I've convinced myself that to drive my nice cars (599 and others) in the wet is a waste of mileage. And, I hate putting them away dirty Don't get me wrong, if I get caught out in a rain shower, I don't get upset. Just don't deliberately drive them in the rain or on wet roads. I just think the journey in the wet isn't as special. The power is much hard to use, and best saved for a dry day. That means I did 3,000 miles last year. Do I need to change my thinking on how I use these cars?
I believe that these cars are meant to be driven. Damn the miles! I drive my cars in 2 ways: 1. Shorter spirited drives almost exclusively in the dry 2. Longer road-trips with a destination in mind For #1 above, if I get caught in the rain, so be it but I won't go spirited driving with this much power on wet roads....too much to risk For #2, I just get in and drive. Weather is part of the journey and the cars role is to get me to the destination in the most enjoyable way possible. FWIW, YMMV Jim
There speaks the Californian! I'm in Scotland, so in a different bag. Contrary to popular opinion, we do occasionally get nice weather, but its also true to say that driving in the wet is just something you need to make peace with if you want to get some decent miles out of the car. My garage complains that the suspension components are dirty when it comes to service time, but frankly I'm not doing anything with the car that it wasn't deigned for.
I drive my 612 in the dry if l can, it is however designed to be driven in all weather. If it rains whilst driving then so be it, that's nature.
I drive my 612 in the rain. It's not my first choice for a rainy day car, but if I have a reason to drive it, I do. I do try to avoid snow and ice, though. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree with your sentiments. I prefer to drive my 612 in dry weather. But I decided after trying to preserve my previous Ferrari from all rain that this time I was not going to worry about whether it "might" rain during my next out-of-county drive. I am driving about 3000 miles per annum just as you are. If I get caught in the rain, the only significant penalty is that I have to wash it again.
I like this thinking... and it aligns my thinking. A few months ago I had to go make a 100-mile round trip to London to have dinner. Drove to the restaurant, parked right out front. Felt almost Steve McQueen cool. I guess that's my "Longer road-trip with a destination in mind" scenario. Yes it rained on the way home, but it was still the perfect car for the perfect evening.
I’ve only Porsches and Fcars so I’m sriving them daily, even winter. So it’s no problem for me. Wysłane z iPhone za pomocą FerrariChat
I also have Porsches and a Ferrari 612. But 3 of the Porsches are all wheel drive and the 612 isn’t so if I expect rain then the all wheel drive cars gets the mission usually the Cayenne or Pano. The other cars I often hand wash myself so a bit more reluctant to gets those cars in wet/dirty conditions.
I put all season tires on my 612 so that I could drive mine in rain and very cold weather. I have cars with summer performance tires and they don't like very cold weather.
When I'm local I generally wouldn't take my 612 out when it's raining. Mainly because then I'd have to wash it. However, we've taken two trips to Florida and three to Canada with it, and one trip to Arizona, so you get the weather you get. One time we went to FL for the Cavallino Classic. As we were on the NJ turnpike it started snowing. It was collecting on the grass but not on the highway. I had an anxious 1 hour there until we drove out of it. If it had started to collect on the highway I would have gotten off and waited it out.
I generally only drive the 599 in the rain when coming or going or at a car show. When I take it on the road I try to keep it as dry as possible.
All my Porsche’s are turbos and 3 are all wheel drive so just different alternatives. But the ones I hand wash I try not to drive in poor weather just because I am lazy about hand washing my cars. The fact I have bad knees and back enters in the decision matrix as well.
I don't usually go out on rainy days just because I hate to have to dry the car off when I get it back in the garage. but if it rains when I'm out... that is ok too. I've been caught coming back from the beach this year in monsoon like conditions and I was surprised at how well the car handled... those wide tires on Ga. Highways with lots of ruts worried me. but it ran great - I did put it in low grip mode to be sure. my only complaint is the wiper system has a mind of its own... super fast when the rain is not as bad... and then it slows down when it's pouring ... then speeds up it's weird. I had the light sensitivity too high it would switch lights on and off depending on how dark the clouds were... this was really strong rain in Middle Ga... like 6" an hour stuff... I was a bit worried about flooded roads at one point but it was not an issue... however cleaning the car afterward is a nightmare....
I can't speak for whether the wiper sensor in my 599 is erratic or not, but if I do get caught in the rain, I always love how marvellously engineered the wipers are on the 599!
Usually I don't go out if its raining or the weather forecast is predicting rain. However, for a couple of times, I already drove the 612 during pouring rain on the way back after a road trip. I was cautions and adapted the driving style... felt as safe as on any other car - except near trucks due to the low height of the car. My car is on Michelins and is a pre-oto, so it has no wet mode (that I know of). Image Unavailable, Please Login
There is no "wet mode" on the OTO, but the traction control does do a pretty good job of keeping you out of trouble. Personally, I like my 612 to have a protective coat of dirt and dust, but that's just me.