Hmm, You must have LSS with A048 tires then.
I had no issues at all on full tread AD07 tires in pouring rain at speeds up to 90. The car feels very stable.

Anyone else stuck drivin in this crazy rain? I hydroplaned 3 times on the way home, taking the 73 S to the 5 S from Irvine to San Clemente.

 

No LSS for me, I'm on AD07's. Regarding the rain, it's only been the rain from today where I've felt the car not stick to the road. Each time it hydroplaned it was only for a few feet, but, I could definitly feel the lateral movement of the car, and the lack of grip. Perhaps the roads down here in orange county aren't as nice as yours in san jose. There are pockets of water, and with the amount of rain we're having right now, those pockets quickly became large puddles.

 

Southern California is terrible for driving in the rain... not only do people not drive safely in it, but the streets are often not designed very well to handle it, or the drains are clogged, etc. making it worse. Not to mention my apartment complex, which floods about 3-4 in. whenever it rains out in the common area.

 

On my way back down from NorCal it was raining pretty heavily on the 5... and I was feeling very noticable hydroplaning in the Elise. Stock AD07s on mine...

I had to drop down to about 50-55 just be on the safe side. All the while I had all sorts of cars zooming past me at considerably faster speeds.
On that particular day I saw 4 different accidents on I-5. And folks STILL insisted on driving fast.

Gotta take it easy in the rain. More so at night! I don't know about you, but I have enough trouble driving in the Elise at night... with the rain and wet roads it just makes it even more difficult. Half the time I can't even tell what lane I'm on from all the glare on the windshield from the lights and from the reflection from the wet roads. Luckily I only have a 10 minute drive down to PCH.

I remember driving my Elise in pouring rain up in NorCal around this time last year... I spun out once making a left turn from a stop light. I also had a lot of trouble seeing the road from all the mist being kicked up by the other cars on the freeway.

I think dfa2100 is right, though. The roads down here don't allow the water to drain quick enough so they accumulate into puddles very quickly. It seems harder to find dry lines in the streets down here, too. There doesn't seem to be enough cars that pass through the streets to move the water off the road.

 

What is this "rain" you speak of?

Seriously though, my friend has a set of A048s on his MR2 and they handle the wet weather suprisingly well.

 

Anyone else stuck drivin in this crazy rain? I hydroplaned 3 times on the way home, taking the 73 S to the 5 S from Irvine to San Clemente.

It happened once driving about 60-65, so I droped to about 55, happened again, so I dropped to 50 and drove 50 all the way home. I grew up in Vancouver, BC, so I know how to drive in the rain, and not drive in the rain. What still blows me away is seeing the people blowing by me at 80, bobbing and weaving through traffic in this crazy weather. WTF CALIFORNIANS, get a clue.

A real classic place for hydroplaning on the 73S is the long downhill run just past the toll booths at the top of the hill. Water runs down hill and across the road from right to left and gets deep enough to cause hydroplaning. Also, after the long uphill pull, cars tend to speed up quickly down that hill if you're not paying attention.

I suspect that you are noticing the hydroplaning more because of the fantastic feedback in both the steering and seat of the pants. Most cars, with their power steering, provide almost no indication of hydroplaning until you try to turn or stop. Also, most Californians don't drive in the rain enough to even know what hydroplaning feels like...they just keep driving like usual and glide through it or end up in the ditch wondering what the hell happened. On heavy rain days it was not unusual to see two or three cars axle deep in the mud in the center median in that area on 73S.

 

It's not just the tires, the roads in CA just aren't well designed to cope with rain. Drive to Oregon some time, chance are it'll be raining whenever you're visiting there (small joke, I grew up there so can make fun of it ), you'll see how the roads there do a better job of draining water.

 

Part of it is the drivers and part of it is the roads, at least in the Bay Area. The freeways apparently aren't designed for very much rain. Any time it comes a decent rain, there are always spots on I-80 and I-580 that have 1/4 to 1" of rain standing in the low spots.

 

It's not just the tires, the roads in CA just aren't well designed to cope with rain. Drive to Oregon some time, chance are it'll be raining whenever you're visiting there (small joke, I grew up there so can make fun of it ), you'll see how the roads there do a better job of draining water.

I see you just beat me to my complaint about CA roads.

 

The rain yesterday and the day before here in Studio City/Burbank seemed to bring up a lot of oil on the roads. I saw a lot more slipping and sliding than usual. I am sure the lack of frequency in our rain makes it more dangerous than in other parts of the country where it rains more often. I was driving my 59 Minor which almost never breaks loose, and it was sliding!

 

Hmm, You must have LSS with A048 tires then.
I had no issues at all on full tread AD07 tires in pouring rain at speeds up to 90. The car feels very stable.

same here. when i had the ad07's, they were rock solid.

 

A real classic place for hydroplaning on the 73S is the long downhill run just past the toll booths at the top of the hill. Water runs down hill and across the road from right to left and gets deep enough to cause hydroplaning. Also, after the long uphill pull, cars tend to speed up quickly down that hill if you're not paying attention.

Love That Spot when Its Dry..
I did a Nice speed run on my R6 What a smooth road..
Only been on it like 3x or so..
Cali Sucks in the rain How about the 7days of rain in 04? when Ortega washed out.. boy did the F^ the freeways..
I was a driver for that..lol talk about long days.. 16hrs of traffic & still missed over half of my stops.. just could not get anywere..

Peace Guys Drive Safe
Troy

 

On my way back down south from the grapevine into and through LA yesterday, I saw lots of carnage by the roadside. Must have seen 5 wrecks on the stretch from Frasier Park to Valencia -eek-

 

On my way back down south from the grapevine into and through LA yesterday, I saw lots of carnage by the roadside. Must have seen 5 wrecks on the stretch from Frasier Park to Valencia -eek-

only 5 they must have slowed up...
lol T–ª

 

In heavy rain on brand new AD07s, I have experienced hydroplaning many times. I think it has more to do with the Elises weight than amount of tread on the tires. Heavier cars just dont seem to have as much trouble.

 

I've been driving on the AD048's here in the bay area throughout the rainy early spring and I think they're not bad at all. They hydroplane easier than normal street tires but perform better than other DOT track tires (Hooziers in particular--yikes!).

 

Denver doesn't see a lot of rain either, so the roads will have nice little wading pools in the low spots when it does rain. I've felt the occassional loose moment. I think the Lotus communicates what's happening on the road better. Maybe when folks are driving other cars, they don't notice those times when they break loose a bit like we do. Until it's too late and they spin.
All in all, my Advan's seem to handle wet roads well...except when the roads don't handle the rain.

Tom

 

I think the Lotus communicates what's happening on the road better. Maybe when folks are driving other cars, they don't notice those times when they break loose a bit like we do. Until it's too late and they spin.
All in all, my Advan's seem to handle wet roads well...except when the roads don't handle the rain.

Tom

Well Said..
T_ª

 

How much thread do you have on your tires? I just replaced a set of worn out
AD07s. The old set were getting a bit slippy. In heavy rain I was down to driving at about 50 on the freeways up here in the bayarea, with white knuckles and Toyoto Corrolla's passing me doing about 80 :no:

Also, most Californians don't drive in the rain enough to even know what hydroplaning feels like...they just keep driving like usual and glide through it or end up in the ditch wondering what the hell happened.

I saw a great accident in the rain on 280 a few years ago. A slight downhill grade followed by a slight uphill. Of course there will be a puddle at the bottom. So this guy in his pickup goes past me in the fast lane, hits the puddle. I'm guessing he aquaplaned (hydroplaned if you are American?) and what does he do next? He hits the brakes! He came to a stop about 100 yards later. By that time he had scraped along the barrier in the center of the freeway enough to slow him down!

 

When you are sitting in a puddle in the rain and you give the car a little too much gas, the Elise spins the tires and the rear slides out to the left. Very amusing!

And how 'bout that windshield wiper!

It's better in the sunshine. Alot better.


:crazyeyes :crazyeyes :crazyeyes :crazyeyes :crazyeyes