Is The Is Safe In Heavy Rain?

[wh05apk]

A bit of an exaggeration, but having driven my IS recently in heavy rain it seems very sensitive to standing water, last week I hit some standing water at 70 with the cruise control on the car snatched which turned the cruise of, I'm guessing the traction/stability control cut in which then turns the cruise control off.

Again today at 65-70 mph on a dual carriageway it was constantly snatching and drifting, needing constant adjustment to keep it straight.

The tyres have about 15k on so still decent tread, I am experienced, but have never driven a car which needs so much attention in heavy rain, I can only put it down to the needlessly wide tyres.

[noby76]

you probably going too fast at 70mph in a rear wheel drive car in 'heavy rain'..

[dave1]

Wider the tyres the less stability in wet. As John says, 70mph in "heavy rain" (front or rear wheel drive) seems a little fast not only stability wise but visibility and stopping wise. The IS will be fine if driven according to prevailing conditions

[wh05apk]

Sounds like I have been spoilt by the stability of my previous cars, except in extreme rain and standing water, I have never felt the need to slow down excessively in rain, over taking a lorry on the a13 earlier, I backed off at 60mph , never needed to do that before (and I already drive a lot slower than I use to)

[Deadloak]

I'd not use the cruise control in heavy rain. As the action for aqua-plaining is to not brake, but take your foot off the accelerator. You can't do that in criuse control safely.

[rayaans]

honestly depends on what tyres you have - some have extra wide sipes to clear the water - eg bridgestone potenza whereas the factory fit bridgestones have 4 very small sipes which obviously wont clear as much water.

But yeah 70mph in very heavy rain is a bit stupid - I wouldn't try that in any car. In fact - I went to gloucester on Saturday. Came back at 7pm and the traffic was flowing at 50mph even after the 50mph average speed check had passed

Didnt you hear the traffic news yesterday? White BMW X6 crashed - ended up facing the wrong way during heavy downpour on the M62. I would bet a rabbit the driver was going 70mph or faster!

[wh05apk]

Sorry, but 70mph in heavy raini is not stupid, I have 30+ years of experience, covering upto 50,000 miles a year, and have never had a car which feels so unstable, I am talking heavy rain, with some standing water in the wheel ruts, visibility is/was perfectly adequate, I wasn't driving blind.

I feel the tyre size is excessively wide, chosen for vanity rather than safety and comfort.

[Steve44]

What tyres do you have on the car? Are they at the correct pressure as this can have a big effect on feel and is hard to notice just by looking as they are so slim profile. The Lexus TC and ESP system is very sensitive and I find cuts in very easily, which is a good and bad thing. Just driven mine up to Carlisle through some pretty torrential rain showers and hasn't missed a beat. Wouldn't say mine was sensitive in the rain, quite the opposite really. Especially doesn't tug the steering going through standing water which previous cars were prone too.

[wh05apk]

Standard Bridgestones, not sure which spec, will check the pressures when I get a chance, interesting you say yours doesn't tug the steering, that is what I noticed.

[Steve44]

Mine are the std Bridgestones. Wet weather work is about their only redeeming feature!

I came up the M6 tonight with TC on at 75, no issues through some heavy heavy rain near Tebay.

Another thought, have they worn evenly across the tread? If insides or outsides are more worn it will feel weird in the wet and shows there is a problem with wheel alignment.

[wh05apk]

Will give the tyres a good check over at the weekend, I see you have an f sport, so same size tyres, so good to hear the car can be driven "normally " in safety in rain.

[rayaans]

Sorry, but 70mph in heavy raini is not stupid, I have 30+ years of experience, covering upto 50,000 miles a year, and have never had a car which feels so unstable, I am talking heavy rain, with some standing water in the wheel ruts, visibility is/was perfectly adequate, I wasn't driving blind.

I feel the tyre size is excessively wide, chosen for vanity rather than safety and comfort.

In a torrential downpour, yes it is. It doesn't matter how much experience you have. I'm sure Niki Lauda didn't crash in Germany and say "I didn't have enough experience"

Tyre sizes are fine. BMWs and Mercedes use similiar tyre sizes. Something like the X5 has massive 295 tyres

[wh05apk]

I have not mentioned a torrential downpour, just heavy rain.

A bmw x5 with its cartoon like tyres has a kerb weight of approx 2150kg, the IS About 1650kg, so the bmw has greater loading on the tyre, wider tyres certainty won't help wet weather stability and resistance to aquaplaning, something which the x6 driver you referred to probably found out the hard way.

[rayaans]

I have not mentioned a torrential downpour, just heavy rain.

A bmw x5 with its cartoon like tyres has a kerb weight of approx 2150kg, the IS About 1650kg, so the bmw has greater loading on the tyre, wider tyres certainty won't help wet weather stability and resistance to aquaplaning, something which the x6 driver you referred to probably found out the hard way.

But the wider tyres get the power down in dry weather and is essential for ultimate grip.

[Roscobbc]

I have not mentioned a torrential downpour, just heavy rain.

A bmw x5 with its cartoon like tyres has a kerb weight of approx 2150kg, the IS About 1650kg, so the bmw has greater loading on the tyre, wider tyres certainty won't help wet weather stability and resistance to aquaplaning, something which the x6 driver you referred to probably found out the hard way.

But the wider tyres get the power down in dry weather and is essential for ultimate grip.

Wider tyres are not always the 'answer' for ultimate grip. Suspension design is often far more effective in determining 'ultimate' grip. The difference in grip between tyre of say, one manufacturers 255mm and 285mm wide tyre is not really significant. The real issue is providing a tyre for all weather conditions and differing road surfaces. A road legal track day tyre will give the ultimate grip in 'ideal' conditions but be potentially worse than useless on a wet or poorly surfaced road. Some car manufacturers (not many) manage to get the perfect balance. I have alway admired Honda and Lotus who have always gone against the trend of wider and wider low profile tyres and kept with seemingly 'old school' rubber, producing some of the finest handling cars ever!

[Roscobbc]

Sorry, but 70mph in heavy raini is not stupid, I have 30+ years of experience, covering upto 50,000 miles a year, and have never had a car which feels so unstable, I am talking heavy rain, with some standing water in the wheel ruts, visibility is/was perfectly adequate, I wasn't driving blind.

I feel the tyre size is excessively wide, chosen for vanity rather than safety and comfort.

I live in Essex too and have been driving in heavy (but not torrential) rain today. Real issue today is 'standing' water from poorly drained road surfaces. 70 mph is definately too fast if the conditions are poor. I have driven many, many different cars over the years and I can't say the IS is any worse in stability terms than other cars. Certainly when modern low profile tyre wear down to about 3/4mm they will often suffer 'darting' and stability problems. Oddly enough I had come to think that the traction and stability controls on the IS were a bit too 'granny' like and restricting. I was on a single carriageway road this afternoon and with a car waiting to turn right in to a side turning - I simply accelerated through on the side with (seemingly) plenty of room (this was a wet road remember) as I went past the car turning right there was a bang of some kind and thinking I must had hit the other vehicle looked back in my mirror and realised that the 'bang' was in fact the rear offside wheel momentarily breaking traction over a very large steel inspection cover in the road surface. Impressive (if still a bit nanny like) that the traction control operated so quick.

[ganzoom]

Not entirely sure what the complaint here is. My own experience is the IS300H has one of the BEST handling chassis I've driven for a while. It's certainly much better stock compared to my old E90 BMW 335i.

The most 'nervous' car I've driven in the wet was my old 350Z, it loved to shake it's read end when the roads got wet. But actually it was quite safe, and never actually aquaplaned, where as the 335i did aquaplaned quite easily.

If your aquaplaning in the wet your going to fast for the conditions. A X5 might feel 'safe' but if a emergency appears it cannot stop any quicker than a IS300H. Infact if any thing driving too quickly in the wet simply means you arrive at the scene of any accident quicker.

But BMW/Audi drivers do have a special leisence to drive like idiots in any road condition. I believe it in the small print of the purchase contracts :)

[ganzoom]

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/2wd-awd-or-4wd-how-much-traction-do-you-need/index.htm

Summary:

"Drivers are often fooled when driving in slippery conditions with an AWD or 4WD vehicle, not realizing how slippery conditions may be when driving, only to discover they are going way too fast when trying to stop. Because the added traction of 4WD can allow a vehicle to accelerate more quickly in slippery conditions, drivers need to be more vigilant, not less. Slippery conditions demand extra caution, no matter what you drive."

[dave1]

If you honestly believe that 70 mph in heavy rain with standing water and water in the wheel ruts is not too fast and is not stupid then you are one of the many drivers who need some more training. Shame not more police on the road to stop people driving in this manner.

[wh05apk]

I have never had an issue with any other car at 70 mph, the incidents I refered to, I was simply keeping up with the flow of traffic, I was not driving like a idiot.

From some of the comments posted, maybe the IS is not safe in rain after all, it should be safe to drive through small puddles, I am not talking about deep standing water.

[dave1]

I have never had an issue with any other car at 70 mph, the incidents I refered to, I was simply keeping up with the flow of traffic, I was not driving like a idiot.

From some of the comments posted, maybe the IS is not safe in rain after all, it should be safe to drive through small puddles, I am not talking about deep standing water.

It is often not the car at fault but the driver not taking the time to get to know his/her vehicles different traits. Other owners seem to disagree about its wet performance so maybe you should slow down a little more, difficult to tell really as only going on your description of conditions. Hopefully whilst keeping up with the flow of traffic (most of whom would not be using cruise in the conditions you describe) you at least kept a decent 4 or 5 second gap.

[Steve44]

It never fails to make me laugh when everyone piles in on to chastise someone about a comment on something we have all done or do regularly.

Doing 70mph (or more) in rain is perfectly acceptable if the vehicle and tyres are up to it, the road conditions are acceptable and you have sufficient skill or experience to understand the actions and potential consequences. You don't see racing drivers slowing down to 50 when it rains unless they have the wrong tyres or track conditions make it the current safest or quickest method.

Driving to the conditions (car and environment) is still the mantra, and these change all the time. However people get lulled into a false sense of security with modern vehicle and even the greats (Senna, Hamilton, Rossi, Lauda.......) made mistakes and got caught out.

On the M6 last night north of Preston, as the traffic thinned out, I saw no issue with keeping the speed up in the rain with acceptable gaps. My tyres are good, I'm used to the car and know what she will and won't do, I put my lights on( many don't) and increased my safety margin to the car in front. I also treat the windscreen with RainX/Prestone so I can see clearly even in heavy rain.

Bigger issue were the few cars who weren't so confident and instantly slowed down, some braking heavily which is even more dangerous and sticking in the middle lane!

[wh05apk]

Thank you Steve, I do find this forum very defensive, interestingly none of the posters saying 70 is too fast drive IS's, if I was retired driving an old Lexus for pleasure, I would probably slow down, but my car is used to earn me a living so I have to drive between appointments, and I will slow down if necessary, but if I have a 200 mile journey to make I will not slow to 55-60 (unless it is snow!)

Like you I use Rainex, if I can drive in Rain without wipers, and still have a clear view, I do not deem it too heavy!

Your comments re-assure me, and will investigate the tyres further tonight if I get a chance, as I suspect something may be slightly out there, as 70mph in a modern car should be safe.

[Deadloak]

Heavy patches of standing water would cause aqua planning, or low tread. So there may be something out if kilter, totally agree with Steve's comments, and Tony about defensiveness, as I can be a bit like that too. But I think it is mainly that in short replies, the inflection can be lost by the posters.

[Bluesman]

Come on guys lets keep it friendly none of us are angels, most people are hitting on the difference between a down pour/heavy rain II think we all know what Tony means so lets all get friendly again. Mike.