hey everyone. im a long time lurker that just bought my 996 c2 6 weeks ago. had it in the shop for body work for 3 weeks (new GT2 replica front bumper and wing) and only got it back last week.

yesterday was the first time i decided to track it. probably a bad idea.

after 5 laps, i turned off traction control and took one corner way too hot, saw a concrete wall comming towards me so i floored it at the apex to induce oversteer. it worked for a bit but ended up over-oversteering and i spun out. then the car; being back heavy ended up backing straight into the concrete wall at roughly 20-30kmph ( 15ish mph).

aparently upon impact (according to spectators) a ball of fire erupted from the rear trunk lid vents. then there was a small fire underneath the car where the exhaust pipes were; with white smoke comming up.

there was also fluid leaking and a small black round cap on the ground. i think there was a hose clamp or gasket lying on the ground too, cant remember too clearly.

the back bumper is definately a writeoff. wing is scraped, and the crash beam thing is bent (behind the bumperettes). It went inwards probably 2 or 3 inches. later on, i realized i couldnt close my sunroof anymore and there were two dents in my quarter pannels from the crash. I think the frame might be screwed.

Anyways 15 hours later after being towed to the shop, im now typing this.

Does anyone have any idea what could have caught on fire to give that fireball? I asked the shop what the fluid was and the guy told me the fluid was probably one of the engine mounts but im still not sure if thats flammable. If anyone could shed some light id appreciate it.

thanks

 

Wow, sorry to hear that. Sounds like your fine though! White smoke sounds like burning oil which coincidentally is flammable. Especially when the oil is hot from driving 5 laps on a track, when you slammed your engine into the wall, you probably split the oil pan or knocked something loose. Piping hot oil on the ground makes lots of flammable fumes and combined with metal on concrete could have made a spark which is enought to ignite the oil.

 

Take some pictures please. I am curious if it is crashed at a track event if insurance handles it the same? That has always been my concern about tracking it & hitting a wall. Sorry to hear about your accident & glad that you walked away from it unharmed.

 

im not sure if im gona claim insurance for it. here in ontario canada; any insurance claims will rape your premiums. im sure if they even got word of this my insurance would go up by 1k-1.5k per year.

about the engine oil ; the dipstick and the electronic measurement still says its full..?

 

Could have cracked/broken oil file tube. Then that could have started a small fire. It does sound like the frame is bent.
Glad you are OK. Let us know what the outcome is.

As far as insurance. It depends on YOUR policy. Some policy language says your policy is void at a track. Doesn't matter what your are doing. Some will say as long as it is not a race or timed event. Do NOT listen to your agent. You need to read YOUR policy. They are all different from state to state.

 

There is no frame in the car. It is a unibody single shell construction. So you can twist the body, which would impact the sunroof operation as it is not 100% true.

This is usually corrected with a laser straightening solution where they mount the body at structural mount points, calculated variance from stock, and "twist" the body back to true. It would also explain your quarter dents as these are considered part of the crumple zones so the impact translated that far down the body.

In Canada, most insurance companies don't cover track. However, it also doesn't raise your premiums as you were not on "Queen's roads". It is an offroad accident therefore no impact or coverage. You can get track insurance, but that is usually $5k an event. A great investment if you do have an accident...

Cheers
Aaron

 

It takes guts to swallow your pride and admit the errors you made. Hopefully you know what those are now, and can spare yourself and others similar woe. As a general rule: "both feet in" (full clutch and brake) when the laws of physics take over. Flat spotting some old tires is a lot cheaper than even minor bodywork -esp when concrete is involved! I hope this first result does not discourage you from rebuilding and attending future DE or performance driving schools. As for smoke colour: white is coolant, and black is oil. The coolant tank is on driver rear and is vulnerable and brittle. Replacement is a couple hundred bucks (and depending on age of your car, may have been a necessary TSB anyway). Google the parts you need and you may find a wrecking yard in the States that can get you good as new in a jiffy.

 

I was there. Glad to hear you are okay, eye witnesses say you just kissed the wall. So let's hope your repair bill is not too steep.

Fix your car and do the driver training.

Words of advice, dont do your first track day with a bunch of friends, the temptation to overdrive is just too high

Don't try to set your killer laps at the beginning of the day.
Learn your car,
Learn the track,
Go out and warm stuff up, check your tire pressures,
Understand your braking points,
let the more experienced drivers pass and learn their lines etc.

When you leave the course you MUST exit before the next lap. Partly to ensure there is no damage, partly just to calm down.

Don't confuse your cars ability with your ability, there are plenty of guys in miatas and civics that will clean your clock, no matter how much power you have.

Best of luck, hopefully you get it sorted without too much hardship.

 

oh man you were there? thats embarrasing :/

i remeber the lap before the crash you were on my tail while i was struggling to keep myself from going into the grass

anyways i just heard from my friends aparently it was a pretty sweet drift until the concrete wall part