[dechien]

Dear All:
With the recent downpour here in Southern California, I started to wonder how the Elise would perform under harsh rainy weather. For the new owners that has driven the Elise in the rain, can you tell me the following:
1. What is the sound difference between the hard top, soft top, and touring package soft top during strong downpour?
2. How does that single blade wiper measure up in clearing the windshileld?
3. Given its height, how have you negotiated significant water puddles on the streets?
4. Do the wheels seem to grab well in the wet?
5. Do you think the stock lighting system is adequate during thunderstorms?
Regards,
- dechien

 

[Randy Chase]

1. I don't know. I never noticed rain noise with my Touring soft top.

2. Single blade works great.

3. I would not drive into a puddle that was deep enough to worry about. If it looked like the water could be over 5" deep, I would drive somewhere else. I hope I am never caught where I don't have an option. The real issue I have noticed is that the water an cover bad streets or potholes and you can hit some pretty hard.

4. Any midengined car can get a little scary in the wet. In normal wet conditions, I think the A048s work great. But in standing water conditions, I think they suck and I would slow way down.

5. Umm... no worse than they are at night, which is not great. I have a set of upgraded bulbs here, waiting for some spare time to install.

6. Yes, it is still leaking.

The good news is that we have very few days like this.