Cabriolet in the rain.. Recommendations?

[diego_demarco]

Good morning!

I have my 2013 A5 cabriolet! Setup is H&R oe springs! 19' Vossen cv7's and continental dws 06's for tires (which are supposedly good for the rain) I know that the cabriolet will never have as much stability as the coupe but I'm wondering what I can do to make it more stable while driving in the rain!

The other day I was driving 55-65mph on the highway and every little puddle of water I went through would give the sensation that my car was trying to hydroplane! My car has 59k miles on it!

Any recommendations?

[bakedziti]

What's the width on those CV7s?

[bknewtype]

I don't see why a cab is any less capable than a hardtop in the rain, except possibility of water leaking in. I don't think performance is effected as long as u have a good driving height with tires

[Chanman94]

If anything the cabriolet should be better in the rain, it's heavier so you can cut through the water better. Less likely of hydroplaning.

[theedge111]

Lol

[diego_demarco]

I believe 9.5..

[NoMojo31]

The problem is that you should be driving a Porsche.

[diego_demarco]

lol I've had my eye on the gt3 and gt4 but this is my 3rd Audi in 3 years so I need to keep this one for at least 1 more year!

In other news now we've spotted some sort of oil leak yet I haven't sensed any performance issue!

[Optiondoc]

This isn't a real question is it?

Get new tyres if you can't traction. Nothing to do with the roof.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine mobile app

[PEM]

Yeah the first thing you should check is how much depth you still have on those tires

[diego_demarco]

The dws 06's are supposed to be one of the best in the rain! they still have about 50% on them!

[Mops@Nemesis]

60mph and little puddles causing that is very odd.

[diego_demarco]

Yea I thought so! I know my suspension needs some work but I was surprised lol

[Sweep]

Suspension should not affect rain traction unless you are severely chambered (which you aren't). If you're hydroplaning you are going too fast, the puddles are deeper than you think, or you don't have enough tread on your tires.

[diego_demarco]

I stand corrected! Looks like the rears have plenty of thread but the fronts are around 30%

[kmarei]

If anything the cabriolet should be better in the rain, it's heavier so you can cut through the water better. Less likely of hydroplaning.

I think the center of gravity is lower
assuming you have the top down :)

[chrissurfr]

I would suggest putting the top up in the rain lol

[oohnoo]

Hose from turbo to intercooler? If so it's your turbo leaking oil. Pull hose off and you'll see more. It's pretty common with turbo's cars...

lol I've had my eye on the gt3 and gt4 but this is my 3rd Audi in 3 years so I need to keep this one for at least 1 more year!

In other news now we've spotted some sort of oil leak yet I haven't sensed any performance issue!

[diego_demarco]

Yea it was just that hose that needs to be replaced! It was cut! Yea on windy days with the top down the convertible is definetely a handful !

[superswiss]

Hydroplaning is largely a factor of how deep the water is, speed, thread depth and tire width. Wider tires hydroplane easier for example. If your front tires are down to 30% it's time to replace them for the rainy days, or rotate your tires since the rears still have plenty of thread. At 3/32" a tire isn't able to dispel enough water.

[Chanman94]

Hydroplaning is largely a factor of how deep the water is, speed, thread depth and tire width. Wider tires hydroplane easier for example. If your front tires are down to 30% it's time to replace them for the rainy days, or rotate your tires since the rears still have plenty of thread. That's not enough thread to dispel enough water, or you need to slow down significantly.

Wouldn't that make it worse though? Putting the less tread tires in the rear on a rear bias car :/ Sounds like diego just needs to buy new tires.

[superswiss]

Wouldn't that make it worse though? Putting the less tread tires in the rear on a rear bias car :/ Sounds like diego just needs to buy new tires.

Yes, the common wisdom is to put the better tires on the rear as oversteer is harder to control than understeer. However, the front tires generally hydroplane first as they have to push most of the water out of the way. I agree, the safest approach is to just replace all four tires in his situation. Since I pretty much go through a set of tires per year, I try to put the new set on before the rainy season starts here, but to get most out of my tires I generally rotate the ones with more thread to the front leading up to the winter rain before I replace them. That has personally served me well.

[JamesRS5]

Hydroplaning can only really be down to the tires but I'd also have the wheel alignment checked by a garage who know what they are doing when you get the tires replaced.