AMGsled

I've searched everywhere to see about how the E55 behaves in the rain but didn't find much except a 5 year old thread.

This car scares the **** out of me in the rain. I was going barely 50-55mph on the interstate with tiny puddles of rain on the road and the rear end gets very loose. Now I've owned M3's in the past and I could go 70mph without feeling nervous.

This car is just ridiculously nerve-racking in the rain and I'm literally afraid to drive it in the rain as I don't want it to be in a ditch. I consider myself a very good driver but it just makes me nervous as hell driving this car in the rain. My girlfriend was so scared that she was gripping her cell phone so tightly playing a game to get her mind off how loose the rear-end is she broke the cover on it.

Anybody feel the same way or is there something seriously wrong with the suspension on my car? I know tires plays a big role but damn, it's ridiculous.

E55_GT3wheels

what tires do you have? I have absolutely no issue in the rain at all.

In the snow, thats another story but the tired I have are Z rated and not made for that so its not a fair statement to begin with I suppose...

aleksandar1099

tires play a HUGE role in this scenario...

about a year ago I spun out at 60mph, that god I did not hit the wall, It was raining pretty hard and I was not driving stupid or anything like that, but my tires on at that time had seen better days. After getting my new BF goodridge g-force's, The car is rock solid in the rain...

ExtremeSpeed5

have you tried winter/rain tires? the e55 is very torqey so even with winter tires it may be difficult to control

ExtremeSpeed5

comfort mode may help too

jpohl402

I have great tires- and have ZERO issues controlling my car in heavy rain and even fairly good snow??

Should NOT be a problem whatsoever - even due to it's "torqueyness"..........

500eguy

i am running the Continental Sport Contact 3 and car is stable and smooth at speed in the rain, zero problems.

bassn_07

I just purchased Toyo's T1R's and they worked flawless in the pooring rain. Then again even with my stock PS's I never had problem.

Gondon

Your rear tires are shot. Im pretty sure you have no thread left. Put it up on the lift and see for yourself.

I couldnt drive my car at 40 mph on the highway in the rain, my car rear end would slip and I was always like WTF is this, then I saw my tires and it made sense. One time big storm, I just pulled off until it cleared up. I was always wondering is it the S-Class cant handle in the rain? Got another set of tires, no issues at all now.

This is why I had no traction in the rain.

BenzoBoi

With the stock conti's...I was scared *****less of driving in the rain. Like you, I would hit small puddles and the car would feel like it was skipping...and that was when the car was stock!!!

After I changed tires, it was all good. The T1R's on my HRE's work FLAWLESSLY. I could be going 90 and feel totally planted...(I usually don't drive past 75 in the rain just to be on the safe side ) and the Eagle F1 tires on my Renntech's performed near flawlessly. ( I only say that cause I bought the wheels used. Tires still had ALOT of thread left at the time of purchase...and they still do because I have only had the Renntechs on for a couple weeks before I put the HRE's on...)

Wryfox

Syock conti's suck, even in dry..my rears were like pinwheels. Mich SP2s are from heaven...great in dry and wet..get some.

kip

This is absolutely not how the car should be. Your tires are crap. I drive the car and my girlfriend in any weather in Finland: Horrible snowstorms, ice and a lot of rain. I drive 19 in the summer and 18 in the winter and the car is stable as a rock.

Timeless

+1 to that.

Viper55

No car should feel like that in the rain if you are just cruising. You must have ****ty tires or it's all in your head.

Michael_s

Toyo T1R's here and my fiance drives the car a lot, most of the time in fact. It rains pretty bad in FL and we have had no issues in the rain. 100% your issue is your tires. What tires are you running? Change them out ASAP because the 55 is very solid in the rain.

driftmon

Coming from experience on this idea, but also check to see if your tires are directed the right way.

I've had my Evo's back tires directed the wrong way when it came out of a shop, I didn't notice it until in the rain, it felt really weird. It didn't give me confidence and it was a AWD car. I checked the tires and they had put the rear tires on wrong so I swapped the rear tires left-right and it got stable again.

deaguero

My choice = Michelin PS2's

You'll never think about rain again.

Change your tires. I have owned 2 E55's for almost 6 years of driving
including rain on long trips and after dumping the Continentals I never had a problem.

LOVEMYBS

Never had a problem with rain but SNOW OHHHHH, that's a different story. I'll stay home and not go to work if there is an inch or more of snow on the ground! BTW, I had the new Goodyear Eagle F1 ZR-rated all-season tires on my CLK55 and liked them a lot. Very quiet, very "grippy", and lots of performance in the corners. When its time they are my first choice. I've also used Toyo all season ZR's on my BMW's that were also very good.

AMG Speed

I have had 3 AMGs, all in the Seattle area where all we have is rain, rain, and more rain. I have never had a single problem or scare. My E55 has Continental tires which, while not my favorite, have been fine in the rain. Just leave your traction control on and make sure your tires are not bald. Unless you're a nervous driver with no wet-weather experience there should be no troubles whatsoever. I've even driven my car in the snow a few times with the stock performance tires! It's totally insane and you should see the looks I get. Rain? Really, it's a total non issue.

coolcamden

You spoke in jest right? If that's the case, wouldn't you supplement your wife's X3 with a mate for such cases?

NXtremeJeep

I have brand new vredsteins and rarely have issues in the rain. Last night it wasn't raining but the highway wasn't completely dry and I punched it at 85 and the tires broke loose. But typically it handles great in the rain with the vreds.

newton22

Oh come on, ESP and IRS suspension. Nuts need to be bigger.

gonzjed

With PS2's, you forget its even raining.

l3iGD

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S = get some

acuteperformance

Your tires are most likely shot, either get a set of PS2's or if you don't wanna shell out that kind of money for tires I'd say get a set of Vredestein tires. Awesome bang for your buck.