Driving a manual in torrential rain

[holden j caufield]

Any tips. I don't think I've ever seen so much rain in socal. It's absolutely pouring right now, entire roads are flooded. Generally to avoid hydroplaning should I keep it in the highest gear possible/lowest rpm.

 

[jlee]

Drive slowly and make sure your tires are inflated properly (if they are too low, they won't be as good at shedding water). If your tires are worn, that will adversely effect performance as well.

 

[Arkaign]

^^ What he said. If you can avoid driving, do that. If you can't, and your tires are really bad in the water, take off in 2nd and drive mildly.

Yes, highest gear = much less likely to spin your tires.

 

[jlee]

^^ What he said. If you can avoid driving, do that. If you can't, and your tires are really bad in the water, take off in 2nd and drive mildly.

Yes, highest gear = much less likely to spin your tires.

This is true, but loss of traction under acceleration is different than hydroplaning, which can happen without any throttle application (basically the car 'floating' on top of water).

 

[EightySix Four]

Drive slow, launch in second, and avoid sudden maneuvers when possible.

 

[Hyperlite]

right, no driving style other than "slow and conservative" is going to assist in the hydroplaning bit.

 

[marvdmartian]

And when you do hydroplane, take your foot off the gas (or push in the clutch), do NOT do any hysterical steering maneuvers, and hold on until you slow down enough to get a bite with your tires on the pavement again. Believe me, if you go cranking the wheel over while you're sliding along on top of the water, wildly trying to correct the skid, you will not be able to re-correct once the tires bite, and will end up likely spinning out in the opposite direction, in a matter of seconds.

I speak from long-ago experience. $1200 worth.

 

[Bignate603]

Just drive as easy as you can. Slow down well before any time you need to stop or go around a turn. As long as you have decent tires you should be fine.

It should be interesting here, I'm in AZ and that storm is coming here next. They're predicting that this series of storms this week will drop 50% to 75% of our normal yearly rainfall.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Driving a manual in the rain really isn't any different than driving any other car in the rain...it's probably a little better IMO.

As always, make sure your tires are in good condition (not worn out) and that they are properly inflated. Make sure your wipers are in good working order and not worn either (which you should check regularly as well).

If you drive through standing water and feel the front end wash out due to hydroplaning just let off the gas and drive through it. If you feel the rear end start to slide out, steer into the skid and don't do anything with the gas or brakes, just steer out of it. Don't add throttle and don't take it away either.

 

[GregGreen]

I'm surprised Southern California hasn't blow up yet with you guys having rain for a couple days in a row... I mean it only rains on like two days total there doesn't it?

 

[R1P5AW]

Just drive SLOW!

Remember that the roads are the most slippery RIGHT when it rains b/c the water mixes with the oils and gas on the road..after that they aren't as bad

 

[zerocool84]

I'm surprised Southern California hasn't blow up yet with you guys having rain for a couple days in a row... I mean it only rains on like two days total there doesn't it?

Well not really. It rains more than that but we don't get rains like other places. This week we've gotten like 2" every day and it's only getting worse. We even had a tornado warning yesterday. Places get flooded easily around here cus the first rains move all the trash to the curb drains and they get plugged with crap and can't drain and streets get flooded. It's also El Niño this winter which means tons of rain. It comes once every 5 years.

It's really not that hard to drive in rain in manual. You just need to give it less throttle. I still do spin sometimes cus of the torque but it's easily remedied.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Not much different than an auto, though you do have more control if you start to slip and need to back out just a little.


...or decide to have fun and spin the tires for half a city block.

 

[brblx]

only real difference between and auto and a manual in the rain is taking off. don't slip the clutch too much and back off if the wheels spin. congrats, you're a manual tranny rain expert. :awe:

 

[Zap]

...or decide to have fun and spin the tires for half a city block.

Heh, I used to do that in my Mustang GT when stuff got wet.

For driving in the rain, just take it easy and don't do anything sudden. Seriously you guys in SoCal (and I lived there for almost 30 years) really don't know how to drive in the rain. I was visiting relatives this past Thanksgiving and on Saturday it rained (and even hailed a bit) and I saw five accidents on I-15 in a 20 mile stretch.

Of course people around here (WI/IL) can't seem to figure out snow either. In December (12/20) I think I saw around 30 (yes, thirty) crashed cars during the first half hour of a snowstorm on I-55 within an hour. All of them were right after bridges, because I guess they froze over and people over-corrected when they started to skid.

Inclement weather = drive slower.

 

[Perknose]

Just drive SLOW!

Remember that the roads are the most slippery RIGHT when it rains b/c the water mixes with the oils and gas on the road..after that they aren't as bad

THIS is your true hazard. And . . . because it rains so little in SoCal, more oil builds up so that when it FIRST rains, you're going to have extremely slippery conditions.

Since it has been raining so much lately, the oil accumulation will be long gone by now and the roads far less slippery.

As for hydroplaning, geez, a little common sense is all. Don't go speeding through standing water, drive appropriately (more slowly and more alertly) for the conditions.

If you feel yourself start to hydroplane, follow Jules' advice and you'll be fine. Like with snow, it can seem counter intuitive at first to steer into your "slide", but you need to, to get your wheels rolling(snow) or gripping(water) again.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Heh, I used to do that in my Mustang GT when stuff got wet.

For driving in the rain, just take it easy and don't do anything sudden. Seriously you guys in SoCal (and I lived there for almost 30 years) really don't know how to drive in the rain. I was visiting relatives this past Thanksgiving and on Saturday it rained (and even hailed a bit) and I saw five accidents on I-15 in a 20 mile stretch.

Of course people around here (WI/IL) can't seem to figure out snow either. In December (12/20) I think I saw around 30 (yes, thirty) crashed cars during the first half hour of a snowstorm on I-55 within an hour. All of them were right after bridges, because I guess they froze over and people over-corrected when they started to skid.

Inclement weather = drive slower.

Give them an SUV and they think they're invincible. Yeah, generally they're clueless and give zero thought to the upkeep of their cars which is why they just go crashing into each other when to roads get wet...which is generally only a few times a year.

I have to say, traffic has been pretty light this week despite the heavy rains and the people I've seen on the roads have been pretty cautious...perhaps even overly so. I think people just try to avoid driving during weather like this which is probably a good thing.

 

[brblx]

If you feel yourself start to hydroplane, follow Jules' advice and you'll be fine. Like with snow, it can seem counter intuitive at first to steer into your "slide", but you need to, to get your wheels rolling(snow) or gripping(water) again.

i would say any steering while hydroplaning is bad. if you have time to steer into it, you're probably boned.

my general advice would be if you see standing water, hold the steering wheel wherever it's at and try not to change direction at all until you're through it. that way, if you hydroplane, you're at least still likely to be headed in the right direction.

 

[DivideBYZero]

The transmission type is immaterial.

 

[Sea Moose]

its raining?

Put that foot to the floor for some epic burnouts!!!! Liquid horsepower!!!!!




Just watch out, trees like to jump in your path

 

[StageLeft]

Drive slowly and make sure your tires are inflated properly

What sort of PSI are we talking about here?

 

[ArizonaSteve]

[Fleabag] Inflate your tires to sidewall [/Fleabag]

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

It's water, not the end of the world. Don't drive like a jack-ass and you'll be ok. Increase following distance and don't jack rabbit start. That's about it. Oh and like many people here (my city) have to be reminded. You're driving a car not a boat. Don't try to cross water you don't know how deep it is.

 

[IcePickFreak]

If you do start to hydroplane, push in the clutch and avoid making and big steering inputs.

Of course people around here (WI/IL) can't seem to figure out snow either. In December (12/20) I think I saw around 30 (yes, thirty) crashed cars during the first half hour of a snowstorm on I-55 within an hour. All of them were right after bridges, because I guess they froze over and people over-corrected when they started to skid.

Inclement weather = drive slower.

No kidding, I'm starting to think every winter there's a lot of people that just moved here from Florida or something since nobody can drive in the snow.

 

[StageLeft]

Isn't over-correcting a misnomer? It seems to me that if you crashed you didn't correct enough. haha