I'm going to Contribute to this Month's Car Bad Luck Domino Effect: Whack a Tree Pt.2
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From: McDonalds - NOVA - DC/MD/VA
Yes you read correctly, 2nd time whacking a tree. But this time it was self inflicted... sorta 
Coming home from work, I was cruising around through the backroads as usual. But tonight would be different because tonight's goal is to take all the turns @ 10mph more than what I'm used to! Hellz yeah! Usually people would take it at small intervals... 3mph.. 5mph.. 7mph.. hell.. skip straight to 10! Roads were a bit slick, which only made it more fun.
So I was coming onto this 90 degree turn and decided to tackle it at 45mph (regular cornering speed being 30, yes, I was being a little over-zealous here, but fun nonetheless!) Halfway through the turn, the tires were waaaay past their limits and the car started to oversteer. The rear driver's side tire went off the road and I was going "slideways" on the grass. Half my car was sliding on the dirt and the other half still on the road...
Usually people start panicking at this point, but I knew the only way to correct this was to FLOOR IT. So floor it I did, pedal to the metal! However, before my tires got a chance to grab any traction, my rear quarter panel was sliding closer and closer to a tree... and then BAM!
But it didn't end there, the impact corrected my driving line only to send me flying the OTHER direction (like a pendulum affect.) So now I was oversteering the other way with the passenger side tire in the dirt on the other side of the road... and yes... STILL going slideways!
The car fish tailed on and off the road... trees on both sides ready to greet me. "Oh noes..." here comes another tree on the passenger side now! The rear quarter panel on the passenger side was about 10cm's from smacking another tree. At this point, luckily the car dramatically slowed down from all the fish tailing so I was able to take advantage of my AWD to get me out of this sticky situation.
FLOORED IT
All tires caught grip and catapulted me out of this fish tailing adventure. Drove back home to check out the damages: will post pics later when I get a chance!

Coming home from work, I was cruising around through the backroads as usual. But tonight would be different because tonight's goal is to take all the turns @ 10mph more than what I'm used to! Hellz yeah! Usually people would take it at small intervals... 3mph.. 5mph.. 7mph.. hell.. skip straight to 10! Roads were a bit slick, which only made it more fun.
So I was coming onto this 90 degree turn and decided to tackle it at 45mph (regular cornering speed being 30, yes, I was being a little over-zealous here, but fun nonetheless!) Halfway through the turn, the tires were waaaay past their limits and the car started to oversteer. The rear driver's side tire went off the road and I was going "slideways" on the grass. Half my car was sliding on the dirt and the other half still on the road...
Usually people start panicking at this point, but I knew the only way to correct this was to FLOOR IT. So floor it I did, pedal to the metal! However, before my tires got a chance to grab any traction, my rear quarter panel was sliding closer and closer to a tree... and then BAM!
But it didn't end there, the impact corrected my driving line only to send me flying the OTHER direction (like a pendulum affect.) So now I was oversteering the other way with the passenger side tire in the dirt on the other side of the road... and yes... STILL going slideways!
The car fish tailed on and off the road... trees on both sides ready to greet me. "Oh noes..." here comes another tree on the passenger side now! The rear quarter panel on the passenger side was about 10cm's from smacking another tree. At this point, luckily the car dramatically slowed down from all the fish tailing so I was able to take advantage of my AWD to get me out of this sticky situation.
FLOORED IT
All tires caught grip and catapulted me out of this fish tailing adventure. Drove back home to check out the damages: will post pics later when I get a chance!
Last edited by abui01; Jan 14, 2009 at 06:17 PM.
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From: McDonalds - NOVA - DC/MD/VA

Here are a few battle scars:


Dirty Shoes:





Prior to SC's request... Weight Reduction: Operation Remove factory 5lb stereo!
(with more to come of course)
Yes I know, lighting sucks! I'm going to snap a few more pics when it's sunny out so you guys can see all the grass and mud I kicked up. Quite fun! Highly Recommended!

And through this I have learned: More weight reduction needed, stronger suspension bushings all-around, beefier/wider front control arms, wider/stronger rear lateral links all for increased traction, and an X-Brace for chassis rigidity.. oh yeah, and the most important part - a helmet for daily driving... BoO YaH!!
Last edited by abui01; Jan 14, 2009 at 05:05 PM.
Anh, you are wild. once its warmer can you take me for a ride? pleaseeee? with a suspension bushing on top?!?!
that isnt all that bad of damage for hitting a tree.
question though: why would you floor it to get more traction? if the tires are at their limits then why wouldnt letting them slow down to regain traction be better? im still learning and when this happened to me before i DID panic and slammed the brakes, spun around 180 and came to a stop with plenty of dirt in the wheel wells and in between the rim and tire.
that isnt all that bad of damage for hitting a tree.
question though: why would you floor it to get more traction? if the tires are at their limits then why wouldnt letting them slow down to regain traction be better? im still learning and when this happened to me before i DID panic and slammed the brakes, spun around 180 and came to a stop with plenty of dirt in the wheel wells and in between the rim and tire.
Thread Starter
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From: McDonalds - NOVA - DC/MD/VA
SC - wheels r discontinued! Muhahaaha I actually might sell em, gonna pick up some BBS's for the extra 2lb savings per rim.
hardcore - thanx! Getting the ding pulled in a few hours so no biggie =)
SmokerZ - you spun around in a 360 cuz you slammed your brakes: counter-steering and throttle control would have opted to be a better choice.
Z's are RWD so I wouldn't recommend gunning it when you're out of control if you're not 100% confident. However, in my particular situation here, since I have AWD, pedal to the metal is the best thing you can do when you're flying in all different directions.
This technique works on FWD cars sometimes as well. I remember following my buddy thru a backroad once and we ran into a random spot of water which threw him sideways. Instead of braking and shifting all your weight to the front (which will enduce understeer and even less control of your car,) he made use of his forward momentum and popped his e-brake to fishtail his rear-end around; gunned it so his front wheels would lock grip and it eased him through the turn. Needless to say, I was following maybe 2 ft behind his rear bumper (this was probably like 8 yrs back when I was still learning) and also had a FWD at the time as well. Ran right over the same slick spot that spun him out which ultimately spun me out as well, slammed my brakes, car understeered like a **** and I almost dropped into a 4ft ditch. I think I missed the edge by like 3 inches literally.
We stopped in the middle of the road, got out of our cars to catch our breathes. He was like:
"OMG, i knew if I didn't make that turn you woulda totally rammed into me."
"...Yes I totally would have!"
On a side note: I think I've ran every single one of my cars either into a ditch or into a tree on a backroad, all self inflicted of course
hardcore - thanx! Getting the ding pulled in a few hours so no biggie =)
SmokerZ - you spun around in a 360 cuz you slammed your brakes: counter-steering and throttle control would have opted to be a better choice.
Z's are RWD so I wouldn't recommend gunning it when you're out of control if you're not 100% confident. However, in my particular situation here, since I have AWD, pedal to the metal is the best thing you can do when you're flying in all different directions.
This technique works on FWD cars sometimes as well. I remember following my buddy thru a backroad once and we ran into a random spot of water which threw him sideways. Instead of braking and shifting all your weight to the front (which will enduce understeer and even less control of your car,) he made use of his forward momentum and popped his e-brake to fishtail his rear-end around; gunned it so his front wheels would lock grip and it eased him through the turn. Needless to say, I was following maybe 2 ft behind his rear bumper (this was probably like 8 yrs back when I was still learning) and also had a FWD at the time as well. Ran right over the same slick spot that spun him out which ultimately spun me out as well, slammed my brakes, car understeered like a **** and I almost dropped into a 4ft ditch. I think I missed the edge by like 3 inches literally.
We stopped in the middle of the road, got out of our cars to catch our breathes. He was like:
"OMG, i knew if I didn't make that turn you woulda totally rammed into me."
"...Yes I totally would have!"
On a side note: I think I've ran every single one of my cars either into a ditch or into a tree on a backroad, all self inflicted of course
Last edited by abui01; Jan 14, 2009 at 09:34 PM.



