The day I spun out, a lesson to newbies

[SwissHeavy]

Ok so picture it, road is wet, very wet and I notice this and say to myself (in my head, before u think I'm mad) "better be careful, these things get nasty in the wet." So I carry on, dual carriageway, Murcielago passes me - tasty. Anyway, going round a bend, it's a right turn on, was going no more than 40, as I get out of the bend I change up and hit the gas. Car starts to steer to the right, no, I didn't ask for that, try to turn left and take it into a spin. At this point, I'm thinking, man.... this is going to be expensive. Forturnately there were no cars around, I went from the third lane, to the 1st lane... into a railing, rear first. The car came off well really, best place to be hit I guess. The bumper took a hell of a lot of beating and the exhaust was pushed back as well as the spoiler being scratched, I pushed the railing in that much.

Anyway, I really would like to emphasise to new ppl like myself (I know it was my poor experience) the power of RWD cars (mine's a REV1 Mk2) and that they really REALLY should take it easy round the bends and mini roundabouts and really get the feel for the car for a few months. They can so easily go and once ur going, u can't do anything about it! So take care on the roads!

Josh

Pics to follow of the road and my final place of rest of the road.

[Lauren]

Time to do an airfield/track day. Get some tuition etc as next time it could be expensive.

Two mistakes.

changing up in the middle of the bend.
hitting the gas.

[SwissHeavy]

No no, I didn't change till I got out of the bend (which would have been madness) and hitting the gas, well yeah, that was mad, but it was 4th to 5th.... anyway, no excuses! Was amateurish. I REALLY REALLY want to go on a track day!

[GeoffC320]

Yes,

To echo Lauren (& my recent response in 'General'), coming off the gas, which is bound to happen when you change gear, is not a good idea if in a corner. Always bring the entry speed down to a realistic level well BEFORE the bend, maintain a steady/gently rising throttle setting and put power down only once car is straightened up. Obviously with experience you can take a few more liberties but it still doesn't pay to get too cocky...

I really enjoy driving my turbo in the wet, the car is actually really nicely balanced and to be honest feels as planted as anything I've driven even in streaming conditions. Personally I really hate the front-end washout you get in many FWD cars in the wet!

As mentioned elsewhere though, the MR2 can be nasty with worn or poor quality tyres and misaligned suspension - this can make the car a handful even for an experienced driver!

Hope you get it fixed up OK .

[Essex MR2]

Feel for ya mate. I know what it's like. Only my Rev 2 a couple of weeks ago and had quite a nasty spin in mine on the way home from picking the car up, I'd only had it 4 hours! It wasn't actually all my fault, but once the car started to go, I couldn't do anything about it, and I've had a RWD Saph Cossie before.... but this is a different animal altogether.

Think I might be joinging you on a trackday soon!

[axisofunity]

Me 3, although thankfully no spins yet.

[Lauren]

No no, I didn't change till I got out of the bend (which would have been madness) and hitting the gas, well yeah, that was mad, but it was 4th to 5th.... anyway, no excuses! Was amateurish. I REALLY REALLY want to go on a track day!

DING!

JFDI (just do it) the trackday that is:

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5896

I've done trackdays for five years and raced etc.. Obviously with the exprerience i've had naturally i bring it to my road driving. Its made a mega difference, car control being the biggest improvement i'd say.

[nikaso]

JFDI (just do it)

Whats the F stand for then Lauren?

[Lauren]

JFDI (just do it)

Whats the F stand for then Lauren?

I'll let you make an educated guess...

[Guest]

I had a very similar incident in my Rev 1 Tubby but luckily it wasn't on the road and nobody else was involved. I lost my confidence, initially only slightly but it knawed away at me. In the end I sold the Tubby and moved on only to rediscover the MR2 in its Mk1 guise a few months later.

For me the cure was getting out on track - not only did it teach me better car control but it restored my confidence in my own driving. To be fair it only happened after I'd bought the Mk1 but the Mk1 tells me what it's doing loudly and clearly - the Rev 1 Tubby either kept that to itself or used a language I couldn't understand. I found the Tubby too much of a handful and too unpredictable to enjoy (or I just wasn't skilled enough to cope with it) after that accident.

What I'm trying to say is if you get back in your car and don't feel as happy about it as you did before don't worry - there's at least one other person who's been there so from my experience track days help teach car control and also provide a bit of reassurance.

Best wishes,
Si.

[tonigmr2]

I span my first SC...it was an auto and *changed gear itself halfway through a corner*, though I didn't lift off the result was mental.
Sold it, no more autos for me...
T

[Frustrated Pilot]

i swear i posted in here...???

my experience was.. 1st week of driving the car.. enter 40mph corner... and tightens ALOT...to the right

a car infront of me turning left.. no probs turn in right a little...

then smoke..!!! noise!!!, .. i dip the clutch to kill power to the wheels and steer to the direction i want to go.. (none of thisopposite lock and flooring it crap)

she kept going round to the right.. so i corrected a lot more.. but it was alreadylost....

i did everything right... but she just went round....

but looking back.. what did i do wrong?

I turned harder on shagged tyres therefore reducing my coefficeint of friction between the tyres and the blacktop.. and the result was one MGF driver shitting himself as he came towards me.. me grinning pointing the wrong way down the road...

lucky.. after that i maintain tyres VERY WELL and respect the car in wet weather...

good luck ..

[Lauren]

i swear i posted in here...???

my experience was.. 1st week of driving the car.. enter 40mph corner... and tightens ALOT...to the right

a car infront of me turning left.. no probs turn in right a little...

then smoke..!!! noise!!!, .. i dip the clutch to kill power to the wheels and steer to the direction i want to go.. (none of thisopposite lock and flooring it crap)

she kept going round to the right.. so i corrected a lot more.. but it was alreadylost....

i did everything right... but she just went round....

but looking back.. what did i do wrong?

I turned harder on shagged tyres therefore reducing my coefficeint of friction between the tyres and the blacktop.. and the result was one MGF driver shitting himself as he came towards me.. me grinning pointing the wrong way down the road...

lucky.. after that i maintain tyres VERY WELL and respect the car in wet weather...

good luck ..

you didn't do everything right.

first mistake:

changing the amount of steering lock, it should always remain constant ideally.

second, dipping the clutch. would be better to slightly reduce throttle. dipping the clutch would change the weight distribution and would likely be the cause. In fact you should never reduce power in this manner, only ever dip the clutch when you are about to stop.

[nikaso]

Can I get a "pocket" Lauren that I can sit on my dash and shout what to do when I overcook it?


My tubby is ready in 2 weeks and after reading this I am sure I am going to stack it!

[Lauren]

Can I get a "pocket" Lauren that I can sit on my dash and shout what to do when I overcook it?


My tubby is ready in 2 weeks and after reading this I am sure I am going to stack it!

GLOL! now there's an idea!

Just take it easy, take time to learn the car and you'll be fine.

[Sidewinder]

I managed to fish-tail my Rev 1 N/A a few years back on a motorway slip road. This was due to rainy conditions and the worst set of tyres on the planet! Fortunately, I managed to control the car through being calm and not doing any jerky inputs to the controls.

Then...my tyres slid on some oil/diesel/dead animal or something two weeks before JAE2003 in my Rev 2 tubby, which resulted in a 360 degree spin (which I managed to catch momentarily) followed by a 180 degree spin and the mounting of a double kerb before sliding backwards for several feet on grass...coming to an abrupt stop at a road sign. Scary as hell at the time, although I'd have loved to have seen it on camera!

Got to watch these MR2s, y'know. They sometimes bite back!