longboarder

I was driving on the 73 toll road in south Orange County, CA around 9am this morning when we were hit with a flash flood advisory. I am an "essential service" so still going to the office.

For those that know this highway, i was traveling north past the toll bridge on a steep downgrade maybe 5-7% if I were to guess. This highway has some relatively sharp radius curves as it is nestled in the foothills. There is a good 100 yards between the north and southbound lanes - filled with some low-lying brush.

Note: I was not in my GT3, but rather my e92 M3 which has Cup2's 255 front and 275 rear. I occasionally track both cars although the M3 also acts as a daily. I got new Cup2's before the Jan-May "rainy" season here in SoCal.

Anyway there were very few other cars on the road, and none that I could see in front or behind me. So no one to plane the water away. Rain was coming down very hard now and there was standing water in all lanes but the tires were doing a great job. I was confident but cautious. I have never seen conditions like this in California. Similar to driving the H3 on O'ahu on a big downpour with no other cars on the road. Did that drive for years.

As I made my way around one of the large radius left curves, the highway had become inundated with water coming from the left side. The ground along the left side of the highway must have become saturated and the water was running off in a torrent at 2-3 inches. I was going too fast (60ish mph) as I was caught off guard and was fully expecting to hydroplane. Nope. The Cup2's took it like a champ. Of course I let the car slow and the torrent continued but amazingly the car was dancing a little side to side but tracking completely straight.

So there it is. Cup2's going through around 5-10 miles of standing water and a couple hundred yards of a 2-3inch river. Perhaps the stability system and dynamics of the car helped out but certainly not much downforce in this car, so assume the GT3 would have faired the same or better.

Michelin did a nice job with this tire for sure.

Stay safe and be well everyone.

dewilmoth

Mmm, H3. Dang I miss the Kailua life.

And I've had the same experience on Cup 2s. I'm cautious when I drive a car with them in the rain, but they've never caught me off guard. Some people will have you believe it's pretty much a guaranteed crash with them on a wet road, but that's not my experience at all.

SmokinGTS

All tires will hydroplane at a given speed. I believe it is 9 x sq root of the tire pressure. I had an off at the track in a similar downpour with water running over the surface, believe me Cup 2 tires are horrible in the rain and do not channel water away from the grooves. S4's are light years ahead in the rain.

longboarder

Yes miss Kailua!!! I was in Kaimalino....you?

Anyway yes I have driven the Cup2's in the wet with the GT3 and it was never a problem so got them on the M3 daily thinking sunny SoCal would never see much rain. Yesterday was something else and proved to me at least that this tire will work in the worst rain in a pinch.

I agree there are much better track rain tires. For a tire that can be used to drive daily in a warmer climate and also occasionally track like some of us do, the Cup2 works nicely. The biggest issue I heard was to not drive them through standing water as they will hydroplane. So this puts off a large segment because well, it rains everywhere. Well, mine were put to the test yesterday and did the job. At least for me, the myth was dispelled.

dewilmoth

Nice, I was in a squadron on KBay. We were on Aunauna on the hill above "The Shack". Such a great life memory, wouldn't trade it for anything.

kaimuki

I have had good luck with Cup 2's on my Touring. Way less spooky than expected in typical Seattle conditions. But I also street drive really conservatively in the wet. My E46 M3 is a far sketchier car with standing water.

Sun Ra

I've run 1000's of miles in the rain on 2s in New Zealand. They are massively better in the wet than the original Cups. If I'm running a twisty at 160 -230 kmh in the dry, I back off to 140 in the rain and 120 in flooded standing water.

Chris88

My experience with Cup 2's in the rain is not good. I have S4's on my S6 and they're much better. That didn't keep me from getting new Cup2's for the GT3...I just try to avoid driving in the wet.

kaimuki

Cup 2's are definitely not rain tires. But I have come to terms with mine as a "3 season" tire. My Touring is in my daily driving rotation, but parked in the garage in periods of heavy predicted rain, and when temps are expected to get anywhere near freezing.
It doesn't snow enough in Seattle for me to justify a second set of rims/snow tires. My point is that I have not found them to be overtly unsafe if one is driving conservatively on wet surfaces. All of my track days were in sunny weather last summer. But I do need to do some tire planning before tracking the car in the wet or even times when rain is forecasted as possible.

longboarder

Sounds like newer Cup2's are fine for wet weather. Not great but ok. Thx for the feedback guys.

The original version was perhaps much worse in standing water and maybe where Cup2's have a lasting bad reputation. Anyway it's pouring ran again today and I am now confident to drive the GT3 except my rear tail lights get moisture in them if they get wet - my only gripe about the car.

AllAboutThatP

I got caught in a torrential downpour last year driving home from the Autobahn, just west of Chicago, last year. Fortunately I didn't hydroplane, but I could definitely tell the car was not stable at speed. I was on the interstate and had to slow way down to maybe 30mph tops. However, I was able to maintain control at that speed, but it was white knuckle. I credit Porsche's traction control as much as the tires, but it's not something I'd like to do if I can avoid it.

tgibrit

Cup2s in heavy rain do require you slow down significantly, I had a very scary experience driving to the track, sudden torrential rain and I had to slow down to around 40mph to be safe - problem was no else on the freeway needed to moderate their speed so they were still traveling at 70-80mph (guess of course); with all the spray a low sports car doing 40mph was not easy to see. I got off the freeway and took the back roads.

Nizer

They're fine in the rain. Drive the crowns and pay attention to pooled water.

tqevo

It's nice to see my old car being well-driven.

On a road I wouldn't worry, but don't think about tracking in the wet with Cup 2s!

longboarder

Hey Tong! Hope you are doing well. The GT3 is doing great and has treated me well. 14k miles now and primarily used to cruise around Thermal Club race track. Car received a 3/4 clear bra and GMG Racing takes good care of all the maintenance and prep. The newer N1 spec Cup2's made a significant improvement in performance.