Maybe it was skidding. All I know is it broke loose for a second, so it may have been skidding. I was going straight both times and not in a curve. My previous car was a Sebring convertible and yes it had narrower tires. The air pressure is one lb. over the recommended on the door frame. The Conti's are rated very good in the rain.

Right now, I'm inclined to live with these tires until they wear out.

 

Hi Birder,

I recently had an opportunity to fully test the wet weather performance of the Crossfire. I was at a trackday in what can only be described as 'monsoon' conditions. I was running very worn PS2's on the rear (see pic) and fresh Pirelli P Zero Rossa's on the front. I have to say that I am in absolute awe of the wet weather grip of the PS2's and the Zero's. I am talking genuinely inches of standing water and 60 -100mph corners, and I pushed it as hard as I dared, much harder than anyone in their right mind (or me for that matter!) would on the road in those conditions. I was absolutely amazed at the cornering and braking forces that could still be generated. Braking performance of the Zero's was particularly impressive; I could still brake at the end of the straight without the ABS cutting in. Sure, I could feel the car aquaplaning over the deeper water, and I could easily brake traction if desired as you would expect, but the limit was still very high and the car always felt reassuringly stable and controllable. I would suggest that if anyone starts feeling instability on the road they are probably running incorrect tyre pressures, excessively worn tyres, or are simply going too fast for the conditions. It may also be worth getting your geometry (front and rear) checked in case something is amiss there.
I have run ContiSportContact 2's on my PT for 3 years (road and track, rain and snow) without problems, and they always felt particularly good in the wet.
Of course my experience all relates to the Coupe, but since the Roadster is actually heavier I would expect it to be slightly less prone to aquaplaning, although the aerodynamics may be playing a part. I would certainly have no hesitation in recommending the PS2's but the Zero's are a very good alternative and cost quite a bit less and seem to wear a lot more evenly on the front.

Here's the vid and pics for those that haven't seen them:

Slippery when Wet Video

 

Many years ago, during my Air force pilot training, we were told that any tire will hydroplane at a speed equal to nine times the square root of the tire pressure. For the typical passenger tire, that works out to the low 50's MPH. From personal experience, I have found this to be pretty much on the money. The amount of water on the road is also a factor.


Robert Schrader
Wentzville, Mo.
'05 Roadster

 

Thanks Woody & Robert!

That was all very informative. I was traveling in rain the other day and it was a hard rain. I put the spoiler out and didn't have any problems at 55 mph. It did slip a little bit at one point but was fine thereafter. I have learned alot from this thread and maybe my car had actually slipped those 1st couple of times in the rain and not hydroplaned. I will be more on the alert.

I saw a silver blue Crossfire in my neighborhood opposite the stop sign the other day and thought it was a top of the line Mercedes Coupe! It's nose was pointed upwards a bit and it looked different. I'm so glad I bought one! It is a blast to drive and looks great!

 

Woody,

Were you running with the ESP on in the rain?

 

I tried both. With it off it would only come into play if you suddenly pulled lateral G. But if you get into the corner and then progressively apply excess power you could prevent it intervening. The slide towards the end of the video in the RH bend after the straight was an example of this.

 

Quick question Woody... have you tried the PS2s in cold-wet weather... not snow... just possibly some slush or ice on the road here and there.

Just curious as I will be making a cross country trip in December and wanted to know if the stock tires are good enough. If not, I'll get them changed in November.

We rarely get heavy downpours here in the Bay Area, so that is why I'm asking... I'll be driving down to Barstow then jumping on I-40 across to Arkansas... I don't think there is any serious altitude across there except after Albuquerque, NM. Roads are kept pretty clear through there though.

 

Yes, being in the UK I have plenty of opportunity to test them in the cold. I would have no hesitation recommending the PS2's. In the wet they are fantastic, even when worn down to the tread wear indicators (as mine are on the rear...they only had a couple of mm on them in the video). I have also run them in snowy/ice conditions without problem. You still have to be cautious in these conditions but I wouldn't expect any more grip from another tyre - ice is ice, it's slippery! Be careful and enjoy the ride. I would just add that my experience relates to a 6 speed xfire, where you tend to have a bit more control over how you can apply the torque in certain situations.

I have literally just replaced the fronts on mine this morning and went for the more expensive (305 GBP ) PS2's over the P Zero's I had on. The Zero's are pretty impressive though. I'm changing the rears over tomorrow to some almost new PS2's I got with a spare set of wheels I bought last weekend.

 

Thanks Woody!

I am looking forward to the trip and I've driven both manual and auto transmissions in inclement weather before, I just wanted to get your take on it with the PS2s.

There is a traction control setting you can make with the auto transmission so it will always start out in 2nd gear. (It's a 'Winter' setting no less ).

I'll see about getting the PS2s ... hell I may even spring for some nice rims and keep the OEM continentals for day-to-day out here.