyone around them.

2. The car is fun to drive on dry roads, wet roads and rain, not so much. If it's nice out I might take the Z. If it even looks like bad weather, I take something else.

3. I got stuck in a little rain last year and when I went to wash the car a few days later, I could not get the spots off. Tried everything I could find and could not get the marks off the glass, clearcoat, or Xpel. Ended up taking it to a detail shop and paid over 1k to get it corrected. No rain for me if I can help it.

4. It's my car, I will drive when and where I see fit.