Why not drive in rain?

[stealthn]

This is the second time in a week when someone asked me if I drive it in the rain, I said "of course"?!

Am I missing something here, I see adds for Porsches for sale saying never driven in the rain.
Other than acid rain (from heavy industries), but that's another topic not for this board, what's the problem?

I does rain in Germany doesn't it?

I think the sun on a really hot day is worse for the car than rain, but hey I've been known to be wrong.

Someone clue me in???

[Bill Douglas]

My car, also a '79 (good year) gets driven rain or shine. I think a good rain is great as it cleans the underside of the car.

[ZAMIRZ]

Yes, it does rain in germany and I find it funny myself when I read car ads and they say things like "never driven in rain, never molested, 100% climate controlled garage, never car-washed..." etc etc, they might as well put in there "never enjoyed" I used to drive my 911 in the rain until I chucked the heater and now I can't defrost so it's kinda tough. Just make sure everything is in working order, you don't have leaks and have the proper tires. Driving in the rain takes some technique not to get wheelspin too, but as long as you know your car you should be fine. Besides, you say you've done it before so i'm sure you know the car's characteristics. Anyway, enjoy you cars everyone....rain or shine.

later,

amir

[willbur]

Amen... The LORD sees fit to let it rain on the P-cars and non P-cars...

[Saffs]

I drive my '73 everyday in all weather, rain, snow or sunshine. If I owned a '73 RS I'd use it the same also - seriously. It isn't about preserving the investment of a car, or even it as a species, it's driving the car.
Part of understanding a 911 is driving it in the rain....
Whilst I appreciate people preserving their cars, I've just not got that amount of restraint. Life's too short to not drive it as much as I can....

[Joeaksa]

While my 911 (and most of the others as well) are works of art, they were meant to be driven, and in all types of weather.

I even have snow tires mounted on a old set of BBS rims that are used when going in the mountains. This car is a hoot on snow and those poor people who baby their car is missing a lot of life.

My car is driven and will continue to do so in all types of weather!

Joe

[speeder]

Those ads are really funny and ironic; 911's are one of the toughest pieces of machinery ever made. Rain??? Give me a break. They're made to be driven 24hrs. straight at redline in the rain. (LeMans). Besides being one of, if not the best and most lasting aesthetic designs in modern industrial history, they are absolute cockroaches. A 30yr. car, and that is driving it every day.

Same response I have to the other thread where someone asks, "would you do this to your car?", about driving 996tt through a deep puddle. That car does not even know that it is going through a puddle, you would not believe the sick things that these German engineers dream up as endurance tests for these cars!

[Adam]

I think I may have remarked on this in a previous thread, but here goes again.

My 911s are not daily drivers, so I tend to avoid driving them in the rain, for the simple reason that they get dirty. If I'm out and about and it rains, it's no heartache, but I won't deliberately go for a ride if it's pissing down. Partly because I had a bad seal on the '76, which is now fixed.

When I am caught in the rain, I quite like driving the 911s in the wet. They've got great traction!

[Doug E]

I started out as a "garage queen" owner and now I like to think of myself as a "driver owner" since she has seen plenty of rain over the last year.

To some degree it depends on the condition of your car and if you show/concours it. While my car is in great shape, after attending a few shows/concours I realized my car would never win and I said "let's drive!"

If I'm out and I get caught in the rain so be it ... if it is pouring when I leave I still won't take the 911 but now the thought doesn't bother me if I had to (she's a 3rd car).

In my case it was more an evolutionary process to come to the realization that these cars were meant to be driven (in some cases to the limit even by us mere mortals).

[cegerer]

I can't drive in the rain - my car has no top! Well actually it has one, I just elect not to use it . -- Curt

[wckrause]

Rain? Hell, I've driven in hail.

[Victor]

Hi,

My car likes pina coladas.....and long drives in the rain....

Couldn't resist. There's nothing like driving your car hard on a wet road. Chasing a fellow Australian Pelican around some twisty wet roads (Great Ocean Rd) last Sunday, he was getting the inside front in the air. In the wet. Now that's mechanical grip.

Cheers, VC
'89 3.2

[Rick Lee]

It poured rain the day after I got my 911 and I thought, "What a great chance to see how this thing handles in the rain!" Those of you who have been around my 911 know it's no concours winner. But it drives like a champ every time. I've driven her in all weather and will continue to do so.

The day I leave the 911 home because of rain will be the day I put her up for sale, buy a Minivan, drink light beer and contemplate marriage.

[gregk1]

Well in Seattle we get rain only once in A great while. So some times you can get Stuck in a shower or two Yea Right!!! If you didn't drive in the rain around hear. You don't get to drive much, Most of my cars also sit out in the rain, Because the garage is full of projects that cant be done in the RAIN!!

[Decolliber]

I find snowy country roads a bit scary, having done a 360 degree spin in my 911, while turning on packed snow. Rain is not usually a problem, though I do notice that hard acceleration often causes wheel spin and sometimes alarming fish tailing. Tires are Dunlop SP 5000.

[DByers]

Unfortunatly I dont have the chance to drive my car as often as I would like. With work restrictions, wife, two kids, and a dog, weekends tend to be the only time I get to drive her. Also in the middle of some interior projects. So rain or shine we go. Ofcourse here on in S.B. we really dont have any idea what rain is.

[targa911man]

I waited too long to get a Porsche, so I don't want to be on my deathbed thinking "I should have driven it more." I gave some thought to doing a concours restoration on my car because it was more than halfway there when I got it, but the more I thought about it the more I felt Wayne's philosophy that these cars were built for driving enjoyment, is the one for me. So I'm planning some non-OEM projects such as custom gauge faces, which I'll do myself, the way I want them, so I will enjoy my car even more. The rain issue is part of that philosophy too. I've got four other cars I could drive in the rain, but I'd rather be driving my targa, even with the top on. I'm glad there are concours owners out there and I enjoy looking at and appreciating their cars. I just don't want to own one because of the limitations on use.

[pbs911]

Mine is my daily driver. It is driven in stop and go traffic, rain or shine, and what I consider hard on the track. Its garage kept at night and always under a car cover at work. If I can avoid it, however, I will not drive it in the rain only because the the Fikse FM-10's are a pain the @ss to clean.

[9XI]

Early cars are not galvanized. If your door window trim has shrunken over the years, dirt, gunk, etc can get down into the inner workings of your doors. One design flaw in the 911 is that the drain holes in the door interior are too small. A little gunk in there will plug them up and BINGO -- rusty doors.

The rest of the car can be totally rust free and you will have rotted doors.

I prefer not to drive in the rain, so I shut her down for the winter (Nov to March).

[k9handler]

I would love to drive in the rain...but I live in freakin Albuquerque!

Less than 60 days, me and the 911 will be in Germany! Then I will get to drive her in all 4 seasons!