rain driving
As a long-time racing driver, and wet weather specialist... let me try to explain a couple things about the dynamics of driving on a wet surface. We all know what hydroplaning is; what most folks dont understand is that a heavier vehicle isnt any less succeptible!! The thing about our diesel Rams that kills our wet performance is weight-bias... that is, the percent weight over the front vs. the rear. It's much like a Porsche 911 in that a large portion of the weight is over one end making wet handling... umm... interresting. Keep a mental picture in your head when it rains: the vehicle is just a machine that will only REACT to your inputs, it doesnt do things on its own. So what you want to do is be gentle and smooth with all your inputs: steering, braking, shifting and accellerating. RPMs are your enemy. Short-shift everything and *squeeze* the throttle rather than pounce on it. Your hands on the wheel should be soft and gentle with no abrupt herky-jerky inputs. I tell my students that it's sorta like how you treat a lady... . if you are soft and gentle and nice to her, she will do nice things for you... . if you are rough and violent, she does bad things back!