911skb

I'd love to get out to PIR this weekend. I'm waiting to get my new to me, wheels/tires and springs installed and an alignment done. As the car sits now, the wet roads are the least of my handling worries.

springer3

All steel-body cars will eventually rust away. Cars that are kept dry will take a lot longer.

Staying dry keeps water out of the doors and other hollow spaces.

Body drains are less likely to clog if you keep the car indoors.

The interior lasts a little longer if it is kept dry.

You run just a little less risk of skidding into something if you keep dry. You run a lot less risk of having an idiot skid into you if it is dry.

I drive in the rain when I have to and don't give it much thought. The reason I keep a beater is to help keep the 911 in great shape. The Porsche is for enjoyment, and it is not much much fun driving in the rain anyway.

seaeagle

My wiper motors are going. They make a noise, and I am reliably informed its a 5 hour job to replace them, but they will keep going until the noise becomes unbearable and they stop! And when would they stop? In the rain! I know that day is coming, but IO am prolonging the agony. Plus as I have the luxury of selection, I only drive in the rain if I get caught in the rain.Which is quite rare given El nino, global warming and drought condtions presently upon us in my locale.

That being said, I can't believe a car designed and built in germany should not be driven in the rain!And I certainly would drive the 911 if it was the only choice in the rain . Please, these are cars. Any car you shouldn't drive in the rain has a serious issue. And that ain't the Pcar!

Superunknown

Mine is a daily driver, and as such i drive in rain, thunderstorms, snow, hail, sunshine, frost, ice... you name it! Never had a problem and it still polishes up a treat!

Bearclaw

I think you guys are missing the point. It's obviously not a matter of whether these cars will melt in the rain, or spin like tops if there's water on the road. It's about you personal philosophy about how you want to use the car, as a "garage queen" or a daily all-use vehicle.

"Never driven in the rain" is just a phrase that obviously can't be verified and is probably not literally true (aside from perhaps the 15-yr-old car with 500 miles on it). It really just signifies that the owner went to extreme lengths to keep the car pristine. That's important to some people and they will pay a premium for it, while it's foolish and worthless to other people.

cobalt

Sorry but if a car has been driven and it has been washed, there is little to no difference than driving it in the rain.

Pull your rocker covers off and see all the debris, dirt, rocks etc that builds up in all the nooks and crannies. There are salts, grime and other debris that can be left on the road for months after winter and those big tires throw it all over and it ends up everywhere. All it takes is to mix with water and you have the same results as rain.

Most people do not know how to wash their cars properly and will use too much water especially around the windows and door jams. This water will make its way past the seals and settle in the bottom of the doors and under the seals.

So to be so **** about driving it in the rain is plain foolishness. Show me a car that has not been caught in the rain at least once and I will show you car that has never been driven. Most of our cars sat outside before anyone took delivery and although I make a habit not to take mine out when it is raining it doesn't mean I haven't been caught in rain. I don't like driving in the rain because of the added cleaning. Also acid rain is not an issue if you rinse and or dry your car immediately. Acid rain does most of its damage as it is drying on the finish or baking in the sun. As the water evaporates the concentration of acid increases and this is when the damage occurs. If you have a good sacrificial barrier (wax) on the paint it should hold up to just about anything. Most cars with acid rain damage is the result of no wax or a poorly waxed finish.

I drive, autocross and concours my cars and they are very clean top side and underneath. But this takes time and IMO worth doing. Like I said I avoid the rain because of the added cleaning required but you can't allow the fear of rain to dictate your using the car.

jeffnudd

I never worry about the rain, i get cought in it all the time and never bothers me, however bird ****e does bother me and the bodywork.
In my experiance in working on cars daily it is suprising how many cars keep dry on the underside even though it has been driven in the rain.

C4Russ

Rookies...

I drive my car year round. This week alone I logged about 350 miles, most of which was in snow, freezing rain, sleet, fog and slick roads.

MorganB1

While I personally don’t go looking for the rain, but I don’t let it stop me heading out. Some of the most memorable drives have been while out lapping on a wet track at PIR. Man, does the C4 ever shine when it's wet!! It’s a great teacher of braking distance and smoother inputs. Our Porsche club used to have an event called Rainbonnet, hence…. !

Hey Ken, is your suspension going to be ready for the March 24th & 27th DE Days? What kit did you decide on??

SimonExtreme

I never drive my car when it's sunny because the Guards Red paint might fade and the UV makes the rubbers perish faster. Cobine that with not driving in the rain, I have a real problem. No rain and no sun means it needs to be cloudy, but they need to be the right type of cloud otherwise they might rain.................................better not drive the car at all, just in case



This sort of thing really winds me up ! WE are talking about an innimate object that is used as a mode of transport! OK, I can understand somebody wanting it to look as good as possible (as do I) but to not use it because it's raining is just plain .........

cobalt

Not everyone owns these cars for the same reasons. My cars are more to me than just a mode of transport. A mode of transport is my Dodge Dakota 4x4 or a MB sedan not my '94 turbo. It is a 1 of a kind supercar that still can show 95% of all cars what is what.

Some cars are worth keeping in good condition and others are meant to be used. I drove a 911 as a daily driver for years and I would not do it again considering how congested and inconsiderate people have become on local roads. I don't care what condition the car is in. I save my cars for the fun weekends and events where I can enjoy them. So what is the harm in taking care of a quality automobile I plan on keeping for years. It is foolish to take a car like my turbo and drive it just because...... That is why I purchased the C2 so I can take it out whenever but if I am going out no place special and it is raining I take my Cayenne. No harm in that and I still can enjoy the drive as where a 911 is a PITA to drive in the wet.

Nothing wrong with keeping what you own in good condition so long as it doesn't become paranoia. Saying that it is absurd not to drive in the rain is no worse than saying you don't drive it in the sun to prevent the paint from fading.

Smokin

Cobalt hit it on the head IMO. I used to be the paranoid one. Only because I bought my car when it was 12 years old and when it arrived it looked like it had just come off the showroom floor... Better perhaps. Every nook and cranny was clean, waxed and polished. I want to keep it in that state for as long as I can. While it's not a daily driver it's not a garage queen either. Now that my stalling issue has abated somewhat I've been driving it more often. More last year than in the 3 years before! I've been caught in the rain but prefer to keep mine in the dry to cut down on cleaning all those polished spots that are hard to get to.

Seems to me that road grime, tar, bird crap and bugs would be just as bad (if not worse) than driving in the rain.

aeroman

Bearclaw - I hate to break it to you but Washington is now using salt. They used a lot of it during our last two snow storms. It was easy to spot because they only put it on certain areas so you would go from compact ice to just bare wet cement like through a tight corner, etc. Then right back to compact ice. Its on the DOT site that they are doing this. Just not publically waving the flag.

Bearclaw

Sounds good. Sell me YOUR car and I'll drive IT in the rain, and the snow, and the gravel, etc. And I'll keep mine in the garage for the nice days.

Smokin summed it up well, this probably fits my usage pattern the best. And it's exactly the intention I had for the car when I bought it, that's why I looked high and low to find a really nice one.

aeroman, I licked my whole car the last time I used it and I didn't detect any salt. But my mouth was pretty gritty for a couple days. Yes, it's pretty obvious they were using something in these last storms on the ramps in places, but even if it is salt, at least they're not paving the streets with it like they used to back in the Midwest where I'm from. I think they're sensitive to it, because people in this state would poo their pants if they started overdoing it. They do say they're testing the use of Calcium Magnesium Acetate which is much less corrosive, and that may be what was used also. Not too concerned since the P-car is not out there until after it's rained anyway.

TR6

Amazing the parallels between enthusiast communities... I recently saw a thread on the Fender Guitar forum debating this exact same issue, but it was vintage Fender Stratocasters. The debate was that some people play the crap out of them and don't worry about wear and tear and others keep them under the bed in their case and only take them out to polish and admire them. The passionate arguments pro and con were eerily similar to this thread...