boxster in the wet?

[ekam]

Originally Posted by Stunin_Stud

Hey despite what everyone says I think my car slides a bit in the rain. I remember being on an uphill drive in the rain and wind and had to have both hands on the wheel and really go slow, feeling it trying to slide. The back does tend to go out a bit but I have PSM which corrects it. Even at low speeds it comes out a bit in the turns on wet roads, and with the PSM you still feel it. Although it isnt as bad as a 911 its still noticeable. Im thinking my tires maybe the problem. I have el cheapo sumitomo HTRZ summer tires on. I drove a 911 with Michellin tires on 19inch 997 GT3 wheels and with no PSM its really stable surprisingly. I try not to drive my car in the rain since I have a second car.

Maybe that's because you've stiffened up your car by installing front & rear strut braces as well you have 18"s which have less give.

[JayDee25]

I just bought a second hand boxster and what an amazing car! It grips like hell in the dry, but I've found that it breaks away in the wet - the back end slides out at speeds as low as 20mph through bends and roundabouts.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or do I just have really terrible tires? Running Clear HP 166 all round.

[rick3000]

The only time I have lost control of my Boxster is in a blizzard, and of the two or three times it happened I was either driving to fast for the conditions, or shifting and the sudden change in RPM caused the rear wheels to slide out.

I would say 20MPH is too fast in a roundabout in heavy rain, and just about any car would have a problem at 20MPH in a roundabout in snow (I know the speed warning at the roundabout near me is 10MPH).
So while it could be your tires, I would experiment with different driving styles before I spent any money on new tires.

[Samson]

Originally Posted by JayDee25

I just bought a second hand boxster and what an amazing car! It grips like hell in the dry, but I've found that it breaks away in the wet - the back end slides out at speeds as low as 20mph through bends and roundabouts.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or do I just have really terrible tires? Running Clear HP 166 all round.

I've never heard of Clear, but apparently these guys have:
http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Clear-Hp166-Cheap-Nasty-t257919.html

If that's any indication of their quality, new tires might be a good move.

[JayDee25]

Originally Posted by rick3000

I would say 20MPH is too fast in a roundabout in heavy rain, and just about any car would have a problem at 20MPH in a roundabout in snow (I know the speed warning at the roundabout near me is 10MPH).
So while it could be your tires, I would experiment with different driving styles before I spent any money on new tires.

Thats the thing, it had been raining lightly but had stopped and there wasn't any standing water, only a wet surface. Its a large enough roundabout too with 2 lanes and Ive never had this problem in any of my previous cars which were rear wheel drive.

[JayDee25]

Originally Posted by Samson

I've never heard of Clear, but apparently these guys have:
http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Clear-Hp166-Cheap-Nasty-t257919.html

If that's any indication of their quality, new tires might be a good move.

Yes I saw that, which is why Im so concerned. I really don't want to smash up car because of cheap tires. I went to the local tire dealer and priced up some Pirelli's... €1,000 for a set

He also said they were cheap Chinese tires that shouldn't be put on a car such as a Porsche.

[mptoledo]

check out sumitomo III(not II). I have been pleasantly suprised and they are cheap. $700 USD installed. they have great write ups in all the car magazines. The grip in the wet is as good as my pilots. I have about 2500k miles on them and they seem like a winner.

[rick3000]

That shouldn't be happening in light rain, or on a damp road. I agree with everyone else, it's most likely because the previous owner bough cheap tires. You can easily get a great set for around $700.

[stateofidleness]

Michelin PS 1's with 50k on them (I KNOW I KNOW!!!)
i feel completely safe in the rain.
this is a very balanced car and handles as such in wet and dry.

get good tires. rain is a non-issue

[mikefocke]

Brings up the oils, sits at the surface, tires pick it up and you are on ball bearings. Plus there is extra oil shaken off cars onto the road surface at stops and roundabouts (circles in the US).

A mist or just-beginning light rain can be really a problem on corners or curves or even just stopping, especially on surfaces where there are painted markings.

I've has 3 different tire brands/tread-pattern tires on my Boxsters. All were excellent in the rain. On the other hand, being summer tires, they were all deadly in the cold (below about 4C at the road surface).

[JTP]

My 2000 S has 18" worn out Kumho Ecsta MX tires and performed very well in the rain during a recent 2000 mile trip with many miles in the rain. Highway cruising at 80+, it felt stable. Rear end broke loose during U-turns sometimes but that was expected. It felt as good in the rain as my GTI with PS1s.

[edevlin]

Ok, here is my experience: Reasonable wear on a set of PS2's + Highway Speed + Heavy Rain = Hydroplanning.

Our cars have wide, mostly flat tire profiles. If there is heavy rain or lots of water on the road, slow down, or your high-speed car will become a high-speed boat with no rudder scooting around on a thin layer of water.

Ed

[BoxsterSbob]

Hi, I've had two long trips in heavy rain on different sets of tires. Once from Fla to NY, straight, with the rain ranging from a drizzle to a get the "Arc ready" down pour. The car performed outstandingly. That was on Yokohama AVS sports. The other trip was just this past week. NY to Bangor on Michelins Pilot Sport's. Again, I felt the car performed well. I'm not sure if the group agrees, but the Boxster takes rain out of the driving equation. Of course, you should drive more carefully, or defensively, in the rain. Not everyone's driving a Boxster out there.


bob

[Mike_Yi]

I've got Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics and they are great dry or rain. I'm actually very surprised how much traction the Boxster has in the wet and snow (with winter tires of course).

I've never had any hydroplaning. I can get the back end to break loose on the wet, but it regains traction quickly - even when keeping the power on after it breaks loose. I don't think I could spin the car in the wet. I've driven the car in light rain, heavy rain, and drying conditions on the track. I've had the back end break loose in those conditions, but again, it was very easy to recover. In heavy rain I was passing Carrera 4s, and caught a Lancer Evo. My car is a 99 non-S, so it only has 200 hp.

[pk2]

Beatifull interior perfectlap, a new int. is in the cards for me and yours is the model.

I made some pretty dramatic mods on my car and some pretty lame moves the first day I drove it. I made a left from one six laner to another. At moderat speed I punched it , in second a bit half way through the 3 lane wide turn.

This is weird. The back end swung out and eventualy caught at 90 degrees sidesways, caught & snaped back as exspected. Then swings back past staight ahead as exspected...but did catch on corection, kept going a full 360 degrees...in the oposite direction.

Wierd

PK

[ARModen]

I've found that my boxster is much less forgiving of bad tires. My old 944 had great traction when it had good tires and good tread left, but the traction was still decent with cheap half bald tires. I could still do 80 on the highway no problem assuming I had no intention of stopping in anything less than half a mile.


The boxster on the other hand is terrible with bald tires. You might say thats not surprising, but it's more than just sliding through corners or hydroplaning when braking. I did that a lot, and usually intentionally with the 944. Here when the tires are getting fairly (very) low on tread the back tires feel like they are fighting each other. The car is pushing side to side, which I assume is due to the speed/friction oscillating back and forth from tire to tire. It is a very unnatural feeling for a porsche.

Two weeks ago, right before I changed the tires, it was scary doing 45 mph on the road to work in the rain. Last night, with new slightly broken in tires, I was doing 70 and it felt rock solid. Obviously this is a pretty clear message I need to procastinate less about changing the tires, but it does make me concerned that there is something going wrong with the transmission/rear diff.


Anyone seen anything similar? My boxster is a 99 with an automatic and no TC/PSM.