chrisinbc

My 19 year old daughter wants to buy a 2001 Mustang V6 Automatic, however, I live in Vancouver, Canada where it rains nearly every day of the year and the roads are wet most of the time. Several girls in my office used to own Mustangs but sold them quickly because the rear end would slide out and lack of traction made for a scarey ride on our wet roads. They had a blast in the dry and a nightmare in the wet. May I ask all you fathers and brothers out there if you would recommend a Mustang with the climate/road conditions I am describing to your mothers/daughters/wives? She is furious at us that we are being cautious about a Mustang with its rear-wheel drive - light rear end combo. I just don;t want her wrecking her car or herself. What is the true story. Thanks! I will read every post.

jtowngt

cars are very loose in rear espcialy in wet conditions,trust me i have an 02 gt, they can be made a lil better with some added parts but to get back to your question no probly not unless willing to spend the extra money for parts i will list some basic traction mods below all are fairly cheep and will eliminate most of the sliding out

sub frame connectors
strut tower bar
and last but not least good tires
all can be found at summit racing.com
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golden_eye

As long as you respect the car, you shouldn't have problems in less than ideal conditions. Heck my truck, which I've had for almost 6 years now, is probably more dangerous in the wet seeing as it has comparable torque, and an even lighter rear. Basically, as long as you aren't an idiot behind the wheel you should be fine in a Mustang in the rain.

Chopper

Good tires is the key here.
A six isn't going to be as likely to go crazy in rain as an eight and I haven't had trouble in the rain.All cars used to be rear wheel drive so if they were inherently dangerous they wouldn't have survived this long.

Here's a link that can help.
http://www.tirerack.com/
Use the tire selection guide and look for a tire that gives good traction in rain.I have summer performance tires on my car and it does fine in the rain but I wouldn't push it any.Tires that are meant to run in rain,or less than perfect conditions,will have a more open tread and a softer tread compound for better traction.
Don't write off the Mustang yet.

GreyStang

I believe most years V6 Stangs had open rear differentials, whereas the V8 GT's had limited slip rear ends. Open diffs are actually better for driving in the rain because it's less likely BOTH rear tires will lose grip at the same power if you do something stupid like floor the throttle while cornering.

A V6 auto stang should work fine for your daughter. Make sure the tires are GOOD (no matter what car you wind up getting her)

dirt_mcgert

you could say that

67mustang302

Good tires do go a long way towards wet traction. With decent tires and decent driving my 67 does really well in the rain, and it has more power and less weight than a 2001 V6.

onesickstang01

i had an auto 01 v6. open rear diff made it almost impossible to slid out. good tires help alot. if you have rainy conditions year round then you can get a softer tire then usual and be fine without premature wear. also if it rains alot there than the roads shouldnt be too oily. down here in florida we have a problem where the oily roads turn very nasty when it first starts raining. its almost like ice. i used to live in iowa so i know real ice from wet roads but dont let the girl down if she wants a mustang. if you respect the car and have a safe setup on it you will be perfectly fine

MustangMan628

Personally, I say that a six bang stang with good tires and an experienced driver is more than fine in the rain. Especially if the car is a newer automatic. You can't really go too crazy with it as long as it's stock. I'm also not familiar with Vancouver though. Does it regularly snow? If it snows, then a Mustang might not be the best choice. Also, I'm assuming your daughter has at least a couple years of driving experience if she is 19. The hardest thing to get used to for most girls I've let drive my car is the steering. I switch between pickup trucks, FWD cars and RWD like my stang and T-bird so much that it doesn't bother me. The steering is a lot looser on a RWD than a FWD or SUV. If I was you, I would test drive it yourself first, and then ride along with your daughter through realistic traffic conditions. If you are buying from a dealer, I'm sure they will have no problem with this. In the end, if she test drives the car, she might not like how it handles or drives. Hope that helped.

Doomtroop

I own a 2002 GT and live in montreal, quebec. We might not have as much rain as you guys but we sure do have some snow and ice!!

Last year, I drove my car during the winter without any problems. Like any other car, I think that it mostly comes down to how you "educate" her on driving in the rain/snow.

I dont think that the v6 is a bad car in the rain at all as long as she takes her time (but that applies to any car).