Though California's rainy weather over the weekend pales in comparison to much of the rest of the nation's miserable conditions, it was a good reminder for me on how our Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution's all-wheel drive often goes unappreciated in So Cal. Unless the road is wet or you're powering out of a tight corner, AWD is basically just along for the ride.
Yesterday, though, it was great. Around town, I could dip heavily into the Evo GSR's estimated 370 horsepower without a worry of spinning tires or neutered acceleration. The GSR's Yokohama Advan A13 tires are pretty worn, though, so I was more careful around standing water.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 13,912 miles
louiswei says:
11:12 AM, 12/15/08
Californians (well, at least people in LA) can't drive in rain. The rainy weather in the last couple of days here in So Cal is absolutely NOTHING comparing to summer afternoon downpours in the Southeast and especially Florida.
ddoouugg says:
02:29 PM, 12/15/08
I couldn't drive this morning because my car has a cai about 1 foot of the ground and there were some pretty deep puddles I was worried about.
slickersdrip says:
03:35 PM, 12/15/08
I hear about hydrolock a lot due to CAIs, but I've had mine since 2003 when I bought my car and I was living in Tallahassee to now living in Austin without having any worries about it. I just drive a little more carefully. I just have a splash shield to protect my 8 inch K&N air filter, which is long enough to be about 4 inches from the ground or less.
sandcountry360 says:
05:28 PM, 12/15/08
I've never understood this whole "AWD is great in the rain" stuff. How so? You can't get physically stuck in the rain like you can in the snow, and AWD doesn't increase your stability when you're moving, so what gives? I live in a place that actually gets rain on a regular basis, and I've never been even mildly inconvenienced when it rains. If the road is slick, you probably shouldn't give the whole "powering out of a tight corner" bit a rest, anyways. Hopefully someone will enlighten me, but otherwise this just seems like more of the thinking that has people in Southern climates thinking they Need 4/AWD because it snows every 5 years.
carfreak8394 says:
07:10 PM, 12/15/08
louiswei,
you're right. the downpours in south Florida are crazy. When coming home from the Thanksgiving holiday, we were driving near Ft. Lauderdale and it started to pour out of nowhere. Everyone put their hazard lights on and started going 40 miles per hour. Then, 20 minutes later, the rain stopped. That's the price you pay for living in "paradise." ha ha.
sellaturcica says:
10:20 PM, 12/15/08
Yeah who needs 4wd in the rain? Momentary loss of traction is FAAAANTASTIC!
dougtheeng says:
06:30 AM, 12/16/08
"I've never understood this whole "AWD is great in the rain" stuff. How so? You can't get physically stuck in the rain like you can in the snow, and AWD doesn't increase your stability when you're moving, so what gives? I live in a place that actually gets rain on a regular basis, and I've never been even mildly inconvenienced when it rains. If the road is slick, you probably shouldn't give the whole "powering out of a tight corner" bit a rest, anyways. Hopefully someone will enlighten me, but otherwise this just seems like more of the thinking that has people in Southern climates thinking they Need 4/AWD because it snows every 5 years."
More points of driving contact with the ground = more traction. Even though you can't get stuck, there is less friction between the driving wheels (or any wheel for that matter) and the pavement.
sandcountry360 says:
09:03 AM, 12/16/08
"More points of driving contact with the ground = more traction."
So you can still accelerate 0-60 in .5 seconds, but you can't turn or slow down any faster. Seeing as how most accidents occur from an inability to slow down or turn fast enough, I'm failing to see how AWD is really doing the average Joe any good in the rain. And, just like in the snow, I think (evidenced by all the SUV crashes), that AWD actually does more harm than good, what with the false sense of security and all.
dougtheeng says:
09:49 AM, 12/16/08
^^ well it lets you turn better was well (traction). You are right about stopping. I also agree about the overconfidence. Then again, if you offered me AWD or FWD in snow, I know what I'd take.