First Rain Driving Thread Of The Season

jyl · jyl's Garage

First real rain of the season pelting down here in the SF Bay.

So, what are your feelings about driving your P-car in the rain?

A. Does the 911 stay tucked away, heated and under cover, until all chance of rain is gone?

B. Do you take the 911 occasionally, tiptoeing gingerly around the blind splashing SUVs, but drive the beater as much as possible?

C. Do you find every excuse to grab the 911 keys, boot the gas in the tightest bends, and put her away wet?

And why?

I'm a "C" man myself. 'Cause the 911 is twice the fun in the wet, and the beater is just too nasty.

ubiquity0 · 12-06-2003, 05:53 PM

C- but I haven't yet mastered the heater / ventilation controls. Anyone know the best way to demist the front windscreen in an SC?

Tyson Schmidt · 12-06-2003, 05:56 PM

Pull the two red levers between the seats all the way up, and put the red lever in the dash all the way to the right. Put both black levers in the dash to the left.

Schrup · Schrup's Garage

My car is on jackstands & with the suspension in pieces. In general if I know it going to rain for an extended period I'll put it in the garage. I love to drive it when it first starts to rain after a dry spell. I can pretend I have a turbo

When I first bought the car I took it to a stadium parking lot during a rain to do some laps & get a feel for how the car feels to slide & spin. Can't say it's all that pleasant.

aigel · aigel's Garage

DRIVE it. It has a galvanized body. Nothing will happen to it. And if so? I am enjoying the car right now, no need to preserve it for generations to come!

A garage queen will only sit up and get gunky. Often those cars are getting severely wet every week when they are washed. The early cars were really a victim of folks washing the heck out of them, getting them wet more often than any rain would.

All my other 30+ year old cars aren't rain tight, so the 911 is my winter car!

George
81SC coupe

diy83sc · 07:28 PM

Here's what you're missing... 80 weissach feeling COLD !!!

brawlins · 12-07-2003, 01:08 AM

I don't drive mine in the rain. Water can get in the window seals, the headlight area, the window seals, etc, and sit. Yes - I know it's zinc coated (in most places), but I don't want to deal with any rust problems. When I wash it (and I only do it myself), I spray it lightly to rinse it and then dry out areas where water can accumulate.
We don't get as much rain as you do in the Northwest, but in Atlanta this spring and early summer it rained at least half the time.
It's not a garage queen except on rainy days!
- Bill

stlrj · 12-07-2003, 07:44 AM

I love driving in the rain. It takes the adrenalin level up a couple of notches and makes my drive on Mt Tam twice as much fun.

Joe Garcia
74 w/3.2

makaio · 12-07-2003, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pschrup
When I first bought the car I took it to a stadium parking lot during a rain to do some laps & get a feel for how the car feels to slide & spin. Can't say it's all that pleasant.

IMHO I think this is one of the best things a new Porsche owner can do, besides Auto-X or DE to learn how to drive a 911.

12-07-2003, 09:00 AM

I only take the Duck out when the temperature is between 65 and 78 degrees with a relative humidity between 38 and 47 %. The rest of the time it sits in a hermetically sealed, temperature and dust controlled garage with 24/7 video surveilance tied in to Brinks monitoring. Additionally, I never run the car less than 30 minutes or more than 2 hours per session. Before shutting down, I always check the oil level and top it off so it stays perfectly centered between the lines on the dipstick. After the mandatory 2 hour shut down, I check tire pressures, clean and tighten battery terminals, check CO level and retorque suspension components. Upon returning to above mentioned hermetically sealed garage, all exterior surfaces, underbody, suspension parts, and drivetrain are wiped down with a NEW, slightly dampened, 100% terry cloth hand towel which is then promptly discarded in a sealed plastic bag. Twice every year, the car is completely disassembled and cleaned, conditioned, and then reassembled.

Other than that, I treat it the same way you guys treat you cars.

masraum · 12-07-2003, 09:05 AM

I drive mine daily, and that is not enough. The drive to work in the morning and home in the afternoon is generally the best part of the day. Here in Houston we get LOTS of rain (and it's a slightly leaky targa), I've had my car on my street in 4-6" of water.

It's a driver and loves it.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

Here's what driving in the rain is all about:

http://66.34.72.138/wipeout.mpg

sscates · sscates's Garage

Interesting what different P car drivers do. My turbo stays inside during the rain. There's too many days w/o rain in so. cal to justify taking it out in the wet. Now, I do wash it about once every two weeks. It's garaged, not covered. I drive it a bit too much to take a cover on and off. Do you really think the washing is hard on them? I use a compressor to blow out all residual water.

12-07-2003, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Do you really think the washing is hard on them?

Oh my God, I can't believe anyone would ever use water to wash their car

masraum · 12-07-2003, 10:04 AM

What do you use, Mark? Dirt eating bacteria that then migrate to the ground and die.

rcecale · rcecale's Garage

The only thing keeping me from driving my P-Car every day is the slightly leaking Targa Bar Seal. Once I get that replaced, she's definitely my daily driver. It's way too much fun to let her just sit in the garage...and besides...she loves it too!!!

I've read a lot of posts on this board about driving in the "elements". I recall one guy being extremely upset with himself for having driven his P-Car 150 miles in the rain to take his girlfriend to visit her father in the hospital. Somebody else pointed out (in that same thread, I believe) that it actually rains and even snows in Germany....

Randy

jyl · jyl's Garage

I recall a thread about the hazards of rain entering the engine lid grille.

Larry Harris · 12-07-2003, 11:03 AM

Dr. Mark Wilson,

Well it sounds like you are letting your P fall apart. I do all the things you are doing plus:
Remove and re-seal the windshield after every drive,
remove and upgrade the exhaust system, including a show quality polish on my stainless muffler,
complete R&R on the entire brake system,
shampoo the seat belts,
remove the headliner and check for roof leaks, re-align all body panels, change the tires, and polish the headlights.

I hope the electro-shock treatments are helping. Stay on your meds.

DanTheCat · 12-07-2003, 11:33 AM

My SC is my daily driver. Rain or shine, I'll drive it. I only looked at models that were fully galvanized when I was shopping. It does great in the rain. The windshield naturally sheds water at freeway speeds, it's great.

I was lucky enough to do an autocross recently in the rain. It was really good to feel out how the car behaves. And it was darn fun...

I don't understand why people with the newer galvanized bodies are still so paranoid about driving in the rain. And why would anybody think it would be bad to get rain in the engine grill??? Sillyness. Even racecars are designed to run in the rain...

Dan

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

I change the air in the tires every week and change the oil and tranny fluid whenever I drive the car. I don't exhale in the car and wear an oxygen mask so I don't damage the interior with moisture. I wear new pants and shirt when I drive and I always follow the street sweeper around town. I don't think I'm too obsessive but my wife thinks I need treatment!!