Hey all,

Just purchased a 2003 M3 at the end of December. I had it garaged until yesterday waiting for the snow to clear up. I drive it between NYC and my country home in the Catskills. Snow has pretty much melted, so I decided to drive it into the city today.

The weather was awful with heavy rain and lots of flooding. I did not have any problems driving it down the Thruway towards the city. I averaged 75-80 in the rain with no issues. Once I got onto the NJ Garden State Pkwy however, the rear end started to fishtail as I was driving. Surface is blacktop and I was doing about 60. It was raining at the time but no worse than it was when I was on the Thruway. Very disconcerting. Had to keep it below 50mph and even then it would jerk every so often due to the wet road.

The tires are Michelen Pilot Sport II and they only have a couple thousand miles at most. I would have to confirm that with the paperwork, but the previous owner (very honest) indicated they were replaced not long before he sold me the vehicle. Visual inspection shows adequate tread. I have a '94 E36 and never experienced anything like this with that car.

I assume this is the tires? It was about 50 degrees, so certainly not an icing problem. I had previously driven the car in the snow back in December and found it pretty much useless which is why I parked it until now.

Any suggestions, feedback would be appreciated!

I have ps2s on my car never had a problem but I drive slow in the rain usually not more than 60mph

Sounds like your RTABs (rear trailing arm bushings), which produce the sensation of fishtailing/rear end floatiness. How many miles does your car have?

A problem caused by worn RTABs may or may not be worse in the rain, though; I'm not sure.

It could be that the RTABs are shot or that it was just too cold for the PS2s which are a max performance summer tire.

It could be that the RTABs are shot or that it was just too cold for the PS2s which are a max performance summer tire.
I'd say it's a combination of the two.

I found the PS2's to be very good in the wet. 50 degrees is a bit cool for those tires, but it was probably no cooler than during the first part of your trip. The rear toe setting could be an issue.

I dont think PS2s are that bad in cold weather. I have driven in 37F when it was raining at around 75mph without any issues. Infact I dont have winter setup so I am running on PS2s this winter.
Might be something else.

Most likely either low tire pressure or bad RTAB's, or both.

Turns out it was just the tires. The tread had worn so fast during the last 1000 miles that there wasn't enough grip left. No issues since they were replaced recently.

Thanks all.