Poor Handeling In The Rain
 

Hi, I just took my car out in the crazy rain for the first time and I felt like I was going to crash. I only have 3200mi on the car so the tires are brand new. The suspension is stock with the exception of Eibach Pro Kit which has been great.

I can't believe the car handled so poorly in the rain. I had enough time to accelerate and get into the fast lane, only doing about 55mph, and I had to turn the hazards on and get into the slow lane where at 40mph the car was still struggling. It felt like I was hydroplaning no matter what I did, the back end was trying to slip around and worst my VDC didn't feel the need to join the fun. It was pretty embarrassing to see little Honda CRVs and coups doing the speed limit while I sat in the slow lane wondering my brand new PREFORMANCE car can't keep up. :(

Could this be the stock tires? Someone posted that the wider tires in the rain get less traction but that doesn't make sense since on dry surfaces the wider tires means more surface area to stick to.

Welcome to the world of rear wheel drive with the engine in the front. You just have to be careful and learn to drive it and all will be ok. My wife DD's ours and has had to encounter some crazy rain storms that we had out here last year. She had no problem. These cars are a different breed, you just have to learn them.

there's your problem.

Wider tires have a higher chance yo hydroplane as more surface area for water to get under. Especially on summer tires. Same thing as in the snow. You go narrower tires for snow tires to cut through the snow instead of wider where as you would drive on the snow. Have you had an alignment after the eibach kit? Bad alignment will definitely make the car feel unstable in the rain also.

I'm running Eibachs without the issue the OP describes.

OP, narrower tires are better in rain and snow. The only time wider helps is on dry pavement. You're spreading the weight of the car over a larger contact patch, resulting in less weight pressing the tire down per square inch of contact patch. And don't worry about keeping up with anyone in inclement weather. Who cares if you get passed by somebody when it's raining like hell?

Have your Tire PSI and alignment checked.

Regarding this part, YES, narrower tires give more traction in the wet because wide tires do not put as much direct pressure on the ground, and depending on how much water there really was, you'll "float" more with wider tires


Also, "crazy rain"... I've driven in a LOT of rain with the 370Z, no issues with going 60-70, but if you've got 1" of water sitting ON the ground, be more happy that you didn't get hit on the freeway from one of those CRVs loosing control.
If it's rainING and you hit a patch of standing water like a puddle, you hydroplane for a brief moment. IF that is the feeling you're talking about, 50% of cars cannot make it through that, and the guys doing 55 are out of their mind.

Lastly, if it really does rain as bad as you're saying it does, try changing to an all season tire like Continental DWS or Michelin A/S+

Most important question is: did you have your car aligned when you dropped it? If not then having your toe out of whack will make it feel very unsteady, especially in the rain.

Possible causes for hydroplaning/bad wet traction:

- Irregular tire wear, resulting in bald contact patches
- Unmatched tires front/rear
- Bad alignment, specifically rear toe (causing bump steer which is much more pronounced in the wet)
- Driving too fast.

Based on the description in the first post, I'm willing to bet the rear toe is way off and the vehicle was never aligned after the pro kit install, causing the tail to waggle around excessively.

It's not a problem in the dry, as both tires are usually in traction, therefore negating the toe-in. In the wet, the traction between tires can shift dramatically, resulting in this kind of behavior.

Get an alignment.

the old formula for speed at which a tire will begin to hydroplane is nine times the square root of your tire pressure. That is for non steel belted tires, but what it means is if you don't want to hydroplane go slower. Also our wide tires have more lifting area so you will hydroplane much more efficiently... that's usually not a good thing on the highway.

Do the math, 60 miles per hour and you are a hovercraft in most cars.

(disclaimer, that formula is for old school balloon tires, and is not accurate for modern tires, but the numbers are still close unless you have a specifically designed water tread like aqua-tread)

$5 says this is the issue.

He is on stock tires. What do u expect. They r garbage. I have done 100 in the rain, car was solid

I'm on stock tires and Eibachs as well with none of what the OP describes.

I'm on stock tires and stock suspension and have done upwards of 80mph in a bad rain storm. Its all about technique. I wouldn't try to accelerate/pass as if it was dry out and I would definitely would give a few extra car lengths to the car in front of you.

Were you being chased?