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2003-2009 Nissan 350Z

Spun out...damage?

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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:09 AM
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Default Spun out...damage?

Driving this evening...lots of rain...stock tires that I now realize don't have enough tread left...

Took a moderate turn at 30 accelerated through the turn just a little but ended up spinning out... first I spun 90 degrees counterclockwise so I was drifting sideways down the road...when I tried to correct it, I did a 180 clockwise so that I was now still drifting sideways but pointing right...at which point I hit the brakes like mad and I ended up halfway over the curb and onto some grass. I think I hit the curb pointing towards it somewhat (definitely not straight on, but at a reasonable angle) because there's no damage to my wheels, so the front of the tires definitely hit the curb first (well, my bumper might have).

It's dark so I can't really tell if there's any damage. The wheels I'm pretty sure were not scraped up, and the bumper looked fine although the bottom felt like it could have been hurt.

--

Any advice as to what I should look for tomorrow in terms of damage? The car drove perfectly straight afterward..does that mean I'm safe from any bent axles, or do I still need to look at that or have it checked out? Any advice would be appreciated!

Bring on the flames... Yeah, I crashed.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:13 AM
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Originally Posted by jordanj77
Driving this evening...lots of rain...stock tires that I now realize don't have enough tread left...

Took a moderate turn at 30 accelerated through the turn just a little but ended up spinning out... first I spun 90 degrees counterclockwise so I was drifting sideways down the road...when I tried to correct it, I did a 180 clockwise so that I was now still drifting sideways but pointing right...at which point I hit the brakes like mad and I ended up halfway over the curb and onto some grass. I think I hit the curb pointing towards it somewhat (definitely not straight on, but at a reasonable angle) because there's no damage to my wheels, so the front of the tires definitely hit the curb first (well, my bumper might have).

It's dark so I can't really tell if there's any damage. The wheels I'm pretty sure were not scraped up, and the bumper looked fine although the bottom felt like it could have been hurt.

--

Any advice as to what I should look for tomorrow in terms of damage? The car drove perfectly straight afterward..does that mean I'm safe from any bent axles, or do I still need to look at that or have it checked out? Any advice would be appreciated!

Bring on the flames... Yeah, I crashed.
Get it checked out.. most likely need an alignment at the very least, but you might have damaged your control arms or other vital suspension parts... slow down.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:36 AM
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Don't hit the brakes next time you're sideways... It wont help. Learn to correct a drift and hit the gas ^_^

realistically if you just let off the gas instead of hitting the brakes you might have traveled a shorter distance cause you're locking your brakes up
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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:40 AM
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Next time it's raining, take your Z to an open lot and get to know how it handles in certain situations. One of the best things I've done, and could possibly save your *** in the future!
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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:42 AM
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Just get it checked to make sure.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:52 AM
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VDC is great, i would suggest using it.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 01:05 AM
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Thanks for all the comments.

Originally Posted by insomniaxvi
Next time it's raining, take your Z to an open lot and get to know how it handles in certain situations. One of the best things I've done, and could possibly save your *** in the future!
Definitely a good idea.

I'm typically pretty good at controlling the car through drifts and such...but I've never let the card slide unintentionally so my practice thus far is really limited.

Originally Posted by terrasmak
VDC is great, i would suggest using it.
Well I certainly didn't turn it off when I saw the rain...?
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Old May 20, 2008 | 01:10 AM
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taking a 90 degree turn on a dry road at 30 is already going too fast, why would you do it on a wet road?
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Old May 20, 2008 | 01:12 AM
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Originally Posted by calin
taking a 90 degree turn on a dry road at 30 is already going too fast, why would you do it on a wet road?
Sorry, should have been more clear. It wasn't a turn as in from one city street to another.

I was on one road the entire time -- the road was just curved. Definitely nowhere near 90 degrees.

On a dry day the road is easily driven at 45.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 01:18 AM
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Originally Posted by jordanj77
Sorry, should have been more clear. It wasn't a turn as in from one city street to another.

I was on one road the entire time -- the road was just curved. Definitely nowhere near 90 degrees.

On a dry day the road is easily driven at 45.
oh, my bad then. The way I found out I needed new tires last time I was on the fwy doing 45mph in the rain and I could feel my back end going left to right so I exited and took streets instead
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Old May 20, 2008 | 01:24 AM
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Wow, a lot of grief for your misfortune...
VDC isn't the hand of god to save people from everything, the tires need to find some grip for it to work.

As far as damage, check to see if the front bumper is cracked on the bottom or pushed up over the headlight (don't ask why I know this). Should be fine if your tires took the hit and the car doesn't pull. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have the alignment checked anyway.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 04:03 AM
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Originally Posted by insomniaxvi
Next time it's raining, take your Z to an open lot and get to know how it handles in certain situations. One of the best things I've done, and could possibly save your *** in the future!
It's raining like a b1tch here today, I think I just might do that.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 04:59 AM
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This is like a terrible accident I once had in my MR2 where I decided to take a U-turn hard and the back end came out on me and I got nothing but curb

Lesson learned: take it easy in the rain with a rear-wheel drive car.

I should have learned that the FIRST time I "lost" control of the car and I was able to correct it without damage. I guess I just got ballsy...

Hope your car is okay though.. if you drove away from it I'm sure the damage is relatively minor.. like some one mentioned you might have some control arm or suspension work to do.. but I hope that is not the case.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 05:15 AM
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Confuscious says: When you start to lose control, DO NOT HIT YOUR BRAKES!!!!

Hope your Z is ok though, I'd get it checked out just to be sure. Better safe than sorry.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 05:18 AM
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Agree with all above but wonder why you have to wait on a spin out, like last time, to check tire wear. Even the best tires made will not keep you on the road, much less so called stock tires, if they are worn out. You own and drive a sports cars, one of the most important and critical saftey factors in driving any car is where the tire meets the road. Get some tire with tread on them.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 06:44 AM
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vdc ftl. learn to drive without it, you won't run into the problem of improper instinctual reactions.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by angelzhope720
Don't hit the brakes next time you're sideways... It wont help. Learn to correct a drift and hit the gas ^_^

realistically if you just let off the gas instead of hitting the brakes you might have traveled a shorter distance cause you're locking your brakes up
+1 almost the exact same thing happened to me 3 days after i bought the Z. Simply let off the gas and wrangled that biotch.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 12:01 PM
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Yep, spinning out in a simple turn indicated that I needed new rears too. Luckily the light was red for the oncoming traffic, otherwise my Z would have been totaled.
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Old May 20, 2008 | 01:37 PM
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+1 on check the control arms, bumper, and possibly have it alligned, driving straight is a good sign though. Other than that you should be ok.
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