Driving at Streets of Willow in the rain

[Skiracer]

Any tips besides slowdown?

[ranmonbu]

Why bother? If you can't push your limits, why risk trashing your car? I've taken my IX to thirteen track days...but I'll never run on a wet track. I'm a dry track driver. I freely admit that I don't posess the superhuman rally driving skill it takes to control/throw a car around in the wet or dirt.

[smokinevo9]

^^^^+1
why pay for something that you cannot fully enjoy O0

[Fallen86]

might be more enjoyable with the slip and slide? just dont crash

[Ricardon]

Any tips besides slowdown?


Yep...have fun. SOW in the rain is made of a lot of win. If you aren't shooting for time, and just out there for fun then I'd advise not pushing too close to the edge of the course on exit. Late apex as much as you can to be sure of this. You don't really want to have an off when the runoffs are muddy. It's a great way to get your roof dirty. Other than that, there are some portions of the course that can be wicked amounts of fun in the wet. Once again, this is only if you don't care about lap times and are out there to just have fun. People that say don't go to the track when its wet, I dunno I always found it much more challenging and fun in the wet. The EVO is damned good when it's dry outside, but you have no idea how GREAT the car is in the rain until you've driven it in those conditions. It's a fairly safe comment to say that it pretty much owns in the rain.

[jnathan68]

I used to road race in Florida and loved getting the chance to run in the rain every once in a while.

Some advice that I remember...if you have adjustable shocks, soften the settings; adjustable swaybar, soften the setting; tire pressure should be a few pounds more than for dry track; do all your braking in a straight line (no trail braking in the rain); the wet track line is not always the same as the dry track line..ask an instructor or someone who knows the track.

Also, just like regular roads, the track will be slickest when it first starts to rain. And, even more important than on a dry track, if you go off track do not make any quick corrections trying to get back on the track (unless it is your only option). You want to bring the car under control first and everything is slicker in the rain. Just my thoughts.

[RPD_FKTARD]

wet track is where you'd learn your car's behavior the most.
have fun!

[Ricardon]

wet track is where you'd learn your car's behavior the most.
have fun!


Welcome to the beautiful state of Washington!! :skid:

[GokuSSJ4]

wish i had the courage and no balls to practice on the rain at a track..... at this moment that doesn't seemed to be the case... I'm sure a lot can be learned from practicing on a wet environment...

[Ricardon]

wish i had the courage and no balls to practice on the rain at a track..... at this moment that doesn't seemed to be the case... I'm sure a lot can be learned from practicing on a wet environment...


When it rains, go drive in the mountains. Just do it really slow and safe. Stay within your comfort zone. The car will start to slide around even if you drive the speed limit in the rain. It's kind of funny too, you tend to see more AWD canyon cars up there during completely shitty weather than you do when it's dry. Almost seems like they wait for the weather to get bad until they go out lol. I remember a specific day a couple of years ago, worst rain I had seen in a long time. Three of us were up on the exact same roads, probably separated by no more than 5-10 minutes at the most and we never saw each other or knew until later that day we had all 3 been up there at the same time. The only way you can learn is by doing. Just do it right and be safe.

[GokuSSJ4]

been there before.... it was slightly raining and i had no balls.. they grew back after certain things loll..
the car behaved wonderful on the rain and with RA1s on top of that.. took it easy and enjoyed the drive... today, well i wont try it! LOL

[Ricardon]

been there before.... it was slightly raining and i had no balls.. they grew back after certain things loll..
the car behaved wonderful on the rain and with RA1s on top of that.. took it easy and enjoyed the drive... today, well i wont try it! LOL


Ever heard the phrase if at first you don't succeed try try again? If you fall off the horse, the best thing to do is get back on it. Let's see how many more cliches I can fit into this post. Goku, if you want to get better at something, which by the sounds of what you are posting, the only way you'll get better at it is going out and doing it. I'm not hazing you here. Forget all this talk about balls. Balls are worthless because anyone knows that it's the guys who have the most balls who are wrecking. Just go out and drive, you don't have to drive fast to learn. But you do have to drive. You said it yourself. You went out that day with RA-1's and you took it easy and had fun. Repeat that process a couple of hundred times and then it won't be such a mystery anymore. DO IT!!

[Skiracer]

Thanks for the tips guys. I just checked the weather and looks like its going to be a dry day afterall next Monday :D

[Team_swiff]

well if your talkin about willow street in long beach.. well it isnt that bad but if rainy.. ill take a rain check on that one.. :mitsu:

[Ricardon]

Thanks for the tips guys. I just checked the weather and looks like its going to be a dry day afterall next MondayÂ* :D


Here's the real question though Simon. Does that make you happy or sad? (there's no wrong answer by the way hehehe)

[4G63 FEVER]

well if your talkin about willow street in long beach.. well it isnt that bad but if rainy.. ill take a rain check on that one.. :mitsu:


Survey says: WRONG ANSWER!!!!Â* Some reading comprehension would help here.Â* Streets Of Willow equals Rosamond, Ca.

[Ricardon]

lulz

[EvoPwr]

lulz



:idiot2:

[Miss Evo8]

been there before.... it was slightly raining and i had no balls.. they grew back after certain things loll..
the car behaved wonderful on the rain and with RA1s on top of that.. took it easy and enjoyed the drive... today, well i wont try it! LOL


whats up with you and "balls" ? for reals go drive your damn car already! and if you want balls ask nicely and I will give them back to you BBKFÂ* ;)

[ryan0]

dude.. SOW pwns in the rain..

three words of advice..

SKIDPAD SKIDPAD SKIDPAD!

[Ricardon]

dude.. SOW pwns in the rain..

three words of advice..

SKIDPAD SKIDPAD SKIDPAD!


I see what you did there Ryan. Um, yeah what the guy above me there said.

[GokuSSJ4]

dude.. SOW pwns in the rain..

three words of advice..

SKIDPAD SKIDPAD SKIDPAD!


I see what you did there Ryan. Um, yeah what the guy above me there said.
haahahahh! im sure that would be plenty of fun... busting a 4 wheel drift.... initial D style ... :D

[ChrisF]

skiracer: So did you have fun in the first two wet sessions? I definitely did.

I think overall it was a fantastic day. 2 wet sessions; 2 dry. I would have got a 5th if it weren't for my "technical difficulties".

[Skiracer]

Ya i had a blast. I didn't realize how easy it is to upset the car in the wet. Luckily i was driving like a pus*y and didn't spin out once. But it was a great learning experience. I would've gotten more sessions in, but i had to help GT40 go to Autozone and pickup a new hard clutch line... I found it funny that some cars in my 5 lap parade yellow flag session to help dry the track spun out :uglystupid2:

[gt40]

Ya i had a blast. I didn't realize how easy it is to upset the car in the wet. Luckily i was driving like a pus*y and didn't spin out once. But it was a great learning experience. I would've gotten more sessions in, but i had to help GT40 go to Autozone and pickup a new hard clutch line... I found it funny that some cars in my 5 lap parade yellow flag session to help dry the track spun out :uglystupid2:


Thanks to skiracer for running me to the autozone- swapping clutch lines went fast.

As far as driving- it was a total blast :)

[GokuSSJ4]

maybe eventually i will get to have such a wonderful experience... glad that you guys had fun, which is the most important part..

[ryan0]

maybe eventually i will get to have such a wonderful experience..


again.. what exactly is stopping people from going to track days?

[EvoPwr]

maybe eventually i will get to have such a wonderful experience..


again.. what exactly is stopping people from going to track days?


$$$, work, family, The OC :2funny:

[ryan0]

$$$, work, family, The OC :2funny:


heh.. that i understand.. but if you have the money to mod your rig, then $100 to do a track day should be within your budget.

who buys coil-overs, wastes RA-1s on the street, and cant afford a track day?

[GokuSSJ4]

$$$, work, family, The OC :2funny:


heh.. that i understand.. but if you have the money to mod your rig, then $100 to do a track day should be within your budget.

who buys coil-overs, wastes RA-1s on the street, and cant afford a track day?
never said i cant afford it!
im waiting for my damn wheels to stop being back order ... cant go without wheels.. and there is no way i will track on my volks (so dont even try to say to track on street wheels)
also once i have my wheels, ill purchase some pads.. i still have the stock ones at the moment.. more to it than what you think...

[ryan0]

$$$, work, family, The OC :2funny:


heh.. that i understand.. but if you have the money to mod your rig, then $100 to do a track day should be within your budget.

who buys coil-overs, wastes RA-1s on the street, and cant afford a track day?
never said i cant afford it!
im waiting for my damn wheels to stop being back order ... cant go without wheels.. and there is no way i will track on my volks (so dont even try to say to track on street wheels)
also once i have my wheels, ill purchase some pads.. i still have the stock ones at the moment.. more to it than what you think...


my 'too poor' rebuttal was because evopwr mentioned it.

it just seems around here everyone has an excuse.. yet everyone wants to talk about suspension mods and driving fast.

will your volks explode if you track them?

[RPD_FKTARD]

do you still have your stock wheels goku? what's wrong with it

[gt40]

This thread is about driving, not excuses or goku's in particular...

[ChrisF]

maybe eventually i will get to have such a wonderful experience..


again.. what exactly is stopping people from going to track days?
Over the last year, being out of the country. Hopefully I can knock off the rust this year.

Love the avatar Ryan0 ;)

[Ricardon]

will your volks explode if you track them?


Mine did hahahaha. Ask gt40 what shape the volks were in when he helped me out and bought them from me when I needed the money hahaha.

[GokuSSJ4]

will your volks explode if you track them?


Mine did hahahaha. Ask gt40 what shape the volks were in when he helped me out and bought them from me when I needed the money hahaha.


exactly!!!! i dont need to do that to a 600.00 dollar wheel /// F that!

[Ricardon]

I was a little mad about it, but 5 minutes later I had the stock wheels back on the car and was queing up for the next session lol. What happened to your stock wheels Goku? Why not just run those?

[ryan0]

will your volks explode if you track them?


Mine did hahahaha.



Volks suck?.. i thought they were some 'race wheel'.. heh

[Miss Evo8]

well if you dont hit the potholes at streets your wheels should be fine :D no matter if they're Volks or stockies...

[Ricardon]

will your volks explode if you track them?


Mine did hahahaha.



Volks suck?.. i thought they were some 'race wheel'.. heh


I never really understood that piece either, honestly. I've destroyed two different sets of volks at the track. Yet I've never had any problems whatsoever with the stock wheels. I was'nt driving any more aggressively with the volks, and would drop wheels in the dirt just as much with the stock ones. Sometimes the dropping wheels was intentional, sometimes unintentional. I really would have thought the volks would be more resistent to bending than the stock wheel, but I guess it can be pawned off as bad luck? I dunno. What I do know is that I won't ever spend 2k on a set of wheels for the track ever again...unless I get to a financial point that replacing a set of 2k wheels is no big deal.

Oh, almost forgot. The first set of volks I bent at streets (TE37's), were bent by the 3rd session of the day on their very first track day. I did not drop the wheels, not once, but both left side wheels were pretty badly out of round by the 3rd session. I can only assume that hitting curbing was what did it, because at no point did they leave the track surface and it was a clockwise day, so the pothole between 2 and 3 is on the right side of the vehicle in that configuration. Maybe it happened on the last curb exiting the chicane? Seems a little extreme for supposed racing wheels to bend under those circumstances...both left side wheels too.

[GokuSSJ4]

will your volks explode if you track them?


Mine did hahahaha.



Volks suck?.. i thought they were some 'race wheel'.. heh


I never really understood that piece either, honestly. I've destroyed two different sets of volks at the track. Yet I've never had any problems whatsoever with the stock wheels. I was'nt driving any more aggressively with the volks, and would drop wheels in the dirt just as much with the stock ones. Sometimes the dropping wheels was intentional, sometimes unintentional. I really would have thought the volks would be more resistent to bending than the stock wheel, but I guess it can be pawned off as bad luck? I dunno. What I do know is that I won't ever spend 2k on a set of wheels for the track ever again...unless I get to a financial point that replacing a set of 2k wheels is no big deal.

Oh, almost forgot. The first set of volks I bent at streets (TE37's), were bent by the 3rd session of the day on their very first track day. I did not drop the wheels, not once, but both left side wheels were pretty badly out of round by the 3rd session. I can only assume that hitting curbing was what did it, because at no point did they leave the track surface and it was a clockwise day, so the pothole between 2 and 3 is on the right side of the vehicle in that configuration. Maybe it happened on the last curb exiting the chicane? Seems a little extreme for supposed racing wheels to bend under those circumstances...both left side wheels too.


thats the main reason why i dont want to take a chance with this type of wheels.. also all i need to do is to wait for wheels not to be back order.. no biggie!
the stock wheels, well i sold those a while ago.. never really had them... i only have kept the volks and some rpf1s i had but those were sold as well loll...

[ryan0]

I've destroyed two different sets of volks at the track.


good to know.. not that my cheap ass would ever spend 2grr on wheels anyway..

[Ricardon]

I've destroyed two different sets of volks at the track.


good to know.. not that my cheap ass would ever spend 2grr on wheels anyway..


Best part? I could'nt really afford it when I did either. Especially after losing them like that.

[GokuSSJ4]

I've destroyed two different sets of volks at the track.


good to know.. not that my cheap ass would ever spend 2grr on wheels anyway..


Best part? I could'nt really afford it when I did either. Especially after losing them like that.
i dont think the mayority of the peeps in here can... theres a couple of exceptions... though

[Skiracer]

I toggled between the "gravel" and "tarmac" settings on my ACD in the rain and i didn't notice any difference in handling characteristics :'(

[Ricardon]

I toggled between the "gravel" and "tarmac" settings on my ACD in the rain and i didn't notice any difference in handling characteristicsÂ* Â*:'(


That's hard to believe, are you serious? Did you drive differently when you switched or did you drive exactly the same?

[Skiracer]

I toggled between the "gravel" and "tarmac" settings on my ACD in the rain and i didn't notice any difference in handling characteristicsÂ* Â*:'(


That's hard to believe, are you serious?Â* Did you drive differently when you switched or did you drive exactly the same?

i drove the same....

[JWadEvo]

Robi replaced the wheel that flew off my car with another volk that had a defect. So, i made him buy me another one!! haha
So when i murdered one of the wheels at big willow, i had that fifth one left:) i don't recommend anyone ever buying bfg kdw tires...
im selling the five volks BTW..

[Skiracer]

I toggled between the "gravel" and "tarmac" settings on my ACD in the rain and i didn't notice any difference in handling characteristicsÂ* Â*:'(


That's hard to believe, are you serious?Â* Did you drive differently when you switched or did you drive exactly the same?




Well, i was driving EXTREMELY cautious, so i wasn't pushing the car very hard at all. So, that could be a reason why i felt no difference between the different ACD settings.

[Miss Evo8]

Simon where you using the snow tires? :twisted:

[GokuSSJ4]

I toggled between the "gravel" and "tarmac" settings on my ACD in the rain and i didn't notice any difference in handling characteristics :'(
by usually placing the ACD onÂ* gravel mode, it delays the ACD.. usually the car acts a bit more ass happy on "gravel mode" i find it hard to believe that you didn't notice any difference among the 2 set ups

[Skiracer]

Simon where you using the snow tires?Â* :twisted:


Probably would've been a good day to use em :D But i was using brand new RA1's last weekend...

[Skiracer]

Here's pics from our rain day at SOW:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22967240@N00/sets/72157594568245760/

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/409422616_1ec651914c.jpg?v=0

[jondukes]

i regret to say that i keep checking this thread hoping Mueller and friends would maybe post some footage of driving in the rain- that would be really nice:)

[ChrisF]

How bout some 3 wheel motion!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/409417118_711c2e83be.jpg