Driving in the rain.

[TobyB]

what about tire pressure?

hey, good question.

Mine are usually 24- 28 for the street...

t

[jgerock]

What about your wiper mechanism? If you cannot see, then you must slow down.

I kind of like driving in the rain - except for the foggy windows when in traffic (defroster on high, vent window cracked open).

[turbotom09]

I love driving the 02 in the rain. I think it does extremely well (relatively speaking) scootin' down the highway in the rain. It's also fun hitting corners and sliding around a little bit (controlled, and on purpose).

[Husker2002]

Drove in heavy rain on the way back from 02' fest in Eureka Springs Arkansas all the way to Lincoln Nebraska (400+ miles). Have 195/60-15 Dunlop Direzza's that are basically new and had no problem running the speed limit of 70-75mph. Had new wiper blades but really didn't need them, or use them, much as I also use Rain-X. There was lots of standing water, and heavy downpours, but I never felt unsettled or unsafe. This was my first experience with an 02' in the rain and it really felt solid at speed. I don't think the problem is the car....its tire condition, tire choice, preparedness for the conditions and experience driving in the rain.

[roadhog0]

I drove into a monsoon in Seattle one day in the 02 and the whole highway was doing 40, thats how bad it was. All I could see was a faint pair of what I knew were bright tail lights in front of me about 100 feet tops, couldnt see a damn thing! Car did pretty well but it follows the road so there was a lot of fighting going on. You'll just get use to the way it drives after a while. It's nothing like driving my old diesel truck which is firm and planted and handles surprisingly well

The S.Drives are a little slick in the rain but better than my old Toyo's. Just dont forget they're summer tires and can get a little slick in the rain but are still very good tires all around. Best of luck!

[OriginalOwner]

since it never rains in Southern California I buy inexpensive tires for putting around town, I don't "go fast" anymore.

I still use the original 165R13 tire size, at 32psi. No problems on the freeways or surface streets during very rare freak weather when it does rain (just a tiny little bit).

Cheers,

Carl

[Napes]

I was a driving instructor in the Porsche Club when I was still in Western Oregon and when I'd get guys out at PIR with some rain on the track I'd just remind them (sometimes, numerous times) that rain doesn't change physics. Your car won't do anything in the rain it doesn't do in the dry - it just does it sooner.

Bob Napier

[Pierre]

S-drives. Great summer tires. Very sticky on dry pavement. I have them on my E30 318is. 205-55-15.

But when it gets wet... well. they are no as sticky.

The other factor is tire width. A stock E30 uses 195-14 tires. I am using a tire that is one step wider and one stop larger diameter. wider tires tend to hydroplane more.

A 2002 came with 165-13 tires. You are moving 3 stops up in widths and 2 steps in diameter. Great for dry roads. But quite the jump to resist hydroplaning, especially for the S-drive.

Try a set of 185-70-13 (if you have access to a set) and feel the difference.

Worn suspension components, loose wheel bearings, misaligned front end, significantly lowered rear ends with no compensation for rear-end toe-in are all contributors to a squirrely car in the wet.

[mike472]

You never mentioned your wheel width and offset. There could be a mismatch there too. I am running a 6x15 wheel with 29mm offset with 195/50-15's. This is what the offset should be close to. You may be a little tall with 55 series tires and your offset may be causing some weirdness in the steering. Try alignment of all four wheels at a reputable shop to get a handle on what if any thing is wrong there. As mentioned before too much toe-in will also cause the squirrelly feel.