911 handling in the wet ......................

Was out a run with the Porsche Club during the week and the weather was terrible - torrential rain . I hardly ever drive the car in the rain ( strange coming from Scotland I know !! ) I really found the back end to be very vague and unpredictable going through bends on very wet road .......... couldnt feel the limit at all and when pushing on I felt it could let go at any moment without warning . Back tyres are very mid life so this may be a factor - does anyone else have experience or opinions of 911 handling in the wet ? (I have a 996 C4S )

I thought the 4S would be really planted with bags of grip in the wet, my 2S (997) is o.k. no real issues as long as I don't provoke it, or try ploughing through lakes at high speed. Assuming all mechanics are o.k., i.e. tyre pressures and suspension. Maybe a wet day trip to a track or driving centre with instruction with big run off areas etc wher you can get to grips with it would be worth a look and fun too.

Mine's a daily driver so gets used wind, rain or shine (or even snow, earlier this year)! I find it quite planted in the wet but then I wouldn't dare 'push on' in heavy rain to be honest; I'm quite a steady and careful driver most of the time. I do find mine (2003 C2) disguises speed very well, so I am often going a lot faster than I realise, which means the limit is much higher than a lot of other cars (i.e. you think it's not giving you much confidence on a bend at 60mph in the rain, but most other cars would actually be struggling to get round at 40mph). Maybe your perception of what the car can do is set artifically high because of this? Like Porkaholic though I am surprised a 4wd variant feels anything less than planted; just how fast were you going...? :wink:

Certainly not my experience of a C4S in the wet. What did discombobulate me a little at first was the when the awd transfers a bit more power to the front quite quickly - which can happen when going fast through tight bends, cornering in the wet or even on the straight when you decide to stick the hammer down. It feels a bit different to 2w or even fixed 4wd and took a bit of getting used to. Could that be what you're sensing?

discowhat??! :wtf:

Disco Fever :?: I think your car may be in need of some TLC. The C4S has massive turbo width tyres, sports chassis and both four wheel drive and PSM as standard. This means the viscous coupling will send drive to whichever end has grip and the stability management will brake any spinning wheels (or indeed counter any detected over or under steer). Bar the Turbo, it is probably the most idiot-proof and quickest point-to-point model in the range. There is no way it should throw you off the road (laws of physics excepted). It sounds like your geometry is messed up. I am particularly concerned your car has previously broken a driveshaft. Are you sure the suspension alignment is correct and there has been no chassis flex? You need a full four-wheel geometry alignment check.

discombobulate |ËŒdiskÉ™mˈbà¤byəˌlāt| verb [ trans. ] humorous disconcert or confuse (someone) : this attitude totally discombobulated Bruce | [as adj. ] ( discombobulated) he is looking a little pained and discombobulated. ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: probably based on discompose or discomfit . Do we not educate anyone anymore? :nooo: ____ As GT4 says - it ought to inspire more confidence because it doesn't misbehave short of ice, oil or lots of fresh snow.

"Bar the Turbo, it is probably the most idiot-proof and quickest point-to-point model in the range." So thats why I bought a turbo!!! :yes: :yes: :yes:

i find in the wet you obviously cant be as aggressive with the power, braking or turning, but with smooth driving you can keep the pace up with my c2 without fear of letting go, even with my shagged fronts. large puddles and uneven roads do make the car skip along a lot and it can feel like you have made a recovery when some wheels have left the ground and then rejoined, but these cars are fantastic when running right and give you the confidence that they will save you. I take it you didnt really have any serious moments? more that it didnt feel like you could push it so much... Definately check the geometry, but i would suspect you would notice if anything else felt really funny in the dry too. how does yours handle in the dry? I agree with the comment by porkaholic, perhaps some practice finding out more about your cars feel on a track - ideally in the wet would be a great benefit. Nice one.

+1 for a Geometry check, what tyres have you got on at the moment? could be a change of rubber will give more confidence in the wet. TB

tyres tyres tyres tyres TYRES.... If you don't use the car in the wet in Scotland, you don't use the car very much. AGE of tyres? Make/model of tyres? I'm betting on P-zeros from 2003, grip is less than average in the wet when new, and awful when half worn and old. The cars electronics are doing their best, but....................

Very wide tyres and wet weather grip don't often go hand in hand. Depends how stream like the roads were - if they had loads of standing water, half worn low profile c4s tyres are not going to offer much in the way of grip. Not a car problem, just laws of physics. Of course, if standing water wasn't part of the equation, please refer to earlier posts..... Peter