It can happen. San Diego is humid (by the ocean). In dry climates, most cars (leather or not) will shock you.

 

yeah.... except it even happens in Houston a lot in my S2000. If you can see the shock it's a lot more then 10k volts too. It happens....who cares?

 

In my Tacoma, if I wear my sandals I often get shocked. If I wear any other shoes of mine, no shock.

 

It might be the tires. I've seen this effect before back in my friend's old Civic.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Arc...ovember/11.html

 

I agree with xviper, carpets, I used to get them all the time but none since I put rubber floor mats in

 

It's possible. Under normal circumstances, the tires on the car is a great insulator against electricity going to ground. That's why, when a car is in an accident where high power overhead lines fall onto it, it is safer for the occupants to stay in the vehicle. I guess if you construct a tire with different composition, you could easily make it more conductive. Afterall, those rubber static straps work well but they have metal fibers imbedded inside them.

 

Thanks for the info! I knew it had something to do with static but didn't know why it happens to me so often.

Regarding a pic, I can you a pic of my mom.

 

San diego is actually incredibly dry unless you live right at the beach. Actually, if it weren't for irrigation, San Diego would be a desert. We get less that 10 inches of rain a year and in summer/fall it can go 6 months with no rain...

I didn't know you could get shocked with leather seats though, I though you needed the friction of fabric on fabric... You learn something new every day!

 

If that's the one where she's naked, never mind. Got one.

 

I stand corrected. My experience with San Diego was either near the ocean (Sea World) or the Zoo. The zoo was so hot, I was sweating the whole time. It just felt "wet" but that was me. Now that you mention it, the terrain further inland is like a dessert.

I think the leather issue is incidental. Charge builds up in the car and it can build up in the person in the car. Like I said before, when you get shocked, you are acting like a grounding rod for the charge in the car to get out. Even if you wear a rubber suit and not get charged yourself, the car still gets charged from driving through the air. The longer the drive, the more the charge that can build up. If you drag a metal chain attached to the car's frame behind you, you won't have this shock. Well, I guess that's what those static straps are for but the chains would be a cool touch for Halloween.