A lesson learned....
Discussion
Having been without my P&J for so long, and finally bringing her 900 miles back to Blighty over the weekend, I looked out the window this morning, saw a bit of blue sky, and decided to take her to work rather than my daily smoker. So, there was me thinking about random things, enjoying the fresh air early in the morning on my normal route to work. I pulled onto the A4 westbound from Hammersmith Broadway, gave her a squirt in 2nd to listen to my new Capristo and get past a car and into the middle lane, when all of a sudden I'm steering looking straight down the road through the driver's side window. Luckily I catch it but then the rear swings round to the other side like a pendulum, which I also manage to catch. This swinging continues for about 40 yds on the road until finally I straighten her up. Never had the back step out so far in any car and at one point I was convinced I was going to mount the kerb and hit a lampost. Not pleasant 
Not sure if I hit some oil, or the road was just greasy, or a wheel lost traction on road markings, all I know is it caught me completely by surprise.
And all because I forgot, for one split second, to give enough respect to what I was driving. It was so close to being a very painful and very expensive lesson.
Moral of the story: no matter how benign, even underpowered by some modern standards, a supercar can feel never forget how much trouble several hundred bhp through the rear wheels can give you, and how quickly, especially if there are no fancy electronics to save your bacon.
Not sure if I hit some oil, or the road was just greasy, or a wheel lost traction on road markings, all I know is it caught me completely by surprise.And all because I forgot, for one split second, to give enough respect to what I was driving. It was so close to being a very painful and very expensive lesson.
Moral of the story: no matter how benign, even underpowered by some modern standards, a supercar can feel never forget how much trouble several hundred bhp through the rear wheels can give you, and how quickly, especially if there are no fancy electronics to save your bacon.
Mario149 said:
Moral of the story: no matter how benign, even underpowered by some modern standards, a supercar can feel never forget how much trouble several hundred bhp through the rear wheels can give you, and how quickly, especially if there are no fancy electronics to save your bacon.
Makes a very nice change to hear somebody say something like that, rather than the usual tired old excuses 
It's getting to the start of slippy season again whereby the roads and tyres are cold, a little greasy due to the morning damp and plenty of leaves mulched into the surface for good measure. Catches a lot of people out each year, myself included.
Really glad you're OK, just a reminder as to how much we come to rely on driving aids in our normal cars.
Really glad you're OK, just a reminder as to how much we come to rely on driving aids in our normal cars.
Ya not the only one to do this in second gear. I have heard of a few that have not got away with it so lightly. Theres even one guy who has wrote of not one but two 355 in second gear spins http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2993... So think ya self lucky.
Heres a section/Quote of what they guy wrote.
[Quote} My first accident happened on a cold but dry day when I was going to move the car to new garage. I was driving down a straight road, accelerating and shifting into 2:nd when I lost all traction. The car spun and I ended up in the ditch upside down. The car was totaled and I was so chocked that I was unable to remember what exactly happened. I have been going through the accident in my mind many times without really understanding the root cause.
So last week it happened again. Driving down a straight road, nice day, road is dry and I shift from 1:st to 2:nd and BAM, the car turns around in no time and I hit the road barrier. This time the speed was lower but the car was again totaled. My wife who was in the car behind told me that the speed was about 50-60 Km/h and she couldn’t believe how this could happen.
To me however it is no longer so hard to understand what is happening. When shifting from 1:st to 2:nd the harsh shifting in sport mode makes the tires break loose and when you don’t have a clutch and no ASR you pretty much become a passenger. Lifting the foot from the gas doesn’t really help, since you are still in gear. I don’t consider myself being a reckless driver or an inexperienced one and I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer feel safe driving the 355 F1. On the track I feel totally safe but in daily traffic I can just not predict the amount of force and grip that the car has.[End quote}
Heres a section/Quote of what they guy wrote.
[Quote} My first accident happened on a cold but dry day when I was going to move the car to new garage. I was driving down a straight road, accelerating and shifting into 2:nd when I lost all traction. The car spun and I ended up in the ditch upside down. The car was totaled and I was so chocked that I was unable to remember what exactly happened. I have been going through the accident in my mind many times without really understanding the root cause.
So last week it happened again. Driving down a straight road, nice day, road is dry and I shift from 1:st to 2:nd and BAM, the car turns around in no time and I hit the road barrier. This time the speed was lower but the car was again totaled. My wife who was in the car behind told me that the speed was about 50-60 Km/h and she couldn’t believe how this could happen.
To me however it is no longer so hard to understand what is happening. When shifting from 1:st to 2:nd the harsh shifting in sport mode makes the tires break loose and when you don’t have a clutch and no ASR you pretty much become a passenger. Lifting the foot from the gas doesn’t really help, since you are still in gear. I don’t consider myself being a reckless driver or an inexperienced one and I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer feel safe driving the 355 F1. On the track I feel totally safe but in daily traffic I can just not predict the amount of force and grip that the car has.[End quote}
Edited by ferrari spider on Tuesday 2nd November 16:04
Different marque but I had a very similar experience in my C4S. The consensus amongst fellow porker owners was exactly as suggested here - a combination of colder weather, cold tyres and greasy roads can cause some challenges. I have since put my winter tyres on! It isnt fun when it happens but I guess you felt secretly quite proud of yourself for NOT stacking it - I know I did...
I think folks maybe misunderstand the requirements of high-speed rated tyres. Due to the compounds they're constructed of, they need properly heated up before they'll grip well enough for 'spirited' driving. It's also why they'll never heat up in snowy/icy conditions and will be easily 'stacked'.
It's nothing to do with tread pattern, it's the compound.
It's nothing to do with tread pattern, it's the compound.
Its a bit puzzling to me though that a car can violently spin when changing gear with full throttle being used when heading straight ahead.......whether the tyres are cold or not that just seems crazy to me and I haven't experienced this. I remember driving at -1degC in Denmark withmy old 320rwhp 964 on summer tyres and trying to overtake someone in second gear and the car just spinning its wheels in a stable fashion......because I was heading straight at the time. If someone is foolish enough to drop into 2nd on a RWD 911 Turbo and flooring it *whilst changing lane* for example then I understand why this could easily happen especially on cold tyres.......so what were the circumstances exactly?
christer said:
Its a bit puzzling to me though that a car can violently spin when changing gear with full throttle being used when heading straight ahead.......whether the tyres are cold or not that just seems crazy to me and I haven't experienced this. I remember driving at -1degC in Denmark withmy old 320rwhp 964 on summer tyres and trying to overtake someone in second gear and the car just spinning its wheels in a stable fashion......because I was heading straight at the time. If someone is foolish enough to drop into 2nd on a RWD 911 Turbo and flooring it *whilst changing lane* for example then I understand why this could easily happen especially on cold tyres.......so what were the circumstances exactly?
LSD and even very slightly more grip from one tyre will do it...ferrari spider said:
Ya not the only one to do this in second gear. I have heard of a few that have not got away with it so lightly. Theres even one guy who has wrote of not one but two 355 in second gear spins http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2993... So think ya self lucky.
Heres a section/Quote of what they guy wrote.
[Quote} My first accident happened on a cold but dry day when I was going to move the car to new garage. I was driving down a straight road, accelerating and shifting into 2:nd when I lost all traction. The car spun and I ended up in the ditch upside down. The car was totaled and I was so chocked that I was unable to remember what exactly happened. I have been going through the accident in my mind many times without really understanding the root cause.
So last week it happened again. Driving down a straight road, nice day, road is dry and I shift from 1:st to 2:nd and BAM, the car turns around in no time and I hit the road barrier. This time the speed was lower but the car was again totaled. My wife who was in the car behind told me that the speed was about 50-60 Km/h and she couldn’t believe how this could happen.
To me however it is no longer so hard to understand what is happening. When shifting from 1:st to 2:nd the harsh shifting in sport mode makes the tires break loose and when you don’t have a clutch and no ASR you pretty much become a passenger. Lifting the foot from the gas doesn’t really help, since you are still in gear. I don’t consider myself being a reckless driver or an inexperienced one and I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer feel safe driving the 355 F1. On the track I feel totally safe but in daily traffic I can just not predict the amount of force and grip that the car has.[End quote}
Interesting....just to clarify though, i wasn't changing gear, was in 2nd already and just squeezed the throttle (too much clearly!)Heres a section/Quote of what they guy wrote.
[Quote} My first accident happened on a cold but dry day when I was going to move the car to new garage. I was driving down a straight road, accelerating and shifting into 2:nd when I lost all traction. The car spun and I ended up in the ditch upside down. The car was totaled and I was so chocked that I was unable to remember what exactly happened. I have been going through the accident in my mind many times without really understanding the root cause.
So last week it happened again. Driving down a straight road, nice day, road is dry and I shift from 1:st to 2:nd and BAM, the car turns around in no time and I hit the road barrier. This time the speed was lower but the car was again totaled. My wife who was in the car behind told me that the speed was about 50-60 Km/h and she couldn’t believe how this could happen.
To me however it is no longer so hard to understand what is happening. When shifting from 1:st to 2:nd the harsh shifting in sport mode makes the tires break loose and when you don’t have a clutch and no ASR you pretty much become a passenger. Lifting the foot from the gas doesn’t really help, since you are still in gear. I don’t consider myself being a reckless driver or an inexperienced one and I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer feel safe driving the 355 F1. On the track I feel totally safe but in daily traffic I can just not predict the amount of force and grip that the car has.[End quote}
Edited by ferrari spider on Tuesday 2nd November 16:04
williaa68 said:
It isnt fun when it happens but I guess you felt secretly quite proud of yourself for NOT stacking it - I know I did...
Equal measures of proud and lucky actually. Like you say, proud that I caught all the swings, lucky that thank god I had 3 empty lanes to slew wildly across and back without hitting anyone else.Have to admit, I think the kick plate practice I did at the YouDrive@Porsche day a year or so ago probably helped substantially...I don't even remember winding the oppo on/off...it just sort of happened
ETA: on a cheeky note, do you think I can request traffic camera footage from the council or something?! Freedom of information and all that
Edited by Mario149 on Tuesday 2nd November 17:14
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff