i was showing the car to a friend. we decided to go for a short drive. i took him down this road which is about 2 miles long (2 lane country road and tree lined for most of its lenght) with lots of tight twisties. i have driven this road may times in the past and the turns are posted 15mph.

i have read many times "dont lift off in a turn".

BUT, i had to and i didnt see another choice so im here to ask what SHOULD i do if i get in too fast in a corner and need to scrub off speed??

so we start the drive and i do the first 2 sets of S's without drama. my friend comments how the car feels absolutely glued to the pavement.

we finish that section and have a 200 yard straight and i goose it and as i approach the next turn, i suddenly see the curvature of the bend and realized i was coming in too fast.

the car started to slide a little and i got tense cause there were trees on both sides and i let off the gas and the rear came around me. in the apex of the turn, i had sled off all the way across the oncoming lanes and the 2 rear tires were in the grass while the front tires were barely clinging on to the pavement.

all the nannies were ON. i didnt get close enough to hit anything and i gave it some gas and pulled out of the sideways posture.

i drove up to a clearing to inspect the car and everything looked fine. took it up to about a 100mph to make sure the alighnment was ok and that checked out as well.

went home and checked my shorts and here i am.

how should i have handled it?

 

Bara, glad you and your friend are OK. I have not done enough track days yet so I will default to the experts.....mdrums, northvan, etc?

 

So you were already in the turn when you realized you were too fast? Instead of following your instincts I have heard keeping the power on and power steering through the turn, drifting essentially, (control the slide) could have worked. But I do not have much experience with this. I am sure someone with some track experience will chime in.

Jason

 

Best advice would be to take some track days... I know that's not what you want to hear, but it will solve all of your problems. (Trees, other traffic, car control, etc.)

But, it is good to see you and your friend are ok.

-brendan

 

As long as the car feels okay and drives straight without any funny noises I think you are okay.

I'd really suggest that you go to your local PCA AutoX. There you will learn how to slide the car, how to react to different situations, how to gather it back. Great way to constantly exceed your current limits and strive to the next one.

Then you can take that to the track and when you slide at 80 you'll know what to do.

......keep your foot into it.

 

Opposite lock, keep on the throttle and pray that the rear tires will hook up. If you realize that you've gone into the the turn too hot after the fact, that's probably the only thing to do.

 

thanks guys.

i noticed i was too fast on the approach. there was a slight hill, just enough to hide the shape of the curve ahead, and when i crested that hill, i saw how tight the turn coming up was so i actually tried to save it right before the entrance to the turn.

 

i thought about doing something like this but all i could think about was those trees and how little run off room i had.

its funny how you can think in warp speed in this kind of situation. i though what if i try some opposite lock trickery but the looming trees on either side of the road zapped any will i had to try to touch the gas pedle again.

i didnt get on the gas again until i already had a totatled car and possible injuries flash in my mind and the car had slowed down to a harmless speed.

never have i been scared shxtless in my life in a car.

when i got the car back to an open road, even taking it to about a 100 was a little tense because i had not cooled of just yet from this incedent

 

i got into a curve too fast and just held on steady thru the curve. There were ditches on both sides of the road. Lucky for me it worked.

 

It's not a safe thing to run through trees with 15MPH limits posted but I won't preach to you .

If you go into a turn too fast it's already too late .

I am glad you both are OK .

 

Get some training is the best advice! but just a little thing I do on the track and off if i need to scrub a little speed off..I just use my left foot and gradually apply the brakes...just a thought.....

 

getting some training is probably the best idea. hell im afraid to drive it now. getting on the gas, i found out, takes ***** of steel when all you want to do is slow down and avoid hitting something.

i might take the car next to an open parking lot and play with it and then onto autox or something similar

 

From your description you were making a right turn so GTSilver997 is pretty much on target, but not all the way to a lock since your rears were in the grass. Different answer for a left turn, of course. From your address there have to be a # of good mod shops fairly close; spend $100 bucks and one of their experienced race drivers will spend an hour with you. Cheap and poorer alternative is wait for a rainy weekend day and go to a highschool parking lot and practice on your "skidpad" - then if you want to tear up your tires you can do it when it's dry.

By the way, what does "taking it up to 100mph" tell you about your alignment?

 

As much as possible, always work up to going "all out" on any track or road.

You should have known the sequence of turns and gradients prior to pushing it.

Otherwise you are putting your life in danger along with your trusting passengers.

Cheers,

Zubin.

 

yes, it was a slight left and then a sharp right turn. i got off the gas before the turn and as i got into the turn, turned the wheel to the right and applied a little brake. the whole car started to slide but the rear at 2x the rate.

when i stopped, i noticed scrub marks on the rear driver-side tire sidewall and some grass underneath. did the speed run to check for vibrations/noises and the car didnt pull