cingulus

Today was the first day that I was home and it was raining reasonable hard. So I deliberately took out the GT3 to see how she would react to the wet conditions. I went on the freeway and some normal roads, not canyon runs, just to see how it would go. To quote Chris Harris, "...I want to use a technical term, the Michelin sport cup tire are ****e in the rain..." now that was on his RS 4.0, but it did make wonder how bad they would be.

My very first turn on to the main street I use to get to Interstate 5 was interesting. I took it as fast as I would if it was dry and the rear end was slipping a bit. The traction control kept it in line, but there was a little shake and shimmy. After that the straight line traction was fine and did not feel any slipping during acceleration on the wet road.

The car did lose some grip in any standing water or run-off streams that crossed the road. This happens quite a bit in socal with all the hills and very poor drainage design. The tires can not funnel away any meaningful water to speak of, this not really a big surprise, but good to confirm.

I also noticed that the car follows road groves much more in wet conditions and required more steering input to keep it in the lane on the freeway.

The wipers were just OK, it is one area I would have thought Porsche would do better job given the extensive testing they do in many environments, plus they get lots of precipitation in Germany.

Living in Socal this is not a big problem, but I will stick to the M3 on rainy days going forward.

gt2urbo

nice. I took the 991 gt3 to streets of willow in the rain yesterday . alot of fun.

Rovman

Thanks for the rain driving update Cingulus. I was about to do the same thing specific to my experiences during wet driving.

In the sense of adding value to your thread I would like to add my experience when rain driving with my Dunlop equipped car. Since I have taken delivery it has been raining about 80% of the time. As the car won't melt in the rain and I have waited for so long on the car, wet or dry I have been driving the car almost non-stop.

So far I have driven on the freeway in heavy rain at 75/80mph, country roads in heavy rain, and city in the rain(normally has more oil on the road in this environment). I have to say that I feel these Donlups do a pretty good job in the wet and offer up pretty decent grip.
A few times the front tires would plow through some standing water that was deep and then the rear tires would hydroplane across but this isn't out of the ordinary for a wide tire. The few times this happened, the rears would recover grip very quickly and progressively.

Having said all this, make no misconceptions, I can't drive the car around like I would in the dry but with a little restraint I find the grip the Dunlops give is very confidence inspiring for wet weather driving.

What I am curious about is how these Dunlops will fair in the dry compared to the MPSC2's. I suspect the Michelins will be slightly better in the dry compared to the Dunlops. I guess once I get t try both I will know.

bigkraig

You got a rhodium silver? I was on highland today and passed by one in my guards red. I don't think the driver noticed me, I tried to wave.

mqandil

My experience was very similar with the Cup 2 in the rain and I had few scary moments, so I ended up first trying the winter PA4 tires which proven to be excellent in the rain and cold weather and even the snow. Then I moved these winter tires to my 911 4S which can utilize such tires much better and I installed the Michelin Super Sports on my GT3, and I am so glad I did. They handle the rain and deep waters so well, that I have to remind myself I am driving in the rain. On the street their dry grip is very close to the Cup2 tires but their wet grip as long temperatures above 40F, is something else and transforms the GT3 to a very capable great handling machine in the rain. Highly recommended for wet weather, but you will need the PA4 tires, if you have snow or very cold temperatures (below 40F) during wet weather. Mark

<3mph

Great thread all around! Thanks everyone for the information. It rains a lot in my neck of the woods, and I plan to deal with it and drive anyway. So great to know what options are best. I may pick up the PA4 tires like Mark mentioned (same climate as Vancouver BC).

djcxxx

We get a lot of isolated downpours in S. Florida, often with standing water accumulating very quickly. My wife has the SuperSports on her Boxster S and they can get a little sketchy in our local rains, so I just won't drive the GT3 Cups in the rain. I think a cold rain would be even worse. Thanks for the post on your direct experience.

Alan C.

I have a set of MPSS on the way for the rain/wet.

Dan39

For other members, the wet traction especially when cold and wet is not even close to the dry weather grip and the car is fundamentally unbalanced - once you get the rear end out, you learn about the pendulum affect of all that weight over the rear axle very quickly. And no, the ESC will not save you in the wet.

This is not a car to be taken lightly in wet conditions.

seapar

A good reason to take the car to a car control clinic with your local Porsche club. Our next one here in rainy PNW is feb 21.

cingulus

I have MSPP on my m3 and do not have rain issues.

seapar

Had them on my c4s, gt3 2007, will put them on my wife's Boxster, still has life in her ps2.
Waiting for the rear 20s MPSS to ship to Cantrell's from tire rack.

TargaLover

For what it's worth, and just to add to this excellent string, I did take my GT3 out Saturday morning in the rain and decided to take a "measured" canyon run -- Topanga from the valley to Malibu. On the very first long turn, I felt the back give way on my Michelins and I did feel that very big backside swing around, not a huge slide, but enough to take note. That really put me back and put a nice dose of reality for the rest of the drive.

For comparison purposes, I think my old '993 Targa handles the rain slightly better, but it's nowhere near as fast and feels 'lighter' than the GT3.

Bottom line: the car is deceptively fast and so you have to think and look out ahead and wonder what that turn really looks like and how wet the road really is.

need a 993

My car is also equipped with Dunlops. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the Dunlops in the wet. Many people have suggested that the Michelins are the "preferred" tire. I have to admit when I found out my car came with Dunlops, my initial thought was negative, but now that I've driven with them, I'm OK!

gt2urbo

WHY YOU ALL SO SCARED OF RAIN lmao. The esc inhibited the car a few times.. The car would kick out on throttle but would save itself very quickly eventually taking it off was slower but was more fun to throttle steer the rear.