A&Q about Lotus
Q:
So I was out tonight, sporting around the backroads of Northern Kentucky when I totally lost control of my car. I was going up a hill (about 30 degree incline) with a nice sweeping left hand arc. I was about half way through the curve when I noticed a wet spot where water had been running across the road. As soon as I exited the wet spot (not during) I noticed the my tires where slipping BAD. The back end kept coming around, of course I over corrected, and ended up facing the other side of the road and then finally got control. I immediately let off the gas and pushed in the clutch so I wouldn't continue the slide. I probably should have shot off both sides of the road on either of the slides but I think its cold enough here (upper 40s) that my tires weren't getting traction to rocket me either into some bushes or over a drop off and into a creek. I swear my car was perpendicular to the road...twice.
So the question is...what would have been the best way to handle that situation. I almost sh*t my pants (especially when heading to towards the creek). That probably wasn't the best driving technique.
A:
Originally Posted by rush
So I was out tonight, sporting around the backroads of Northern Kentucky when I totally lost control of my car. I was going up a hill (about 30 degree incline) with a nice sweeping left hand arc. I was about half way through the curve when I noticed a wet spot where water had been running across the road. As soon as I exited the wet spot (not during) I noticed the my tires where slipping BAD. The back end kept coming around, of course I over corrected, and ended up facing the other side of the road and then finally got control. I immediately let off the gas and pushed in the clutch so I wouldn't continue the slide. I probably should have shot off both sides of the road on either of the slides but I think its cold enough here (upper 40s) that my tires weren't getting traction to rocket me either into some bushes or over a drop off and into a creek. I swear my car was perpendicular to the road...twice.
So the question is...what would have been the best way to handle that situation. I almost sh*t my pants (especially when heading to towards the creek). That probably wasn't the best driving technique.
A:
Hmmm... You will get 100 different responses. Here is mine. (1) Don't drive fast on even the AD07s if your tires are cold. (2) Respect the fact that off-camber hills can be treacherous. (Sounds like a possible off-camber situation). (3) When putting the power down on a patch of water, assume traction will be next to nothing. (4) Slow down on twisty roads where running water might be a possibility.
This could have happened to anyone. That sad, if you're going slow enough, even an Elise can put the power down on a patch of water, going uphill on an off-camber turn and not get into trouble. The "best way to handle the situation" might be to develop a 6th sense on when you might be in the middle of deceptively bad driving conditions.
Sounds like you did OK once you began to spin, though. Could have been much worse, it sounds.
Regardless, once the spin is beyond recovery, go hard on the brakes and the clutch ("two feet in").
A:
Apart from driver training, you have to realise thats its a public road ffs!!!
You are lucky it was a wet spot and not a broken car or fallen log or oil or whatever else
If you have a blind corner DRIVE like its a blind corner especially if you cant handle the car in oversteer situation!
A:
Originally Posted by Val
Apart from driver training, you have to realise thats its a public road ffs!!!
You are lucky it was a wet spot and not a broken car or fallen log or oil or whatever else
If you have a blind corner DRIVE like its a blind corner especially if you cant handle the car in oversteer situation!
yeah i'm a moron. i knew there were no cars coming because you can see other's headlights...thought i was safe...didn't expect to lose it like that on a wet spot. have driven over tons of spots like that before but like i said...its a bit colder outside tonight than before...anyway i'm retarded......
A:
Val,It doesn't sound to me like he was doing anything bad or racing, he just lost control. Sounds like a blind corner wouldnt have been too bad if he hand't lost it due to the water and cold temps/tires.
I don't imagine the water he encountered was a normal thing, we've had a lot of rain lately, probably was run off where there usually isn't any.
I'd just maybe tone it down a bit. I once was out playing around and came around a corner where someone had just bush hogged the ditch and ALL the grass was in the road. I began sliding and there was nothing I could do..fortunately my tires found purchase before it was too late. It's just one of those things that can happen. As such I'm somewhat "chill" when I drive backroads.
Glad nothing happened to ya!
PS, have you ever autocrossed? We race a lot down here in Louisville and even visit Cinci region every once in awhile. Autocross is the perfect place to perfect your spin out technique.
A:
Originally Posted by rush
So the question is...what would have been the best way to handle that situation. I almost sh*t my pants (especially when heading to towards the creek). That probably wasn't the best driving technique.
Hey, you kept it on the road... Good job Maybe you did the best that was possible.
Hook up with some autox's and you'll get the 'feel' for how to quickly regain control when things suddenly go wrong. No book learning or reading a post like 'you should have swung the wheel to opposite lock then whipped it back to center as the wheels bit blah blah' will do you any better than getting real life experiance on the cone course.
have fun
A:
Originally Posted by rush
So I was out tonight, sporting around the backroads of Northern Kentucky when I totally lost control of my car. I was going up a hill (about 30 degree incline) with a nice sweeping left hand arc. I was about half way through the curve when I noticed a wet spot where water had been running across the road. As soon as I exited the wet spot (not during) I noticed the my tires where slipping BAD. The back end kept coming around, of course I over corrected, and ended up facing the other side of the road and then finally got control.
That sounds so familiar to what happened to me in my Esprit. Except I hit a patch of loose dirt on the shoulder instead of water. And instead of regaining control I went through a fence.
These cars normally hold the road so well, they make you think you're invincible. It's when your tire hits something on the road. . . water, ice, oil, loose dirt or gravel, a small mammal, etc. . . that's when you find out how quickly they can decide they'd rather go tail-first.
A:
Originally Posted by OneFastLotus
I'd just maybe tone it down a bit. I once was out playing around and came around a corner where someone had just bush hogged the ditch and ALL the grass was in the road. I began sliding and there was nothing I could do..fortunately my tires found purchase before it was too late. It's just one of those things that can happen. As such I'm somewhat "chill" when I drive backroads.
Thats why its CRUCIAL you anticipate it!!
Well, i was driving pretty hard once... And there was this corner and there was gravel all over it.
Since i was giving the car 8/10, that 2/10 transposed into controllable oversteer and immediate correction.
My humble opinion - if you drive on public road with no run off areas, drive like there might be an oil spill at each corner.
A:
Originally Posted by rush
yeah i'm a moron. i knew there were no cars coming because you can see other's headlights...thought i was safe...didn't expect to lose it like that on a wet spot. have driven over tons of spots like that before but like i said...its a bit colder outside tonight than before...anyway i'm retarded......
Just make sure you actually learn from mistakes and improve your driving and drive slower we all do mistakes and i personally catch myself thinking "ffs drive slower you moron!" pretty often
When i got my elise and drove it in the rain for the first time i had a really bad oversteer (id say 30-40+ degrees) in city because i gave the corner more then tyres could chew. Thank god i managed to catch the car, but i knew for sure that it wasnt conrolable and that i wont be able to catch it like that 10/10.
So, i slowed my driving pace a little, and just explored the limits small bit after samll bit
Just make sure you really do drive in anticipation of trouble behind a blind corner. IMHO its very importaint for safe driving on twisties.
A:
Driving home today (took the twistier way), came around a corner to encountering rapidly scattering deer. I had plenty of time to stop, but I realized I'd been lucky and slowed down from that point forward. These cars give one a dangerously high sense of control, and keep encouraging you to take the next corner just a little bit faster.
The real question is: will I take it slow the next time I drive up the same way?
A:
Originally Posted by Val
Thats why its CRUCIAL you anticipate it!!
Well, i was driving pretty hard once... And there was this corner and there was gravel all over it.
Since i was giving the car 8/10, that 2/10 transposed into controllable oversteer and immediate correction.
My humble opinion - if you drive on public road with no run off areas, drive like there might be an oil spill at each corner.
Val,
I appreciate your comments. I would by no means consider myself an expert driver when it comes to racing, and I typically chicken out when it comes to getting really squirrelly with any automobile. With the experience I do have with the Elise, if I were pushing it 10/10 last night when I hit that wet spot, then this car isn't that great handling car I thought it was (if I understand what you mean by 10/10). I wasn't going even close to as fast around that bend as I have before with very slight push out. I wasn't in the gas when I hit the wet spot (otherwise I think I would have lost control sooner and it would have been unrecoverable). I've never done autocross but I have taken my car out and experimented in parking lots and I've never been able to get my car to swing around like that....but just a warning to all that probably already know...be careful in the fall time when your tires don't get as much grip as they did a month ago!
A:
Rush, i would highly recommend taking a car control course in the elise
Where they water a circle and you just go around it trying to make a controlable drift for like an hour or so. And then ofc avoidance of sudden road block with resulting oversteer and trying to get to your lane again.
I know if didnt do it, i would have spun at least twice on public roads.
A:
Originally Posted by Val
Rush, i would highly recommend taking a car control course in the elise
Where they water a circle and you just go around it trying to make a controlable drift for like an hour or so. And then ofc avoidance of sudden road block with resulting oversteer and trying to get to your lane again.
I know if didnt do it, i would have spun at least twice on public roads.
That sounds like fun even if you don't learn anything from it! What type of places provide these lessons?
A:
Rush, where were you in Northern KY? I am from Harrison County, one of the more Northern counties. I'm not there now, but I will be coming home soon. I always imagined driving the Lotus around that area and getting alot of these Hillbillies don't take kindly to no tiny sports car, YEEHAW!
Anyhow, I'm in the hills of WV now, and I nearly wiped out not long ago in a similar situation. Bad roads + wet pavement + blind turns + mid-engine = expensive mistakes. I've resolved to the fact that I will never be able to find a nice spot for "spirited driving" in this area.
A:
Originally Posted by Eclise
Rush, where were you in Northern KY? I am from Harrison County, one of the more Northern counties. I'm not there now, but I will be coming home soon. I always imagined driving the Lotus around that area and getting alot of these Hillbillies don't take kindly to no tiny sports car, YEEHAW!
Anyhow, I'm in the hills of WV now, and I nearly wiped out not long ago in a similar situation. Bad roads + wet pavement + blind turns + mid-engine = expensive mistakes. I've resolved to the fact that I will never be able to find a nice spot for "spirited driving" in this area.
Eclise,
Yeah I'm surprised some of the locals haven't tried to see if my car will fit under their jacked up truck yet...but believe it or not I've had little trouble around here. I usually just get a thumbs up from the rice-rockets instead of someone wanting to run 'em. I go to WV quite often for work and I know how the roads are up there. Be careful and as stated before by kohete, watch out for the deer!!!
A:
Once you've lost it both feet in. Clutch and brake....full.