Hey guys, we have alot of rain over here, infact i'd say it's wet more than it is dry.

I want some advice and tips on driving an S Spiritedly in the rain. I've been out in it today and always drive within my limits ofcourse, but i tried a variety of ways of turning into a corner.

Firstly i tried turning into a corner around 40 mph the corner being around a 70 degree bend with good tarmac. I turned in off the power and i felt the rear twitch which i thought was unsual as i would expect it to understeer a little.

Secondly on the same corner i turned in lightly on the throttle at the same speed about 20% on the throttle and it felt very much the same.

I'm no driving god, well i'm good in a FWD with a LSD on track but this is a different kettle of fish,

So really, please no slating, i'm just after tips and generally wandering if there is a way to induce understeer before the rear will break away as a sort of early warning.

Thanks guys

 

Driving spiritedly in the rain on public roads is foolish.

 

This.

Though the OP doesn't mention specifically that this is for a track or not...

Save the spirit for the dry days.

 

I'm not asking if it's foolish or not, i'm driving well within my limits at all times i lost a friend through an accident and i don't count on doing that to my self it was horrible.

I'm asking more than anything as a way of making me aware of the best way to take a corner even when driving normally and it may have a surface change or some sort of oil dropped in it, if i know how to take a corner effectivly in a spirited way, then hopefully it will prepare me for anything happening at any time.

 

I'd be hard pressed to say if you were driving well within your limits that you would *ever* encounter a situation where you would need a skillset to recover from something surprising. You already know the conditions and according to you, you are already driving with that in mind.

If you were driving on an apparently dry highway and suddenly hit black ice, sure...

That being said, after several years of driving in the rain, I've only had two instances where I was driving at the limit of reasonable for the wet conditions and felt the rear end twitch due to standing water. However that's all I felt, a twitch and it came right back in line after passing the puddle.

No drama except for my heart skipping a beat for a second. Had I been going just a little bit slower, I would have had no idea there was even a potential issue.

 

It's more entering corners i'm interested in. I run winter tyres so fingers crossed unfortuante situations like highway incidents won't be a problem.

 

Rain= I drive like I'm 90 years old.
I've had 4 friends crash s2000's and its always in the rain.

 

Ok, so how about we say track driving as i have a trackday in three weeks, so what tips would people give for entering corners in wet conditions, as no doubt it won't be dry

 

If OP is asking an honest question about driving in the rain - not sure why everyone is getting on his case about being reckless. Maybe "spiritedly" is the wrong choice of words to use. In general you shouldn't push the car in the rain since the limits of traction are much lower and harder to get back once you lose them.

The best way to corner in any condition imo is to brake before the corner and be on the gas as you enter and apply more throttle as you exit the corner. Road conditions would dictate how fast you should be going. There are different types of "wet conditions" that will also effect how you should drive.

Coasting through a corner will not generate the grip that accelerating through the corner will, but with the S2000, the locking diff will also mean accelerating through the corner will cause the S to want to rotate more eagerly. Without giving it gas, the S will understeer through a corner if you overturn the front wheels.

 

The few times I've autox'd in heavy rain in my AP1 I found it quite frustrating. I would come into the corner (apparently) too hot and start to understeer. Trying to correct I would dial increase steering input to no avail. I would then try to power-over to get at least he rear to turn which would usually end up in a spin. Frustrating...but fun

Driving on the track in the rain was a different and more pleasurable experience. There's lots of room and no need to make a super tight turn. Plus, the standing pools of water seemed more obvious than the varying surface of a parking lot.

Drive like you have eggs on your pedals. Everything has to be smooth. In general that's true of all racing (or driving) but more essential in the rain. Ease on the the gas and the throttle. Smooth steering inputs as well. If you start to slide, try to drive with it rather than against it. And the wet racing line is slightly off from the dry racing line. The idea is the tarmac is more worn and smooth on the racing line whereas slightly off of that is real grippy asphalt.