Driving In The Wet

[Guest]

I only got my MR2 a few weeks ago and until today I had never had it out in the wet before.

OMFG ! Talk about like driving on fricking ice !!

My back end slid out about 6 times and that was only in 30mins.. lol. Luckily I managed to correct it each time.

I was following a mate in a Tigra who came of a roundabout pretty fast, he looked behind him to see my back end in the middle of the road. This was in a 60 zone and there were oncoming cars ! Luckily I got the sucker straight again after a little twitching.

Now I had heard they were a little mad in the wet, but I didn't think it would be so easy to get the tail end out.

One bonus though.. I took it to a gravel area for some fun and slid about all over the place.. lol :D

[+Steve]

yep.. once they go they act like a pendulam!

[TheNissanMan]

should be no problem at all in the wet as long as you have good rubber (another example why you need it) and no how to drive the 2, only managed to get the back end out twice so far, once today as there wasa lot of standing water as it was a sudden downpur, and i down shifted and accidentally dropped the clutch forcing to much power through the rear and the other time was due to excess speed into a corner and trying to scrape speed off in the conrer (not the best idea in a 2)...

If you take the corner right in the two she'll stick like glue....

[Avatar]

I don't think I’ve ever lost the rear in the wet so far.. But I spun it spectacularly once in the dry.. I was forced to brake going into a corner at about 70 due to someone changing lanes without indicating right in front of me. Front wheels locked and almost hit the 3rd lane of traffic before I let go of the brake to get myself back in lane, and before I knew what happened I was facing the wrong way in the left lane (3 lane carriageway).

[Harold56]

Yeh MR2 in the wet is something to get used to, its all about progressive acceleration, Im still trying to get used to it, mind you I should be replacing the tyres soon - so something a bit more suited to the wet me thinks.

[TheNissanMan]

tyres on the 2 are very important, as soon as it gets wet you find out why its important to have very good rubber thats suited to the car...

[Harvey-aw11]

Yes, as Ryan says, you should always put good tyres on an mr2. Makes a big big difference. I loost my mr2 the first day i drove it. Got too confident, thought didnt have enough power to get me into trouble, damp roads. Too much power out of a roundabout and i was going down the road sideways.

Partly becuase i was going to fast, but also becuase my tyres were crap. But ive never lost it since! So was a good way to learn i think! :)

[screechmr2]

when running Bridgestone 225s on the back i used to get it to snake up the road whenever i accelerated hard in 2rd or 3rd when it was wet. running 14s for over a year was great fun, the back would only step out when provoked.

[midmotorsteve]

As everyone says, good correctly sized rear rubber and it will take doing something silly to get the back out. In the dry on a roundabout i can only get mine to go by dipping the clutch booting it then dropping said clutch in the wet too much throttle can get it to go but its easy to get back.

Golden rule of MR2 driving, brake before corner -> maintain constant speed on turn in until apex -> after apex apply power smoothly = warp speed bends

[Avatar]

ain't that the way to take a corner in any car? Never brake on a corner.. first rule of track racing.. (i think that was the first rule )

Personally i run on Falken fk451 235/40 ZR17 rear 205 front

[JappyBeast]

I have only lost it once in the wet in 1 year of MR2 ownership.. and that was due to diesel in the road.

Good rubber on the rears James.. or just a lighter right foot!

[Roy f]

I've been wondering about this myself.

Mines a mark 3 and it's easy to get the rear end going all over the place in the wet. I've got new yoko's so the tyres shouldn't be the problem.

It can be a bit frustrating sometimes when I have to back off when some dull family hatch back doesn't.

Still I'm getting more used to it now and it does have it's advantages, a wet empty car park is great fun!

[Yarisboy]

surely this slippy back end situation is the same for any rear wheel drive sports car with the engine in the back? especially since the mr2 is a light car..

I don't know much about MR2's but I would have thought lots of rubber at the back would keep it more stable, 225 or a 235?

sounds like fun, I want a go :D

aw11 on the way maybe :o

[Nicola]

i have very cheap tyres on my car (were on there when I bought them).

Unfortunately I cannot afford to change them, so I drive incredibly gently in the wet and still sometimes loose the back end. Also have everyone sitting on my bumper (obviously thinking that cause it is a sporty car it will go fast). Nobody sits on my bumper when its dry.

(dreading winter again and making the most of dry roads)

[screechmr2]

i'm running 245s at the back and even on full boost on 90 degree bends i can't get the ***** end to kick out. can't wait till it's wet again.

[Guest]

I'm :censor: the snow... Argh..... will be near impossible to drive the bugger then !

[JappyBeast]

I'm  :censor: the snow... Argh..... will be near impossible to drive the bugger then !

wait till you get a few inches of snow.. its magic!

[System~G]

I had a mate who had a MKIII and said the same.

My Rev3 MKII used to let the back go on the crappy tyres that were on the rear. But now with Goodyear F1's I can't seem to let it kick out unless I do something really stupid in the wet.

Suspension also has a lot to do with it. The Rev1 & 2 were still not right suspension wise... But that made the car much more fun :D

[SandEater]

Bought my first MR2 this week (Mk2 rev1), expecting it to be something like my X1/9s

It aint

I could drive the X1/9s sideways all over the place in the dry, but the MR2 seems to be on rails. Much faster, but less fun

I'm looking forward to some rain...

[Harvey-aw11]

More rubber wont help in the wet. In fact it will make it worse! Its the opposite to dry weather. If too wide, there is not as more pressure per square inch of tyre, and you have less grip in the wet. I think the 215 proxes on my aw11 may cause a few probs when weather starts turning nasty. Nevermind :).

[Fidgits]

It all has to do with driving style.. if your agressive the car is more likley to slide, if your progressive, it'll stick.. (of course, you can't defy physics)..

[Guest]

It was wet on the way to work this morning, not raining.. but it had been.

I was on a slight hill ( going up ), when I floored it in second. As soon as the turbo kicked in The rear end started yo-yo-ing left and right... madness.

Prob right with the fact that it is to do with driving style... ... what can I say ? I have a sporty car.... and a heavy right foot... :P

[TokeTillDeath420]

Hell you dont even need a couple inches of snow to drive crazy... i couldnt even go up a slight incline w/ less then a 1/2 of snow on the road. Snow sucks :censor: ! I also hated washing my car every 3-4 days because i didnt want the salt to eat away at my car. But you gotta do what you gotta do when you only got 1 ride.

[Guest]

I had a mate who had a MKIII and said the same.

My Rev3 MKII used to let the back go on the crappy tyres that were on the rear. But now with Goodyear F1's I can't seem to let it kick out unless I do something really stupid in the wet.

Suspension also has a lot to do with it. The Rev1 & 2 were still not right suspension wise... But that made the car much more fun :D

are Bridgestone tyres anygood ??

that's what I've got on my rear ( came with car ).

[Bibbs]

Bridgestone SO2's and SO3's are rated highly, as are Goodyear F1's.

I've not driven on the Bridgestones, but know people who swear by them.

I've had the following :

Uniroyal : okay, but nothing special

Hankook : Very slidy and poor in the wet

Goodyears : After 18 months only got them to slide once (dropped the clutch at 4k)

I've also had some jap tyres that were lethal in the wet .. 30mph in the damp and the rear would be sliding all over the shop.