twisties in the rain
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: San Francisco
twisties in the rain
i went for a drive yesterday (having overslept and missed the bay area s2k calaveras drive 
) and lo and behold, got 15 minutes out of the city and it was raining!!
i figured, why not, at least there won't be anyone on the roads
and i'll take it easy.
it was a TON of fun!!! the conditions varied from totally wet and raining to mist and just a bit of moisture on the ground. in a way it like the handling dynamic of the car at 20mph in the rain is the same as it is at 40mph in the dry through the same twisties. VERY easy to get the tail loose, but also pretty easy to tuck it back with the gas and wheel since the speeds were lower.
i think this puts some truth to the old adage that it's more fun to drive a slow car at it's limits than a fast car at 50%, even if you're going the same speed. sliding the car through the corners on a deserted road in the rain at 20mph was as enjoyable as trying to keep it on the perfect line at the maximum speed on a sunny day.
i took lucas valley road to nicasio to fairfax-bolinas to ridgecrest and then back to the city. there was a truly surreal moment on ridgecrest where it was incredibly misty and foggy but not raining. i put the top down, the entire world was just gray, visibility down pretty low, and no land visible off either side of the road. there was a fierce crosswind and in many ways it felt more like flying than driving.
just a note here :
I AM NOT ADVOCATING DRIVING LIKE A JACKASS IN THE RAIN. i am a very conservative driver, i know the limits of the vehicle and my own limits. please don't go out there and spin your car off the side of the road into the drink because i said it was fun to let the tail get a bit loose on a wet day.
) and lo and behold, got 15 minutes out of the city and it was raining!!i figured, why not, at least there won't be anyone on the roads
and i'll take it easy.it was a TON of fun!!! the conditions varied from totally wet and raining to mist and just a bit of moisture on the ground. in a way it like the handling dynamic of the car at 20mph in the rain is the same as it is at 40mph in the dry through the same twisties. VERY easy to get the tail loose, but also pretty easy to tuck it back with the gas and wheel since the speeds were lower.
i think this puts some truth to the old adage that it's more fun to drive a slow car at it's limits than a fast car at 50%, even if you're going the same speed. sliding the car through the corners on a deserted road in the rain at 20mph was as enjoyable as trying to keep it on the perfect line at the maximum speed on a sunny day.
i took lucas valley road to nicasio to fairfax-bolinas to ridgecrest and then back to the city. there was a truly surreal moment on ridgecrest where it was incredibly misty and foggy but not raining. i put the top down, the entire world was just gray, visibility down pretty low, and no land visible off either side of the road. there was a fierce crosswind and in many ways it felt more like flying than driving.
just a note here :
I AM NOT ADVOCATING DRIVING LIKE A JACKASS IN THE RAIN. i am a very conservative driver, i know the limits of the vehicle and my own limits. please don't go out there and spin your car off the side of the road into the drink because i said it was fun to let the tail get a bit loose on a wet day.
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