The story:

I was driving home from Florida. My parents and I were on vacation and I decided to leave and come back on wednesday or thursday so i could bring up a few of my friends with me. Well I was on my way home and I was driving pretty fast at first (90-100) but once it started raining I cut it down. You can ask anyone that knows me, I driving pretty fast but in the rain its time to stop playing around. So I am going about the speed limit 65-70 and at certain points I can feel the back end of my car wobbling a little. So i would just slow down and get in a different lane. Never did it get out of control it just made me a little uneasy. Well finally I am driving int he center lane and this audi a6 passes me doing at least 15 mph more and in the fast lane. I switched lanes thinking it would be fine to go ahead behind him. Drove behind him about 5 minutes but i wasnt going to dare to keep up with him, he was going way too fast. So i just stayed at what i thought was a comfortable 70-75mph. Next thing you know the rear of my car whips around me and throws me directly into the concrete barrier dividing the two sides of the interstate. I hit the barrier and am dragged backwards about 10-15 feet before spinning back around the correct way. The entire thing happened very fast and when i finally came to I was startled as hell. Nothing really hurt at first, the adrenaline kept it all from bothering me. I started looking around for my glasses and found them on the passenger floor. I put them on to realize I am in the middle of the fast lane of the interstate! OH **** I NEED TO GET OFF TO THE SIDE. Cars are flying by me and its pouring raining. Finally I restart my car up(i had turned it off immediatly after i came to a stop) and try to drive.. the car was pulling to the left hard. I was able to bring it down to the next exit and call some people that I needed to call. Waited a few hours for my dad (and had a few of my friends come see me since they were worried about me)to come get me all the way from florida, and the wrecker towed it for us back to New Orleans.

The aftermath:

 

Now, everything basically looks fixable. Dave079 can attest, however, the pictures make it look much better than it really is. BOTH rear wheels are bent to the right. Also, in the picture below you can see the latch on the trunk bend to t he left. The trunk was not involved in the impact nor was it touched at any time, meaning that the latch was bent from a movement or bend of everything under the trunk. Could this signify possible frame damage? I am really confused by this. The insurance adjusters come out in 3-4 days, so I guess we will see what happens!

 

Holy crap you are lucky. Glad you're okay.

 

yah it coulda turned out alot worse.

 

that doesnt look too bad so long as the frame is straight

 

Glad you are OK!

Victor

 

Yeah those damn Audi's and their 4 wheel drive. Glad to see you made it out ok.

 

did this happen with your tcs on?

 

yep tcs did nothign the entire time..... well that i noticed anyway... maybe it kept my from hitting the wall with my front end the second spin around?


and thanks for all of the support guys!

 

Sorry to hear that man, glad you are okay.

Just wondering, were you running the RE040's? How many miles were on your tires/how much treadlife?

I've always through the stock tires weren't good in the rain.

 

I know it hurts to see your baby like that... but everything is fixable except human body. From what you described, you have every reason to be happy you walked unhurt.

 

Well I was running the stock tires wtih about 45% treadwear left on them. A few track passes and whatnot wore them down. Around 12k miles on them as well. I had started to notice them spinning in dry if i would step on it a little to hard so i figured in wet it woudl be worse. Well I guess i was right!

 

Sorry to hear about that man. Dave told me about it on Sunday. He said you're a little sore from the accident, but I'm glad nothing major.

I had the rear of my Base Z spin out (about a 270) when I was going around a corner on wet pavement. I was glad there wasn't any damage or oncoming traffic at the time considering the rear half of my car jumped the 8" curb at about 15 mph. I think the tires are to blame 90% of the time. I simply don't know why Nissan would select RE040s...Hope you get your car fixed good as new though.

 

tcs isnt meant or capable of correcting a skid. it is only traction control, if you peel the back wheels, itll shut off power, thats is. it cant brake wheels like VDC. though argueable if VDC could have done anything either, being that its all limited by traction.

your ok, all that matters. pictures dont work for me, so Ill just hope the cars not so bad.

gotta watch out for keeping up with anything involving 4wd.

 

Good thing you're ok.

That's why I want to get a Performance trim, cause you just never know.

 

So you figured this and still drove 70mph in heavy rain? I've made this mistake before as well and learned the hard way. Just remember that of all things, tire and brake condition and maintenance could be absolutely fatal if overlooked.

 

Stock tires not bad in dry conditions... if it's wet slow down. Lucky you didn't creamed by the on-coming traffic. Glad you're ok.

 

you need some toyo t1's

 

glad you're ok , but 75mph with bad tires and rain pouring is simply asking for it...

 

Spin once at 70, and you'll be very white knuckled next time it rains. I did the same thing BEFORE I got my Z in my Accord. I simply began hydroplaining when changing lanes, and just slid right into the barrier, bounced off, did a 360, then managed to control the car enough to exit the freeway.

Now, when it rains here in Tampa, I slow down to 50 or less, stay in the lane you are in when it started raining, and if I feel the rear slipping, let off the gas and slow it down a little more. RE040's are okay in the wet, but any tire with 45% tread left will cause you problems in a heavy downpour, as there is no place for the water under your tires to go. Esentially, you have 2 or 4 waterski's