How much if any damage to the car is caused buy driving on wet roads. Does it really matter if they get wet? What experiance have you guys had with the wet,water getting in,and how have you dealt with the probs. I've not had the car long and i dont think i can wait much longer for everywhere to dry up before i go out for a spin. I'm just worried about wrecking it. Thanks for any help givin.

I'm more worried about the salt getting onto the chassis than the wet

We try to avoid driving in the wet whenever possible. Although sometimes it's unavoidable and can actually be good fun. It won't particularly harm the vehicle but it will find areas of bare metal quicker

One thing to avoid at all costs is road salt. We never take the car out when the roads have been salted. Salt and aluminium is a bad combination...........

Phil

Drive mine in all weathers and have had the cockpit like a swimming pool. Don't be such a pansy!

my first drive was rather wet, had a couple of puddles coming up over the aeroscreen. they werent that deep, just when i hit them at 40, it all came up and over....totally missed us though!! car started today first time, seems okay!

I'm itching to get mine out, as above i've driven it when it's been peeing down, but i won't drive it with all the salt on the road, so i will wait until march when the rain has washed all the salt away.

I've done more than 3,000 miles in mine, in all weathers. I've even done a few trackdays in the rain.

Light rain is OK, most of it just gets deflected into my helmet by the aeroscreen. Car gets a quick wipe over with a chamois before being put away.

Heavy rain is a bit worse, tends to hit your chest and then run down the front of your waterproof jacket into your trousers!

Snow = bad! Snow gets flicked up off the front wheels, hits the rear arches and sort of avalanches into your lap. Chilly!

I have drilled a few 6mm dia holes in the ally floor, in the corners at the back to allow water to drain out. I also have a couple of holes in the bottom of the boot box.

Another thing to watch out for is water / electrics. I think wilkingj had some problems with water getting into his column mounted switchgear after a drive in heavy rain (remember these components are inside a normal Sierra!).

Finally, it will be other road users that is the most dangerous thing about driving in rain. Personally I'm never more alert than when I'm driving the 7 in bad weather / at night. Conversely most other drivers just seem to adopt a fixed stare watching their windscreen wipers go round, rather than the traffic conditions!

Mike

"Snow = bad! Snow gets flicked up off the front wheels, hits the rear arches and sort of avalanches into your lap. Chilly!
"

Could be worse - a few years back we were in a convoy of Robin Hoods on the motorway when we overtook a gritter!!! Ten minutes later it hailed hard!

Can second that Geoff (wilkinj) had some problems with his switchs after getting caught out in the rain (it was more like a monsoon) he also ended up with an inch or more of water in his cockpit .

Snow / hail is not nly bad, its bloody painful.

Biggest problem with wet is if you have soft bits inside. Carpets etc get soggy and take ages to dry out. Mine has no soft bits and holes drilled in floor. Done about 7K in it now and loads when wet. As above - avoid salty roads though.


If you drive all year round be prepared to repaint wishbones and more exposed areas at some point. Good excuse for winter project though and change of colour scheme.

Yes, I've had an inch of water sloshing about in the bottom of the car, and a couple of inches in the seats!

But I will still stay clear of any salt on the roads, otherwise anything goes, that said, snow, now thats brave!

Cheers

Ian

[Edited on 18/12/08 by mackei23b]

My Baptism on the road involved 4 hours driving mine to the SVA test in torrential rain. I had a backup car following but just in case I had documents in a map case and by the time I arrived they were floating in the passenger foot well! I had to wring my clothes out in the office as I hadn't bought any proper weather gear by then

Anyway that really tested the electronics and happy to report nothing failed and I've driven many times in th wet since. Only bummer as above was I had foam bench seats and they took a couple of weeks in the airing cupboard to dry out.

Oh and if I build another kit car again I either won't use powder coat or will build it to completion then strip it and finally powder coat it. I've had to strip a lot of power coat from my chassis where the wet has worked its way underneath due to all the holes I've subsequently drilled.

I love my seat pads for that very reason. They are just velcro'd in and easy to take in house to dry out.

hmmm with rain/road salt in mind is it worth spanding some time painting the bottom of my ally floor and sealing my rivits to protect my chassis???