Driving in the Rain

[Some guy]

I live in California, so rain is once every few months. I was wondering if anyone drives there D normally in the rain?

I have done it maybe twice when there is light chance of rain. It has not been a big deal, but am i babying the car to much?

[Timebender]

Good question and good timing, as we're expecting a torrential downpour tomorrow... I'd like to know as well.

[Jeff K]

I never drove mine in the rain. I actually took the wiper arms off, it looks better IMHO.

[krs09]

I do try to avoid rain completely... my wipers move VERY slow though soooo that could be why. I hate rust too.

[? ? ? ?]

I live in California, so rain is once every few months.

Until recently it was rain maybe once a year out here


When there's a chance of rain I never drive my D and always take my 2nd car, primarily because I spend an hour or so every weekend cleaning my car, and the last thing I want to do is take it out in the rain and have it get filthy after spending the time to clean it.

[Denverdelorean]

I live in California, so rain is once every few months. I was wondering if anyone drives there D normally in the rain?

I have done it maybe twice when there is light chance of rain. It has not been a big deal, but am i babying the car to much?

You are babying it too much. I avoid rain when I can (who 'likes' driving in any inclement weather), but I don't consciously head home if it rains. I even "gasp" leave it outside sometimes! The stainless has yet to stain! :-)

[Jonathan]

Drive the car "normally" or "normally" leave it at home if you know it's raining?

I'm not thrilled with driving the car in the rain, but if I'm coming back from somewhere and it's raining then it's driving in the rain for me.

It's just a car and the rain itself isn't the cause of rust on its own. A couple things that deter me from rain driving though are:

- glare on the windshield from a combination of a haze in the glass and the fact we are pretty low compared to other vehicles and their headlights.
- my car, maybe many, isn't as water tight as I would like it. It's tight in most places, but the last spot I haven't sealed up well enough is a leak that's somewhere beyond the top of the windshield and it ends up dripping right on my right thigh from the lip just up beyond the headliner. I keep towels in the car for that reason, but it's still not fun.
- the defrosting ability in my car is quite sucky and when you don't have A/C working and the windows you normally keep down a bit now kind of need to be rolled up, makes for a stuffy/hard to see drive home.

I'm not paranoid about the back end flying out in poor traction, but I won't push my luck trying to get home quick and often slow down a fair bit. The delay module on the wipers isn't too fantastic, but not a big deal to me. Fast, slow or off I guess is what we get. I don't drive my car as a DD so if I'm planning on going to a car show or out for a cruise and I know it's going to be raining, there likely isn't going to be a car show and I probably stay home. It rained on the way to DCS for example though and going through Detroit on I75 with the things mentioned above was really cute. That was a day for driving I wasn't willing to try and reschedule.

Not all bad though. I don't know too many other cars which you can have your door open and pretty much be outside your vehicle and still not get wet. Rain needs to be coming down more or less straight, but the gull wings provide a bit of a built in canopy.

[David T]

I try to avoid the rain too but sometimes while driving you can get caught in some. It pays to do the whole procedure as outlined in the Service Bulletin ST-33-12/81. It is probably the biggest SB in the whole book! If you haven't used your wipers in a long time you should probably replace the blades. If you don't use the washer the reservoir is probably full of slime and mud. Wash it out with some hot water. The hard part is getting the bucket out. Those little bolts rust in the rivenuts and then when you go to remove them the rivenuts spin in the fiberglass. You wind up having to cut their little heads off and replacing the rivenuts.

[AugustneverEnds]

The D is fine in the rain. As any car, whether you spin off into the scenery depends on the driver more than anything. I have driven through some downpours this summer and especially when negotiating poorly drained twisting back roads or tight looped highway ramps I just think of the old mantra about driving rear-engined cars: slow in, keep the throttle steady (don't back off midway through!) and power out once the wheels are pointed straight. To me driving the DMC-12 in the rain is a regular part of owning it.

Besides if everyone "knows" it is dangerous to drive a car from the early 80s with the engine in the rear and no traction control or electronic nannies, you might start to look like Ayrton Senna to your buddies!

[DMCMW Dave]

I try to avoid it (I'm not one of those folks who "likes" cleaning cars) but I think there is a rule that it rains either at or coming home from every car show.

Agreed with Jonathan, rain really isn't the problem, it's road salt around here, or other drivers who don't understand friction.