Be careful guys... rain and Runflats
 

I was heading up to Mid-Ohio today for a couple of days on the track and I hit a lot of rain in KY and OH. The Z06 doesn't like rain. It hydroplane's pretty easily and it can break traction even at 70 MPH in 4th.

Besides the hydroplaning, I had a big scare when going through a long tunnel in Cinci. I decided to see how the exhaust sounds in a tunnel so I dropped it down to 2nd at 50 MPH and nailed it. I thought it was dry, but I guess it was not. The car was heading sideways in a split second and I was lucky to catch it and keep it under control. My reaction was to stay in the throttle and this helped a bunch. I think if I would have "lifted" I would have lost it. Get some track time guys before you kill yourself. This car needs to be driven with a healthy dose of respect and I was stupid for a split-second and it almost cost me.

Learn from my mistake; be careful guys.

There was a guy with a standard C6 that was killed a couple of weeks ago after his car hydroplaned and he got sideways. He was hit by a truck. I saw the post on the C6 forum and it was a wake up call.

Off to Mid-Ohio in the morning! Hope it stops raining.

- Bill

What with 3 feet of rubber and hardly any weight... So,how did it sound? You can't be "stupid" in this car...:willy:

don't drive it in the
 

rain...

pull over and have a few :cheers: and get a cheap motel.

The car is fine in the rain, as long as you're not stupid.

:iagree: No issues here. :cheers:

IMHO almost no sports car performs well in wet conditions. My Z sucks in the rain and my 996TT was no different.

So far at legal speeds the car is fine.You get over the legal part and well.You get what you get.:rofl:
I will caution everyone when the stock tires get thin be very careful in the rain,it can be treacherous.I learned theat with previous Ctsv.

I supose that you had the TC off, because with active handling system and the TC on that should not happen.

You guys NEED to UNDERSTAND that when driving as car with this much power you NEVER "NAIL IT" in the lower gears. You roll on and off the power. Anything else you do at your own risk.

Glad you caught it this time. Keep that lesson high on your memory bank.
Enjoy your high-perf beast.

Frank Gonzalez

I don't freak in the rain, but definitely drive very defensively. I found in my C5Z, and in my C6Z as well, that light rain is ok (meaning you drive carefully) but hard rain puts me in the right lane at very reduced speeds.

Tire width and tread patterns do not lend themselves to anything but treading lightly when the roads are not dry.

I had two C5's before my C5Z and found them to be very stable in the rain - the "V" tread pattern in the non-Z C5's and C6's tires works well.

:nono: Not true at all.

TC/AH will help you out until the laws of physics takes over.

:iagree: With Mike.Especially with the C6.The C6 model IMHO the TC/AH is much less intrussive than it was on the C5 and even the Ctsv.

Yeah, I live in Cincy and you have to be careful going thru the downtown Cincy tunnel. When it is wet there are a lot of jacknifed tractor trailers, actually, even when it is not wet. But the tunnel is great at WOT, I did that Sat. night.:thumbs:

Be safe out there:cheers:

Couple years ago in my 02 Z06 I was driving I-4 coming home from Orlando in a very light rain. Was going about 70mph in a straight line. All of a sudden I was doing 360's and wound up facing opposite direction in median. I have no idea what happened to this day. Was just lucky there was not much traffic around me at the time it happened. Suspect hydroplaneing. I was not hot dogging in any way what so ever. Light car, big tires, bad combination for wet weather. When I drive in rain now with C6Z, you can bet it will be really slow.

I think the car would have recovered itself IF you got out of the throttle with TC/AC on.

Only FFCobra was there and knows for sure but........

This is a misconception.

Depending on the situation, lifting off the throttle can often upset the cars balance more so than staying on it, especially in the rain.

This is one downside to TC/AC. People think it's a safety net for any occurrence. The same way many of the winter 4-wheel drive SUV warriors think their vehicles stops better.

The car is most fun in the rain. Drifting is awesome in the rain-- of course on a closed track.;)

Sorry to disagree, but if the TC/AH wanted less power it would have closed the throttle without driver intervention.

Frank Gonzalez

:iagree: I already owned a tuned Porsche Boxster S (300hp) and a tuned M3 (390hp) and in the wet at lower speeds and in straigh line the TC doesn't allowed the wheels to spin. It seems to me that the Z06 TC does nothing if it doesn't prevent the wheel spinning in the wet, specially in straight line. :(

The TC/AC was ON. The car was heading sideways and I stayed in the throttle to keep it from "snap spinning". The TC/AC is not going to over ride the laws of physics. If I would have lifted, I am 99% sure that the car would have spun.

I had a blast today in the morning section at Mid Ohio. We're running again tonight and I can't wait.

- Bill