Worst Christmas Ever
01-07-2004, 08:52 AM
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Worst Christmas Ever
24-Dec-2003
Christmas eve day at 3:00 in the afternoon I was on my way to a friends house and I was coming out of a very sharp right hand turn (not speeding) when I lost control and swung the rear of my car. I could not counter steer in time to keep my Z on the road and I went into the edge of someone’s yard and over a 1ft tall rock pile. My rear tires are very low on tread and for some reason when I was leaving my house I must have decided to turn off the VDC (bad idea). The roads were wet from rain earlier in the day and this didn't help my situation either. My car is now sitting out side at a body shop in the freezing temps instead of being in my garage where it belongs. The most ironic part of my story is that I had an appointment for new tires to be installed two days after the accident happened. My Nissan dealership is not equipped to install tires on the Z because the low profile tires with reinforced sidewalls require special equipment to mount them.
Any way here is my tip to all Z owners out there:
ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO REPLACE WORN TIRES AS SOON AS POSSIABLE
NEVER TURN OFF YOUR VDC (IF YOU HAVE IT) WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING ON WET ROADS
Luckily in my 9 years of driving I have never had an accident so my insurance rates won't go up (forgiveness for first accident). The damage to my car was the front bumper, radiator, right side skirt, cooling fans, and huge dents in my exhaust piping. I have pictures from the body shop when my car went on the lift for the first time after the accident. I will post them tonight. Our Z is a tough car my engine never shut off and I was able to drive it back on to the road and park it before I called the tow truck. What makes me so mad was that I am always very careful and I can't understand how I forgot that the VDC was off. Like I said this was the worst Christmas ever.
Christmas eve day at 3:00 in the afternoon I was on my way to a friends house and I was coming out of a very sharp right hand turn (not speeding) when I lost control and swung the rear of my car. I could not counter steer in time to keep my Z on the road and I went into the edge of someone’s yard and over a 1ft tall rock pile. My rear tires are very low on tread and for some reason when I was leaving my house I must have decided to turn off the VDC (bad idea). The roads were wet from rain earlier in the day and this didn't help my situation either. My car is now sitting out side at a body shop in the freezing temps instead of being in my garage where it belongs. The most ironic part of my story is that I had an appointment for new tires to be installed two days after the accident happened. My Nissan dealership is not equipped to install tires on the Z because the low profile tires with reinforced sidewalls require special equipment to mount them.
Any way here is my tip to all Z owners out there:
ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO REPLACE WORN TIRES AS SOON AS POSSIABLE
NEVER TURN OFF YOUR VDC (IF YOU HAVE IT) WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING ON WET ROADS
Luckily in my 9 years of driving I have never had an accident so my insurance rates won't go up (forgiveness for first accident). The damage to my car was the front bumper, radiator, right side skirt, cooling fans, and huge dents in my exhaust piping. I have pictures from the body shop when my car went on the lift for the first time after the accident. I will post them tonight. Our Z is a tough car my engine never shut off and I was able to drive it back on to the road and park it before I called the tow truck. What makes me so mad was that I am always very careful and I can't understand how I forgot that the VDC was off. Like I said this was the worst Christmas ever.
01-07-2004, 09:10 AM
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Re: Worst Christmas Ever
Originally posted by dkent2
24-Dec-2003
Christmas eve day at 3:00 in the afternoon I was on my way to a friends house and I was coming out of a very sharp right hand turn (not speeding) when I lost control and swung the rear of my car. I could not counter steer in time to keep my Z on the road and I went into the edge of someone’s yard and over a 1ft tall rock pile. My rear tires are very low on tread and for some reason when I was leaving my house I must have decided to turn off the VDC (bad idea). The roads were wet from rain earlier in the day and this didn't help my situation either. My car is now sitting out side at a body shop in the freezing temps instead of being in my garage where it belongs. The most ironic part of my story is that I had an appointment for new tires to be installed two days after the accident happened. My Nissan dealership is not equipped to install tires on the Z because the low profile tires with reinforced sidewalls require special equipment to mount them.
Any way here is my tip to all Z owners out there:
ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO REPLACE WORN TIRES AS SOON AS POSSIABLE
NEVER TURN OFF YOUR VDC (IF YOU HAVE IT) WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING ON WET ROADS
Luckily in my 9 years of driving I have never had an accident so my insurance rates won't go up (forgiveness for first accident). The damage to my car was the front bumper, radiator, right side skirt, cooling fans, and huge dents in my exhaust piping. I have pictures from the body shop when my car went on the lift for the first time after the accident. I will post them tonight. Our Z is a tough car my engine never shut off and I was able to drive it back on to the road and park it before I called the tow truck. What makes me so mad was that I am always very careful and I can't understand how I forgot that the VDC was off. Like I said this was the worst Christmas ever.
24-Dec-2003
Christmas eve day at 3:00 in the afternoon I was on my way to a friends house and I was coming out of a very sharp right hand turn (not speeding) when I lost control and swung the rear of my car. I could not counter steer in time to keep my Z on the road and I went into the edge of someone’s yard and over a 1ft tall rock pile. My rear tires are very low on tread and for some reason when I was leaving my house I must have decided to turn off the VDC (bad idea). The roads were wet from rain earlier in the day and this didn't help my situation either. My car is now sitting out side at a body shop in the freezing temps instead of being in my garage where it belongs. The most ironic part of my story is that I had an appointment for new tires to be installed two days after the accident happened. My Nissan dealership is not equipped to install tires on the Z because the low profile tires with reinforced sidewalls require special equipment to mount them.
Any way here is my tip to all Z owners out there:
ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO REPLACE WORN TIRES AS SOON AS POSSIABLE
NEVER TURN OFF YOUR VDC (IF YOU HAVE IT) WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING ON WET ROADS
Luckily in my 9 years of driving I have never had an accident so my insurance rates won't go up (forgiveness for first accident). The damage to my car was the front bumper, radiator, right side skirt, cooling fans, and huge dents in my exhaust piping. I have pictures from the body shop when my car went on the lift for the first time after the accident. I will post them tonight. Our Z is a tough car my engine never shut off and I was able to drive it back on to the road and park it before I called the tow truck. What makes me so mad was that I am always very careful and I can't understand how I forgot that the VDC was off. Like I said this was the worst Christmas ever.
Anyway, sorry to hear that man and I'm glad you're ok. Believe it or not, it could of been much worst. Let us know how it works out at the body shop
-dissolved
01-07-2004, 09:14 AM
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At what point should one consider the tires "worn" obviously if they're bald thats way beyond safe but, I dont wanna cut it so close on mine..is there a specific way of checking when its time to change them? Its something that worrys me too..how long do those original Z tires last for anyway? Assuming normal driving and no drag burn outs lol
01-07-2004, 12:48 PM
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Trust me you can tell when your tires are starting to go in the Z ride...
20,000 mine were slipping all over the place... I also go top speed so traction is a must....
I still have my original tires incase of drag/drift events when they maybe switched out...
20,000 mine were slipping all over the place... I also go top speed so traction is a must....
I still have my original tires incase of drag/drift events when they maybe switched out...
01-07-2004, 01:02 PM
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Originally posted by wildone_106
At what point should one consider the tires "worn" ...is there a specific way of checking when its time to change them?
At what point should one consider the tires "worn" ...is there a specific way of checking when its time to change them?
I found a nice digital tire guage at Auto Zone for $20 which also has a tread depth guage. When my tires were new they had 7mm of tread, now I'm down to 5mm on the front after 11k miles, rears are almost new.
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01-07-2004, 09:16 PM
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dkent2, I completely understand your pain. You can check out my situation in the racing section.
As far as tires go, they have wear indicators molded into the tread. If you look on the outside edge of the tire, you will see little triangles spaced intermittently along the edge of the tire were the tread meets the sidewall. If you find one of the triangles, look at the deep treads in line with the triangle. You will see little protrusions in the bottom of the tread. When the tread wears down to these humps it is time to get new tires.
Check out this pic of my stock tires @ 16,000 miles.
-D'oh!
As far as tires go, they have wear indicators molded into the tread. If you look on the outside edge of the tire, you will see little triangles spaced intermittently along the edge of the tire were the tread meets the sidewall. If you find one of the triangles, look at the deep treads in line with the triangle. You will see little protrusions in the bottom of the tread. When the tread wears down to these humps it is time to get new tires.
Check out this pic of my stock tires @ 16,000 miles.
-D'oh!
01-07-2004, 10:03 PM
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Originally posted by D'oh
dkent2, I completely understand your pain. You can check out my situation in the racing section.
As far as tires go, they have wear indicators molded into the tread. If you look on the outside edge of the tire, you will see little triangles spaced intermittently along the edge of the tire were the tread meets the sidewall. If you find one of the triangles, look at the deep treads in line with the triangle. You will see little protrusions in the bottom of the tread. When the tread wears down to these humps it is time to get new tires.
Check out this pic of my stock tires @ 16,000 miles.
-D'oh!
dkent2, I completely understand your pain. You can check out my situation in the racing section.
As far as tires go, they have wear indicators molded into the tread. If you look on the outside edge of the tire, you will see little triangles spaced intermittently along the edge of the tire were the tread meets the sidewall. If you find one of the triangles, look at the deep treads in line with the triangle. You will see little protrusions in the bottom of the tread. When the tread wears down to these humps it is time to get new tires.
Check out this pic of my stock tires @ 16,000 miles.
-D'oh!
01-07-2004, 11:07 PM
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speaking of a bad new year...
i crashed my lexus ls400 on NEW YEARS EVE in san francisco on the way to a party.... it's still in the SF city tow yard right now.. was going straight and turned left on a green light NOT A GREEN ARROW and the uncoming traffic who, also had a green light ran right into me.. im so stupid.. i think i'll avoid driving in big cities from now on.. it's dangerous when you're on unfamiliar roads..
i crashed my lexus ls400 on NEW YEARS EVE in san francisco on the way to a party.... it's still in the SF city tow yard right now.. was going straight and turned left on a green light NOT A GREEN ARROW and the uncoming traffic who, also had a green light ran right into me.. im so stupid.. i think i'll avoid driving in big cities from now on.. it's dangerous when you're on unfamiliar roads..
01-08-2004, 04:30 AM
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Re: Re: Worst Christmas Ever
Originally posted by Dissolved
UnF***believable. Yet ANOTHER crash thread where someone had VDC off. I'm not picking on you or anything. But it seems like in the majority of the "just wrecked" threads, the invididuals had VDC off
Anyway, sorry to hear that man and I'm glad you're ok. Believe it or not, it could of been much worst. Let us know how it works out at the body shop
-dissolved
UnF***believable. Yet ANOTHER crash thread where someone had VDC off. I'm not picking on you or anything. But it seems like in the majority of the "just wrecked" threads, the invididuals had VDC off
Anyway, sorry to hear that man and I'm glad you're ok. Believe it or not, it could of been much worst. Let us know how it works out at the body shop
-dissolved
01-08-2004, 04:55 AM
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Glad you were okay and your insurance will still be cool. Maybe you could work in some discounted exhaust with the insurance money as a way to make you feel better? :-D
01-08-2004, 05:57 AM
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Re: Re: Re: Worst Christmas Ever
Originally posted by dkent2
You are 100% correct. I have know idea why I turned the VDC off on wet roads, and when the accident happened it was because the VDC was off and I forgot that I had turned it off. The thing that really pisses me off is that I’m not some moron who can't handle driving RWD cars correctly. This was just a case of human forgetfulness. I didn't have time to post my pictures last night I'll do it tonight. Anyway this is the first time I have ever crashed a car and hopefully it’s the last.
You are 100% correct. I have know idea why I turned the VDC off on wet roads, and when the accident happened it was because the VDC was off and I forgot that I had turned it off. The thing that really pisses me off is that I’m not some moron who can't handle driving RWD cars correctly. This was just a case of human forgetfulness. I didn't have time to post my pictures last night I'll do it tonight. Anyway this is the first time I have ever crashed a car and hopefully it’s the last.
Personally, I dont understand why people turn VDC off on the street in the first place. What's the point? I dont plan on becoming a professional race car driver one day or something. Technology is there, use it.
They say you get in at least one bad wreck in your life. Hope this is your only one. Know how you feel. Unfortunately, this is the only way to learn this lesson. Be glad you arent physically hurt.
Keep us posted
-dissolved
01-08-2004, 08:56 AM
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Worst Christmas Ever
Originally posted by Dissolved
That is why many people say VDC is a double edged sword. You get used to the convenience of it being there. It does work very well in most conditions. However, if you are really pushing the car it will break loose in wet conditions.
Personally, I dont understand why people turn VDC off on the street in the first place. What's the point? I dont plan on becoming a professional race car driver one day or something. Technology is there, use it.
They say you get in at least one bad wreck in your life. Hope this is your only one. Know how you feel. Unfortunately, this is the only way to learn this lesson. Be glad you arent physically hurt.
Keep us posted
-dissolved
That is why many people say VDC is a double edged sword. You get used to the convenience of it being there. It does work very well in most conditions. However, if you are really pushing the car it will break loose in wet conditions.
Personally, I dont understand why people turn VDC off on the street in the first place. What's the point? I dont plan on becoming a professional race car driver one day or something. Technology is there, use it.
They say you get in at least one bad wreck in your life. Hope this is your only one. Know how you feel. Unfortunately, this is the only way to learn this lesson. Be glad you arent physically hurt.
Keep us posted
-dissolved
Again you hit the nail on the head. I have become used to the VDC being on, and on wet roads (with VDC on) it works very well. So well that you can drive on wet roads just like they are dry roads (with in reason) and it will always be there to cut throttle or apply the breaks to the wheel(s) to prevent slides. Like you said you become accustom to it always being there. I really do not remember turning off the VDC, I don't know if it is possible but maybe I some how bumped it with my knee or something, because I really didn't know it was off until after it happened. I’m glad I didn't get hurt and you can bet your a$$ that I WILL ALWAYS know for sure if the VDC is on or off for now on!
