Sketchy rain driving

So Ive had my 2001 C2 for about 6 months now. Its mostly a fair weather car for me, but I drove it to work yesterday and got caught in the rain. Not a hurricane, but a nice steady medium rain. Enough to leave some standing water on the roads. The experience was......terrifying. Im from Florida, I grew up driving in the rain. I drive RWD vehicles in the rain all the time even now. But the 996 was lurching all over the place. Not so much that it felt like the rear end was trying to come around, but like the whole car would skate left and right as you hit puddles. The best way I can describe it is it felt like I was driving on an old dirt road with deep ruts. So the car would want to track with the ruts in the road. So in a nutshell now Im trying to figure out if that's just how these rear engine cars drive in the rain, or if I have some sort of issue. Alignment maybe? The car tracks straight so I assumed alignment was good. Perhaps that's a bad assumption. Ive noticed it also doesnt feel like a normal car if I hit a bit of gravel in the road. Same feeling like the whole car skates in a direction. Tires are relatively new and all season rated. Car is relatively stock with the R030 suspension I think its called.

Check your tire pressure?

Check your tire tread depth and if all your tires match if that checks out look at wheel alignment specs

Tires and alignment.

I've driven my 99 C2 in torrential rain (Florida) and never had that problem. In fact I've felt safer in my Porsche than with most other cars. What brand tire are you running? And what is "relatively new"? Have you checked the inside tread on the front and rear tires?

Should have got a C4S. Just kidding. Hopefully you can figure out. Sounds frightening.

yeah something must be up, because I have Michelin cup 2 tires which are supposedly horrible in the rain and I've never lost traction.

I've driven a 4s with older tires which were under inflated in the rain and it got very squirrely. Not a feeling I'd want anyone else to experience.

Ill check the tire pressure. Ill also check for wear. I havent noted any but I havent laid on the ground to look at the inside since I got it. As far as tire age, I think they are from early 2021 when the 40th Anv wheels were put on. I would have to look back at the paperwork to be sure though. I think the Tires are Pilot Sports, but Im not going to swear to that. Ill look when I get home from work. Like I said, the handling shocked me. I drove my old C6 in the rain, Ive even driven my 50 year old Firebird in the rain and it was less sketchy than the 911 was.

Check the inside edge of the tires, like you said, you have to lay on the ground to see them.

You didn't mention what speeds you were driving, the risk of hydroplaning goes up with road speed, also the ability to have enough time to take corrective action

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Lol dude it was embarrassing, I got passed by a mini van at one point. I was scared for real. When going straight I was basically doing the speed limit which was 55, but when I was going around turns I was well below what I normally would be. There were also sections where I could just see more standing water on the road and I would go more like 40. This is where I got passed by the soccer mom. This is a road that is normally pretty well ignored on the speed limit side of things. A bit out in the country, woods all around so not really anywhere for a speed trap. So doing just the speed limit was very slow. I will say that once I got off the first road I felt safer. I got onto a more freshly paved road that wasnt holding so much water in the groove of the road as the first road.

It will be interesting to see what tires you have. I nearly spun my car driving back from the track on a very worn set of sport cup 1s at 50 mph and 50 degree air temps in the rain. Scared the he'll out of me. Guys are right, check what you are running, tread left, air pressure, alignment. All can work against you. However, I did end up on the track a month ago on a set of barely used 5 year old Bridgestone potenzas summer tires. I was instructing at our local pca de event and didn't plan on tracking the car until I broke in a bunch if new parts, but it was cold and raining, my student was having a tough time with turn ins and braking, so I figured I would take him out and show him. The Bridgestone stuck better than I imagined, ended up having alot of fun in the rain with the tires. Had alot of grip at 80% speed. Tires do make a difference.

Agree with tires and alignment. I have Michelin AS/3 tires on my 99 996, stock pressures (36F, 44R) and have no issues in rain. Also, every road is different. Is this a road you have familiarity with, has it been resurfaced lately?

Something is almost certainly wrong with your car whether it is tires, suspension, or alignment I don't know, but my 996 is my daily, and I have driven it in torrential downpour, feet of snow, sheet ice, etc and due to the weight distribution it is by far the best handling RWD car I have ever driven in low traction conditions. My summer tires are MPS4S and they even do great in the rain, and I am not talking just drizzles. I am talking summer southern rains with lots of standing water on the roadways. I also have to drive on unpaved and falling apart roads all of the time living in LA and have had no issues there either, but I generally drive very slow, since the unpaved roads tend to look like an artillery range. I have not experienced this issue yet in my 996, but when my tires on my C300 were getting low on tread (still in spec) and I was on a bad part of I-90 I had a similar feeling to what you described and was getting passed up by semis. Changed lanes and I was all good. Couple months later on that same stretch of 90 in another down poor I was in the bad lane again, but with new tires and had no problem. I run stock pressure too, for what its worth.

Don't bother with when you bought your tires, look at the date codes on the tire. That's more important then when they were purchased. See below on finding tire date codes: Screenshot from my Automotive 101 class. Replace your tires if they were manufactured over 6 years ago.

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I've experienced some of this behavior in a 996 with very worn max performance summer tires in heavy rain conditions and standing water -- especially on the highway. However, with newer all-season tires, your car should have been pretty stable. I agree with others to check your tire pressures. Also, was the R030 spec suspension recently installed? If so, perhaps something is amiss with the setup.

Alright. Got home and looked it over. Im aware of how tire date codes work. They are all 2019 MFG dates. Michelin Pilot Sports AS3+s. 225/40ZR18 in the front and 265/35ZR18 in the rear. Fronts were both 35 psi +/-1 Rears were both 44 psi +/-1. So rears probably overinflated some. Im not sure the effect over over inflation on wet roads TBH. Tons of tread left. Maybe a smidge more wear on the inside fronts, but nothing egregious. I might get it aligned just in case. The R030 was installed in the last couple of years. Again I would have to look at the paperwork. FWIW Ive done next to nothing on this car. Charged the AC, changed oil/filter and wiper blades. I bought this car specifically to just drive and not touch. I have other hot rod projects I work on all the time. I didnt buy this one to modify past what it is. Im going to change two O2 sensors that are aging out, and do the thing to make the heat blow hot (Im mad about that one). Other than that I just drive it.

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I think you should change "might" to "will".

Over-inflating pressure is recommended for wet conditions. It reduces the footprint, “opens” treads further to better evacuate water, and increases psi (pounds per square inch) of contact with pavement. The reduced footprint means less water to build up in front of the tire which means lower chance of hydroplaning. I thought ^this was the opposite of intuitive but after teaching car control for 10 years Ive learned some things about tires. And one of our senior instructors is a recently retired tire engineer. The chief instructor did a lot of research on this topic. When I take a trip and the forecast is for very wet conditions, I overinflated my tires by roughly 7% (2-2.5 pounds). Recommended cold pressure is 29 front and 33 rear (718 GT4) but we do this with any car we’re driving including 992 (sold).

Had the same experience in my 2020 Audi. Couldnt believe after only 15k miles the rear tires were almost bald. I know it seems obvious but check your tread depth.

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Fat tires on light-wieght cars will hydroplane at lower speeds in "standing water" than heavy cars with skinny tires, it's just a fact...I get passed by Mini Vans on Hy31 all the time in downpours...it has standing water every half mile or so due to poor drainage sending water splash as high a 10 feet in the air. My 996 has been swamped by water splash from Mini Vans many times...lol That said as already stated , make sure your tires and alignment are the best they can be, and don't race Mini Vans in standing water....

This is an alignment and possibly worn suspension bushings. Poor alignments will show themselves in wet and wintry conditions, especially a toe problem in the rear. The rear ended will dance all around. The toe can be off quite a bit in dry conditions, and the car will behave normally without too much adversity. Wet however is unsettling.

Interesting. I daily my 2001 c4 and it does fine in the rain. Some roads are worse than others when wet but do check your alignment. That sounds terrifying. Align and drive some more in the rain

I’ve experienced similar behavior in my 2002 C4S, with worn rear tires. Almost like torque vectoring feeling. Never lost control, but seemed like it might. Rain, at time, was torrential.

Since we have the same car and tires, I am posting my alignment settings. Note: these settings are designed for maximum tire life, not performance.

Yeah, Ill definitely take it for an alignment. I drove it again today in a much lighter rain. No problems at all. So the issue isnt slick, its standing water.

I have an 03 C4S, lowered on KW coilovers that were installed by a previous owner. I had a similar experience to yours the first time I drove in the rain. NOT PLEASANT! I would agree with those saying to check the alignment. Since my car had been lowered it was out of the adjustability range of the factory rear toe arms. I installed aftermarket adjustable toe arms, did an alignment and problem solved. Now it handles great in inclement weather.

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I experienced too with a 964 and worn rear tires under moderate rain. It is very weird for sure. Feels like the rear end is swaying side to side.....because it is

Had 4 new Michelin PS4S tired installed on my 997 yesterday. Can�t believe how much the ride & handling has improved. Will report back once I drive it on wet roads vs the squirrelly feeling on the previous worn tires.