boxster in the wet?
 

how does the boxster behave in the rain . i especially wonder at highway speeds. light front end equal hydroplaning? how about with oem tires and no traction control??
fred from nashville

I had to drive mine in extremely heavy rain on the way back from the Porsche Parade last year and it handled brilliantly. I felt extremely safe and the response and handling of the car was superb...far better than my traction controlled Mazda. Being a 99 is has no traction control either.
Chris

You're thinking about 911s??? Boxsters don't have light front end. It has the perfect front/rear weight balance of any car.

I just drove home in light-medium rain on the freeway at about 72MPH. I have 4 snow tires on and no traction control, the car handles great, and I did not feel any loss of traction at any time. The only time I get worried is on ice or 4"+ of snow.

I have no snow tires or no traction control. I used my Boxster in extremely hard rain (we get tons of rain in small amounts of time here) and she handled like a dream. If you are feeling insecure you can always put the spoiler up to keep more traction on the rear wheels.

It's actually kind of fun to drive the Box in the rain, you can do hard starts and get a small slide without getting into too much trouble :D.

I would be careful about raising the spoiler if you want more front end traction. i would assume it reduces lift in the back which would shift the car in that direction and off the front. Then again, I don't know how much downforce it actually adds at highway speeds. Would be interesting to find out...

Lower speeds but you get the idea -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlmcmA3EsnY

I drive the car in Florida in all types of weather conditions. This car sticks at low and high speeds in the rain and with gusty winds. No problems with hydroplaining.

I had a miata years ago and had a very different experience. The car would skip often when the roads were wet.

I feel much safer in my Boxster.

Eric

I did the Tail of the Dragon last year in the rain, with front tires pretty close to the wear lines. I did manage to get the traction control to kick in when I overcooked a couple of extreme curves, but other than that, handled like a dream.

Depends on your tires. Mine is alotta fun the rain, the ass pulls around and I let up on the throttle it to snap it back in. Corners kinda slide through. But I have pure summer tires and no traction control. I had to relearn how to drive a rear wheel drive car again.. too many years of front drive.

I'll second that with a big caveat that should be obvious, good tires are a very important part of the equation when it comes to traction and handling.

My car is a daily driver. It does great in the rain. My biggest concern is getting hit by a big ass truck with a moron driver..... Being in such a small car that is just a loosing battle. Other than that, it handles great!

SB

I think wet performance is more about tires than about cars or suspensions. The suspension will do it's thing as long as the tires have traction.

Tire choice: I think the Tire Rack addresses wet performance in their ratings. If you drive in water a lot, choose appropriate tires.

Safety note on Hydroplaning: Any tire, if the combination of speed and water depth are sufficient, will hydroplane. Use common sense. If it's really flooding cats and dogs, slow down.

Having said that, I drove my Boxster a couple of times on the track during and immediately after heavy southern thunderstorms with LOTS of rain. Tires were Sumi II's, well worn on the outside edges but good tread in the center: could not believe how fast I could go around corners without losing traction. But this experimentation was on a track, not out on the roads. When you do lose grip in the wet, you can lose it surprisingly quickly (said from experience) ;)

My other car/daily driver's tires are at 30K now, so I take it easy in the rain (like we had this morning). When I get a new set in a couple of thousand, I can push it harder on the fresh tires.

There's nothing inherently risky about driving a Box on wet roads, as long as your tires are right and you use common sense.
A wet skidpad is a really great testing device.
Have fun!

Like Limoncello said, wet performance is all about the tires. And you probably already know this but just to keep it in your brain, when you hydroplane, if you want to regain control, accelerate to keep the tires spinning - to regain traction. I once hydroplaned BIG TIME, and it was like having no steering wheel. I stayed off the brakes - until imminent danger/death was looming. I didn't know to work the throttle. Might have ended differently...

Boxster + Goodyear Eagle F1's + Rain = no problem at all.

p.s.
not that you shouldn't always do this, but in the rain you should always have both hands on the steering wheel. That extra half second of feedback could be the difference.

No offense, but spinning the rear tires is not going to help you regain traction. The only things that will stop hydroplaning is hitting an area without standing water, or slowing down.

You beat me to it, the Eagle F1 GS-D3's make a big difference in the rain. I've got them on my M3, Boxster, and my Fit.

no problem
 

I have had no problems driving my Boxster S in the rain on the highway with normal tires. Snow is another story . . .

You call that rain?
THAT is rain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PKUn3mTNno :cheers:

Slip and slide
 

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.