1) The Kuhmo Ecsta ASX tires are very good wet weather tires 2) Cold rain + 328 radiator == steam clouds. Cold rain + 328 motor bay == steam clouds. Rain makes the 328 look like it's on fire
i've been running them for about a year now and i'm very pleased with them. as for wet performance i couldn't say as we don't get enough rain to really judge them. i think i've only driven in the rain once and that was for about a half mile.
When I drove my friends Mondial back from Oregon in March, it was pouring most of the way. He has 225/55(?) Michelins. We shared most of the way, but I think he felt a little safer with me driving in the rain. So I did the bulk of that. I've driven my Alfa in all kinds of weather for 12 years and also have Michelins. I know those tires are really hard and probably not too good for the rain. But they're okay on my Alfa. Or maybe I'm just used to it. But on the Mondial... Man! It was SO squirrely, it really made me nervous at some points. Especially in the dark. I remember trying to get in the fast lane on 580, between Dublin and Tracy (East bay California) and finally gave-up and headed for the slow-lane and 50mph... Maybe it's the car. Maybe it's the tires. I still don't know. I think my shoulders were sore for a week after that ride! It was still fun though...
I used to drive my 328 rain or shine, and never really had that issue, in either fine drizzle or downpours that strained the wipers on "high". It was a bit tail-happy on older VRs, but it's fine on S03s. Fog clouds tend to come from humidity shifts. With high humidity, I sometimes had the windscreen fog up after pulling out of a controlled environment garage. (The same way my driving glasses fog if I kept them in the computer room air conditioning all day.) The engine bay gets pretty hot, but it shouldn't be hot enough to cause actual steam. (The exhaust isn't where water falls on it.) The one time I got into heavy snow with the 328, there was a bit of evaporation fog off the engine cover. When the old Fiat 124 would drip oil from the distro seal onto the exhaust -- now that looked like an engine fire.
The good thing about the steam clouds is that they mask the white smoke clouds caused by spilling a little oil when you add a quart.
