Why is it so scary in the wet!??

In the dry, the handling of my Supra is unbelievable.

I remember from yonks ago, when a friend of mine (who has quite of bit of race driving experience) was helping me master the Supra through practicing the lift-off oversteer around some 'private' roundabouts. We first practiced in his MX5, and it was so easy to get the back out with the lift off. But the Supra held to the road *much* tighter and just kept on gripping the road.

But in the wet, the Supra is just a complete nightmare. A tiny throttle blip causes the backend to fishtail around like a maniac. If I'm going around a roundabout at 'sensible' speeds, the car stills likes to slide and drift out.

Other cars I've driven don't seem so capricious. My old Rover handled reasonably okay in the dry and not much worse in the wet. My Scooby handles great in the dry and the wet.

Why is it that my Supra is virtually undriveable when the rain sets in?

Is it just me? Is it just my Supra? Could it be the tyres or the alignment? I'd like to know the answers to these questions because it seems a shame to have such a great car, but to be scared to death of it 50% of the year.

Mine isnt THAT bad in the wet, Obviously if i put my foot down it will come out, But as long as i take it easy the back never comes out on roundabouts.

What rubber are you using? Buy some Goodyear F1's

put my foot down a tad today in 2nd gear, came off the throttle and changed gear, as i felt the rear wheels spinning.

said to myself, keep off the boost,lol

every car can be a handfull in the wet

well the better the car handles in the dry and the more it is set up for the dry often the worse it is in the wet and to get a good handling alround is some compromise inbetween.

Hard suspension, fat soft tyres etc all make for great dry weather handling but can make things worse in the wet...

If your having the back end step out at the mereist sniff of throttle on a wet roundabout then your tyres are probably past their best, and it might be an idea to invest in RLTC. Or try using a higher gear to stay off boost.

It's all about being smooth in the wet, being progressive with the controls, about balance.

I guess that might be the problem.

It's got Kingstar radials (which came with my rims) and I've been extremely impressed with them in the dry. I'm also on Bilstein shocks, which I think was a Supra option (?). I don't know how they compare to 'stock' suspension.

Thanks Doug.

It's an auto, so staying in a higher gear is a given. I don't think these tyres are past their best though; they've got loads of tread.

P.S. I wish I could afford RLTC!

drive on egg's ie imagine that there are eggs under each peddle and you dont want to stamp on them.

Then it'll be your "Kingstar" tyres then. Bin them and go for something like Goodyear F1s. Why compromise on your rubber?

You really will notice a significant difference. Especially if yours were Jap origin tyres. Even Dunlops from japan are notoriously bad!

i hear what your saying ,,

i suffer exact problems you stated myself...

in the wet, its full concentration and Miss daisy Driving....

Dry, im stuck like glue to the surface...and off like a bullet...

My Set-up is hard suspension and good 265 wide rears tyres...

you will have to just be carefull buddy and never " I say Never, take off the Traction button" when its raining

wolf

Fit RE050a, and get the toe on your wheels set to zero as with the rear camber also. The supra std steering seems to go numb to sudden response where as if you toe it out to zero it steers progressive and natural, so you less likely to over do it.

Also pays to remember the boost creep under light throttle.

As Jackie Stewart put it, remember the glass of water on the bonnet!.

In the dry, the handling of my Supra is unbelievable.

 

I remember from yonks ago, when a friend of mine (who has quite of bit of race driving experience) was helping me master the Supra through practicing the lift-off oversteer around some 'private' roundabouts. We first practiced in his MX5, and it was so easy to get the back out with the lift off. But the Supra held to the road *much* tighter and just kept on gripping the road.

 

But in the wet, the Supra is just a complete nightmare. A tiny throttle blip causes the back end to fishtail around like a maniac. If I'm going around a roundabout at 'sensible' speeds, the car stills likes to slide and drift out.

 

Other cars I've driven don't seem so capricious. My old Rover handled reasonably okay in the dry and not much worse in the wet. My Scooby handles great in the dry and the wet.

 

Why is it that my Supra is virtually undriveable when the rain sets in?

 

Is it just me? Is it just my Supra? Could it be the tyres or the alignment? I'd like to know the answers to these questions because it seems a shame to have such a great car, but to be scared to death of it 50% of the year.

You need to drive a 200SX in the wet;) the Supra won't seem that bad, LOL, actually everybody goes on about this as soon as the wet weather starts, and in reality its more a case of adjusting your driving and throttle control, all powerful rear wheel drive cars suffer from this problem.

I had a very scary one in mine a few years ago - round a corner in very slippery conditions, no power going down, no lift off, no gear changes, and all of a sudden I was looking up the road through the side window - I always thought the car was nearly neutral under neutral power...

I have RLTC now, and while it is amazing for putting power down during the mid/end of the corner if you come in too hot you are still in for a world of trouble...

If you could take some of the oversteer out for the winter - make it an understeering scooby for those winter months maybe?

Now I just don't bother with any moderate cornering these days if it's wet.

Fit RE050a, and get the toe on your wheels set to zero as with the rear camber also. The supra std steering seems to go numb to sudden response where as if you toe it out to zero it steers progressive and natural, so you less likely to over do it.

Chiefgroover, can i ask what RE050a is ? are they tyres ?

Also if i took my car to specialist garage that does alignments and told them i want my toe on my wheels set to zero as with the rear camber, they would know what i'm talking about ?

I have tried many things to get better grip out of my car but still struggle even in the dry if its cold. Driving the supe for the next 3months isn't much fun for me, i have to change gear before 4,000 even in 4th (in the rain) and i'm only BPU i can't even imagine how the singles get on !!!

Bridgestone RE050a, I had the same problem BPU, I had been using Bridgestone SO2, changed to the RE050a, and instead of spinning the wheels, I spun the clutch, so fitted an excellent centerforce dual friction clutch and happy days, my off the line was excellent!.

I've only had one drift on a roadabout, however, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention and as previously mentioned I blasted the throttle. The rear end bounced slightly and the tail end wen't stupidly wide. luckily I remained composed and sorted it (that last bit was fictional, infact I crapped myself and magically regained control before the rearend struck the oncoming traffic!!)

It was wet and I will never do it again.....

What do people think of Pirelli PZero Nero's. I have these all round. They seem OK and I can get 265/35 18's for £130. is that good??

I don't seem to suffer any of this wet weather problems (touches wood). I've got Avon ZZ3's. Obviously if I drive like a nob/ledfoot then yes I can spin the rears, but just driving normaly/making progress and everything seems to be ok.

New F1's all round this month with RLTC =

Tyres, change them from your cheapo Kingstar to something decent from the best any one of these have to offer, Michelin, bridgestone, pirelli, goodyear, ull notice a bigggg difference, wet traction will improve dramatically,

I live in a farming community with mud, horse crap and all sorts on narrow, tight, uneven, hedge ridden, off camber roads for at least 5 miles before I get to normal tarmac. I got stuck in a field a while ago and fell over trying to run home the roads get that slippy... I don't think much can save you in these conditions...

When it is wet there is no substitute to miss daisy mode!

Did anyone see that jap video with the RX7, evo and supra in the rain on sport tyres in JP where the supra won..? Amusing vid and surprising outcome.

New F1's all round this month with RLTC =

I've had RLTC for a week and it has given me at least 500% more traction in the wet. Mine was all over the place in the wet on a straight road at 60 now I can drive like I'm in the dry. It's superb.

It dos cut out the injectors when keeping the grip so your car sounds like it has a slight missfire when you push on,

I can hear myself asking bystanders "how impressive was my accelaration" as they pull me out of the hedge!

When i spun my car at the ring and had to be towed off the embankment was when i swore i would never ever take the supra out in the Wet on a track again, i must have only been doing 50 as well. Too much power not enough talent.

I can hear myself asking bystanders "how impressive was my accelaration" as they pull me out of the hedge!

LOL! that's exactly how I see it too!

What do people think of Pirelli PZero Nero's. I have these all round. They seem OK and I can get 265/35 18's for £130. is that good??

I seem to remember these are fitted to one of the exotics, maybe Zonda? Not sure tbh but if they are good enough for exotic supercar then they are good enough for the supra imo.