Mustangs are Death Chariots in the rain, its Amazing

i picked up my car from dealership in middle of thunderstorm back in last May. I did my first 180 in right front of the dealer. I was drifting everywhere that day. I thought turning off the Trac control was like being Kamikaze pilot.
I got used to it pretty quick tho...
But I still don't really like to drive in rain or snow. 245 is just too wide for that kind of crop. Now when I get my new tire(265&285), would be interesting...

Torque+Bold rear tire+rain=teh lose

coramprat said:

Alright guys...stop the "you got more torque now" comments. This is a legitimate safety question and you are not helping.
I have a 96 with 4.10's. It has been raining alot here lately and I do all sorts of driving from city stop and go to Interstate. The only thing it takes, like at the track, is practice. Problem is if you mess up during practice here you can get hurt. My suggestion is the next time it rains and you have free time take a spin through a quiet neighborhood or an empty parking lot. Find out how much gas you can safely use to take off, what is safe around corners and turns, and how much brake you can use for stops. I have found that sometimes taking off in 2nd gear is better for wet roads. If you find yourself breaking loose just release the gas and the car will right itself. Alot of times people will make a drastic movement in steering and then are toast. I have hit patches of water on the highway that caused my car to feel like it was about to fly off the road but you let the car drive through it with very small movements, if any at all, of the wheel. Your car will find traction soon enough although you will feel like it is an eternity. Point is that the more you do it the better off you are and the safer you feel. And the 25+ years I've been driving helps.

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Anyone who has driven a rear wheel drive car with any reasonable amount of power already knows better than to goose the accelerator in a turn. For those of you who've only driven rice burners, this may be a new revelation, but nobody should be foolish enough to do something like that a second time. If rice burners had a significant amount of torque, you wouldn't be punching them in a turn either.

I have no problem driving either of my cars in the rain. Its not one of my favorite things to do with my convertible though, 500hp and 4.10 gears can make for an interesting drive. I have to change the whole way I drive the car. With my cobra being down currently while my engine is being built the 88 is my daily driver. The cobra in the rain is walk in the park compared to my convertible. I think it takes time, my first car was my convertible, six years of daily driving a V8 mustang you know how to handle them in different situations.

bad in bad weather maybe
death chariots no

you will learn to RESPECT your car, only when you violate that respect will the car become dangerous

vipergts281 said:

You are spoiled. Try driving your Cobra in the snow.

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I got stuck in the latest snow storm when i was coming home from a friends house. All the roads around my area and up and down hills so it wasn't fun at all but i kept the wheelspin to a minimum and took it really slow and got it home. It wasn't easy though.

My GT stays in the garage when it rains.

I have 275's and they are almost like slicks right (I know it is not the smartest thing but I don't have the money to replace them right now) but don't have too much trouble. Just be really easy on the trottle and you should be fine.
And AVOID puddles of water.....

Also sometimes on empty roads I practice to see how much throttle is too much that helps too

craigmack, i love the stillen license plate cover on your cobra. i bet you confuse a lot of people with that one. to answer your question the mustang does behave poorly in bad weather just like a lot of other rwd's. like some people have said practice and take it easy.

I love the Mustang in the rain

Well I love my 2001 GT in the rain. I am running Bridgestone RE 750 tires so that may help. Tires are critical.

I love to slide my car around and find the Mustang very contronable and forgiving. Especially as compared to many of the other RWD cars I've owned or driven. My Z28 comes to mind.

The driving dyanmics in many ways are opposite on RWD and FWD cars. You have top learn both. They both have advantages and weaknesses. With rain/snow and poor traction yes FWD can be better. But try a high speed sweeper too fast and your'll learn about understeer real fast.

Tips for RWD I use.

1. Turn of traction control if you have it I find it to be too abrupt in pulling the throttle away which is not good if your are in a counter steer. Plus my reactions and skills are greater than the computers.

2. Be prepared to countersteer and gently - gently remove throttle when you car starts to slide around. Abrudtness will cause the car to become unstable - any car. This requires two hands on the wheel 9 -3 . Yes I have a manual so I know this isn't always practiable

3. Go out on a rainy day in a big open area and practice until you can feel just when she is breaking and also let her breake lose and practice countersteering and throttle techniques.

4. Don't like doing this - turn on traction cotnrol or drive like grandma.