Meatball964

I have a DE scheduled for tomorrow w/scattered T-storms in the forecast. This may be a silly question (for racers) but when windows down is required, what do you guys do to keep the water from ruining your inner door panels (leather/alcantera) in your street(ish) cars ? Is their an elegant solution using garbage bags & clear tape ? Flame suit secured....

Veloce Raptor

My friend, the inside of your car WILL get wet. It won't kill leather...remember, cows live out in the rain

zedcat

I always have a couple of large towels in my track gear and in case of rain I just wipe down the door cards, rear area, etc. after a session. A few times we've been allowed to run windows up in very heavy rain.

Meatball964

A few years ago was on track in a fairly heavy downpour. Just had the door panels covered by classic 9. Looked like chit by the end of the day....shrinkage. Also, the alcantera cow somehow didn't know it was repellant lol. No big deal really, just didn't know if anyone has attempted to save their interior from a deluge....

gbuff

You'll find that you will stay relatively dry in front--all the water ends up in the back seat.

To paraphrase Mario Andretti (I think); "If you're getting wet, you're not going fast enough!"

Gary

.....hoping for dry @ Mosport Wednesday--if not, oh well, we drive anyway......

TXE36

Driven, not polished...

Generally around here we are allowed to go windows up if it really raining hard. A side benefit is that without the wind noise, in my car it is really easy to hear when the tires are reaching their grip limits.

-Mike

PS: Driving in the wet is a great learning experience and can be fun with the right attitude.

Ritter v4.0

If I was driving in the rain, the interior would be down the list of my concerns.

Jabs1542

I thought those fancy Porsche cows lived indoors.

To the Op - you will get wet, but don't worry because that will be the last thing on your mind as you search for grip in the rain line

LuigiVampa

This.

Take it slow and easy and talk to someone about the rain line. Best trick is to stay off the shiny (polished) portion of the track.

Many groups allow the passenger window to be up when there is rain so long as no one is sitting there.

Meatball964

Yup, the interior certainly is down on my list, but on the list none the less based on my previous experience.
I'll be running on my crappy Sumi's instead of my NT-01's (too scary for even light rain).
Will be looking for the rain line (LRP), definitely slow in / spirited out.

cheechs

I would be thinking about a slick track more than your interior. A warm day in the sun fixes your wetness

TXE36

If by Sumi's you mean Sumitomo HTR ZIIIs then they are a very good rain tire, at least at near full tread depth. The other Sumi's, not so much.

Even full tread NT-01s are nearly awful in the rain. They are ok on a damp track, but they get very quickly overwhelmed by any flowing or standing water.

-Mike

Martin S.

This spring I drove California Speedway, a high speed ROVAL at the PCA California
Festival of Speed. I was running on pretty well worn NT-01 tires (I later changed to new ones). I couldn't believe how well the tired old NT-01 tires held up in the wet. And staying off any painted surface is mandatory. If you NT-01s have 4/32 of tread, possibly even less, they may work OK. No heroics in the wet...I'll never do it again...too spooky, not knowing what could happen, and where.

I did take a set of street tires, man did they suck...I'll amend the post with the brand name, far worse than the NT-01 tires.

Meatball964

I drive to/from the track so I need to make my tire choice the night before.
I miss the Michelin S/S I used to have (great rain tire), but given the amount of camber I run, I'd rather burn up the Sumi's HTR ZIII's for the street.

Olemiss540

Driving my car on the track while it is raining is about as fun as going to the local walmart and doing skid pad drills. Talk about worthless. Not to be a Nancy, but would rather watch the Bravehearts spin than risk the body work over a funday.