Caught In the Rain

[Murray993]

Started raining on the way home, had the hood on but wasn't expecting the screen to mist up quite that quickly. First time in the rain, hopefully the last. Is misting a normal experience in the rain?

[allen l]

Don't you have a heated windscreen? If so, turn it on, wipe it once with a cloth and it won't mist up again. Try to drive with the rear window open.

Edited by allen l on Thursday 23 September 21:36

[DougBaker]

Don't worry about the rain or you will never get to anywhere interesting in the car. We did the Stelvio pass in the snow a few years ago and I would go again tomorrow if I could.

Some photo's of that trip http://homepage.ntlworld.com/douglas.baker/

Make sure you have a goretex jacket and a decent hat as well as clear glasses to stop the rain drops hitting your eyes. then just leave the roof off when you can. Also a good idea to carry a chamois sponge as the the inside of the screen will get quite wet when driving in reasonable amounts of rain.

Edited by DougBaker on Thursday 23 September 21:54

[Murray993]

I didn't think of taking a screen wipe. I did have the rear window open/unzipped and pushed the door ajar to clear the screen. I like the gortex jacket route, I might just try that as the hood made an escape attempt at one point in the journey. Still I enjoyed the drive.

[Glasgow2]

DougBaker said:

We did the Stelvio pass in the snow a few years ago and I would go again tomorrow if I could.

Some photo's of that trip http://homepage.ntlworld.com/douglas.baker/

Nice pics..... I had my first caterham for a month now. I drove many times in the rain, no problem at all... But not sure yet about the snow. How would you clean the car from salt/grit? did you have problem sliding with such light car with rear drive?

[Murray993]

Did you have a hood on? Mine is basically a track car with and MOT so no heater etc but does have a screen. I am now tempted to get rid of the screen and just drive with a full face helmet :-).

[Gingerbread Man]

As mentioned, rolling the back screen down does help to some extent, but not 100%. Either turn the heated screen switch on and it'll clear and not come back, or wipe the screen dry at first to speed things up. I carry a chamois leather at arms reach to dry off a wet screen/ doors/ seats when the car has been caught in the rain come the morning/ mid drive.

[Cock Womble 7]

Murray993 said:

Did you have a hood on? Mine is basically a track car with and MOT so no heater etc but does have a screen. I am now tempted to get rid of the screen and just drive with a full face helmet :-).

Do this.

[DougBaker]

Luckily the snow was not settling on the road so grip was as good as any wet road. I did buy tyres for wet grip rather than track day performance knowing that we were going to be touring with the car.

They don't salt roads in the Alps but do use grit which you can hear gently bouncing off various bits of the car as you drive about.

[allen l]

Glasgow2 said:

did you have problem sliding with such light car with rear drive?

A day out in Germany. The salty winter did't leave the car in a perfect 'as new' condition. Frankly, I don't really car, because it's a car. When the time comes I can always bring it away for a new paintjob/ chassis / whatever. In the meantime I simply try to enjoy it as much as possible.
I put winter tires on, though. Makes driving a bit easier on the slopes.

[Glasgow2]

allen l said:

Frankly, I don't really car, because it's a car. When the time comes I can always bring it away for a new paintjob/ chassis / whatever. In the meantime I simply try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Allen, I like your attitude...... I always said I'm going to do the same. HOWEVER, after I bought my first Caterham last month , I fall in love with her I now spend lots of time caring and looking after her. not sure what to do when the winter arrive

Edited by Glasgow2 on Saturday 25th September 10:23

[GetCarter]

Murray993 said:

Did you have a hood on? Mine is basically a track car with and MOT so no heater etc but does have a screen. I am now tempted to get rid of the screen and just drive with a full face helmet :-).

I've had R500s with screen and aero screen and you get a lot less wind buffeting without the screen. At any speed the rain is pushed up and over the top of your skid lid.

[ewenm]

OP - yes, screen steaming up quickly is normal, especially if you and/or the interior is a bit wet. As said, wipe it with a cloth, turn on the heated screen and it should be fine. If the roof is up I usually drive with the back window down to get some decent airflow. You can also un-pop the bottom of the door, use your elbow to push it out slightly and create more airflow that way too.

If the rain isn't too hard and you're driving between 50 and 70mph you'll hardly get wet with the roof down (and a screen rather than aeroscreen). Slower than that and the rain doesn't make it all the way over the top, faster and the air vortex will spray the inside of the screen, hard rain (thunderstorm levels) just gets everywhere.

I wouldn't worry about driving in the rain, I've done thousands of miles in all weather conditions from 40C+ to torrential rain to -5C and heavy snow. Just take it easy on the throttle

[chris_speed]

Re steaming up - I take a towel in the car with me, as I haven't got a heated screen (yes I know that's an MOT failure)

[Murray993]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am fairly new to Caterham ownership and I wouldn't let a bit of rain put me off. I suspect I will be asking quite a few questions, next is likely to be where the sensor for the oil pressure is, although I am trying to work that one out on my own with Google at the moment.

[ewenm]

Start with finding the oil filter...

[BertBert]

chris_speed said:

as I haven't got a heated screen (yes I know that's an MOT failure)

I don't think so!
Bert

[chris_speed]

BertBert said:

chris_speed said:

as I haven't got a heated screen (yes I know that's an MOT failure)

I don't think so!
Bert

The plain glass (without demisting elements) is listed as an MOT failure on the Caterham site - I have always thought previously this was because there was no means of demisting.

[redmire]

I picked my Daughter up from Gatwick on Sunday, i had the top down as it was only drizzling but dark.
Halfway there it was starting to pour, i was struggling getting good vision through a heated screen?
It wasn't the misting but seemed to be the upright angle of the screen?
I seriously struggled to see the give way lines etc at roundabouts and the like!!

Didn't find it very pleasurable because of not feeling in control, yet i love the rain late summer!...Shame!

Don't quite trust my loud pedal control in the wet yet but i am getting there!

I shall hesitate to travel in the dark wuilst raining again..too much guesswork!

[allen l]

How are the wipers? Use something like Rain X, also. You'll be fine...