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Well, it happened and it happened quick. I was taking a left turn, shifted down to second and gave it a little too much gas and swerved left then right and went over the curb, down this hill, between two trees and landed in the parking lot of where I work.
I know I'll probably get some hate for this but it is what it is. I wanted to make this post to share with you guys my mistake and hope no one else on here does the same thing I did.
When I lost traction while I was turning left, I should have let off the throttle but I didn't. I tried to control it and counter steer but it all went downhill from there.. pun intended. If you guys ever find yourselves in a situation like me, the first thing you should do is let off the throttle. That's all I wanted to say. I know most of you guys on here are far more experienced and find this obvious advice but it doesn't hurt to share.
Here are some pictures of the scene and damages. I'm not even mad or anything about the Z's damage because it could have been much much worse. Underneath the car was also good. Unfortunately, I'm going to need new wheels but for now I'll have those ugly stock ones on.
Nearly? Sorry bud, but I consider that a wreck since there's damage. At least you learned from the experience though and hopefully won't let that happen again.
Wow, Arrtus. Glad you're ok and the Z will live to fight another day.
A certain amount of understeer was designed into these cars to help prevent this but the back can def get out and happy.
That's not a wreck, that's unintended off-roading.
Get lined up and keep the shiny side up, bruh.
Last edited by jhc; May 29, 2017 at 05:32 PM.
Reason: typo.
Well, it happened and it happened quick. When I lost traction while I was turning left, I should have let off the throttle but I didn't. I tried to control it and counter steer but it all went downhill from there.. pun intended. If you guys ever find yourselves in a situation like me, the first thing you should do is let off the throttle. That's all I wanted to say. I know most of you guys on here are far more experienced and find this obvious advice but it doesn't hurt to share.
No hate here and glad things didn't turn out worse than they did. One correction about your suggestion to "let off the throttle" immediately after feeling the Z rotate. While it's impossible to know what the exact conditions were on your accident (wet/dry, camber of roadway, etc.) snapping the throttle shut after the car begins to spin is usually a surefire way to shift weight FORWARD just when you don't want it. The back end will loose traction even faster and accelerate the rotation faster. It's part of the deal with a powerful RWD car with a 53/47 F/R weight distribution.
So what's the solution? First, try not to get into such a situation in the first place. Recognize that second gear is one potent sucker with our Zs, and avoid romping on the pedal around a turn too quickly. Squeeze that V6 power on after getting the initial part of the turn done to allow the tires to take a set and gain enough traction. Second, any oversteer condition you encounter will require QUICK HANDS to catch and countersteer. As you found out, things can get out of control in an instant!
To gain some additional practice in a controlled environment, consider entering a local autocross event and get in as many runs as possible. Lots of advice here on how to get involved in a motorsports event that uses first through third gear and tight/fast turns to sharpen steering responses in quick maneuvers. After that, maybe try a track day event that'll use higher speeds, but still teach basic high-performance driving skills.
hey man- dont be tearing up the E33 any more-lol- I see so few of them- can't be killing them off now... (ok- sooo i am a little biased toward the E33 i also had a similar experience of back end going its own way- but came through it with much less damage than you did ....my ego- that was a different story. (that the gemini exhaust on there?)
consider entering a local autocross event and get in as many runs as possible. Lots of advice here on how to get involved in a motorsports event that uses first through third gear and tight/fast turns to sharpen steering responses in quick maneuvers. After that, maybe try a track day event that'll use higher speeds, but still teach basic high-performance driving skills.
Sh#t happens man, we have all learned from getting cars sideways. What's done is done and now u just have to worry about fixing it. From my experience though having driven a lot of different RWD cars the Z is surprisingly easy to get sideways and the cars want to be sideways. The Z is the easiest car I've driven to control when it does get "out of control". Lots of fun imo. Take the lesson learned and go on about your day man.
Hey Joey- it's the Z33 for the Nissan internal designation of the 350Z. Save that E stuff for the beamers. Sorry to go OT, but it had to be said...
Originally Posted by tampa_joey
hey man- dont be tearing up the E33 any more-lol- I see so few of them- can't be killing them off now... (ok- sooo i am a little biased toward the E33 i also had a similar experience of back end going its own way- but came through it with much less damage than you did ....my ego- that was a different story. (that the gemini exhaust on there?)
I think I gained a couple of extra years of gray hair in a few seconds last month. I was on my favorite uphill entrance ramp going to work one morning, where I usually give it the full beans. There was some sort of slick/wet spot that I hit half way up and I felt the back end start to fishtail out. The adrenaline came on strong! I've learned that a true "limited slip" (Quaife on my car) can actually be worse for traction in some cases than an open rear end. When both rear wheels start to slip you get unintended lateral motion. Would work great on a drift car.
I think I gained a couple of extra years of gray hair in a few seconds last month. I was on my favorite uphill entrance ramp going to work one morning, where I usually give it the full beans. There was some sort of slick/wet spot that I hit half way up and I felt the back end start to fishtail out. The adrenaline came on strong! I've learned that a true "limited slip" (Quaife on my car) can actually be worse for traction in some cases than an open rear end. When both rear wheels start to slip you get unintended lateral motion. Would work great on a drift car.
I remember doing a 180 on an on-ramp once with my '80 firebird. But that was after a 40...and I believe ''smells like teen spirit'' was playing in the background. I was 17.
Rear-wheel-drive was the norm when I learned to drive in the early 60’s. A required maneuver in that period was counter-steering if the rear-end lost grip and the care began rotating. That isn’t always an easy task; drivers often over-correct which results in even more rotation towards the opposite side. It sounds as though that is what happened in your case.
My 350z is a Performance model with VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control). VDC works very well. I know because I drive my Z during the winter months in Minnesota. When going into a skid with a stability control equipped car, you simply stop turning the steering wheel, back-off the accelerator, and do “both feet down” (push the brake and clutch pedals). VDC takes over by killing the throttle, and activating the appropriate brake and ABS to straighten the car in the direction the front wheels are turned (not necessarily the direction the car’s body is pointing).
If your Z does not have VDC, or you have turned this off; you need to counter-steer. When doing this maneuver, don’t make quick or excessive adjustments. Slowly let off the accelerator and counter-steer slowly so you don’t send the car in the opposite skid. Apply the brakes, but do not press hard unless you have ABS.
Pro-tip: Get a Subaru for rally man, Z's too low for that crap!
We only get so many chances in life. I spun my prelude in high school going way too fast and did zero damage (just got lucky nobody was in the other lane I spun into). I've had many off track incidents in various cars that all panned out just fine. I almost drove off a cliff in my baja bug when the brakes failed and a bush caught me... Literally a bush saved my life. Rolled my Z in an incident involving a failed control arm and a bunch of ivy instead of grass (you slide across grass, you dig into Ivy apparently)...
You grow up, you make mistakes, you learn from them. If you are lucky enough nobody gets hurt along the way. You can be really smart and learn from other peoples mistakes, but most of us choose to do it the hard way.
I respect you for posting this and not being afraid to be called out for doing something dumb that almost all of us have done at some point. Whether we got out of it with just some brown underpants or we ruined our cars or worse, we all benefit from supporting each other.
Glad you are ok and your car didn't take more damage. Looks like you managed to dodge a power pole, fire hydrant, some trees, and whatever those white poles are (concrete?). If that curb were a little higher, or someone was walking right there, this post could have been much different.
I remember doing a 180 on an on-ramp once with my '80 firebird. But that was after a 40...and I believe ''smells like teen spirit'' was playing in the background. I was 17.
I have the scars and the pain still from my friend in the Navy that took us downtown in Honolulu when there was an accident on Highway 1. Some kid in a church bus threw a full beer can at the driver of our Nissan Pathfinder that I was passenger in. We flipped a couple of times and my arm went out the window catching the gravel on the roadside. I was in a cast for a few months. Can't straighten my arms out anymore. Don't protect your friends when they hurt you. It doesn't pay.
Nearly Wrecked the Z
i also had a similar experience of back end going its own way- but came through it with much less damage than you did ....my ego- that was a different story. (that the gemini exhaust on there?)
