Its a Bad crash
Discussion
Well I know it was for sale but I did not want to lose it this way!
I crashed my baby today in eastbourne and its a miracle I am here putting finger to keyboard......
I was travelling at a reasonable lick on the dual carriageway on the offside lane about to overtake a merc on the nearside with nothing else in front of her or me and then without warning she crosses into my path
, I haul on the anchors, the car ships from side to side (fishtails) and then does a couple of 360's before hitting a gate post on the nearside on a bank (of earth)! I have to say I really thought my game was up whilst spinning!
Interestingly the car did not look too bad and I will have to see what real damage has been done, thumbs up for tvr build quality (and the fact I did not hit anything more substantial!) the roof even popped off which was nice to let me out!!
Obviously I am more than gutted at present (as well as serious whiplash and back aches)with my loss but am feeling quite chipper about being alive.......
Despite this my return to tvr ownership will be as quick as I can make it!!!
I crashed my baby today in eastbourne and its a miracle I am here putting finger to keyboard......
I was travelling at a reasonable lick on the dual carriageway on the offside lane about to overtake a merc on the nearside with nothing else in front of her or me and then without warning she crosses into my path
, I haul on the anchors, the car ships from side to side (fishtails) and then does a couple of 360's before hitting a gate post on the nearside on a bank (of earth)! I have to say I really thought my game was up whilst spinning! Interestingly the car did not look too bad and I will have to see what real damage has been done, thumbs up for tvr build quality (and the fact I did not hit anything more substantial!) the roof even popped off which was nice to let me out!!
Obviously I am more than gutted at present (as well as serious whiplash and back aches)with my loss but am feeling quite chipper about being alive.......
Despite this my return to tvr ownership will be as quick as I can make it!!!
Alex said:
Sounds like ABS would have saved you.
I have to say that it might have done...who knows, I did not skid though just did a tornado impression!!
And yes the cow did stop and claimed that I came from nowhere (ie she did not look ) although it is a reasonably straight bit of road.
I wonder maybe she did not see me cos the car is quite low?
Take care out there people there are some shite drivers around!!!
Bad news, glad you are ok.
I must say since I have upgraded my brakes to some serious 4 pot AP jobs my car stops dead straight with no fish tail at all even if they lock. The original brakes were not very good when used in an situation like you have described.
So I would not opt for ABS but I feel that good quality brakes have made my car much safer.
I must say since I have upgraded my brakes to some serious 4 pot AP jobs my car stops dead straight with no fish tail at all even if they lock. The original brakes were not very good when used in an situation like you have described.
So I would not opt for ABS but I feel that good quality brakes have made my car much safer.
hongkongfooi said:
Sounds like ABS would have saved you.
I have to say that it might have done...who knows, I did not skid though just did a tornado impression!!
And yes the cow did stop and claimed that I came from nowhere (ie she did not look ) although it is a reasonably straight bit of road.
I wonder maybe she did not see me cos the car is quite low?
Take care out there people there are some shite drivers around!!!
if you need any advice on the legal issues (bit concerned she may dispute liability by the sounds of it) - feel free to drop me an e-mail through my profile.
Glad you are ok.
Have had the same situation a few times myself though thankfully never span, it must be because people don't check there mirrors or because the car is so low as you say.
I cannot understand how people cannot see / hear a tiv steaming along at high revs?
MOD.
Edited to say: When I have had to brake really sharp, as long at the car is on a very smooth road it stops dead straight, if the road is at all cambered or uneven or both I have pooed myself.....you feel all the weight going to the front end and the car weaves about following the indulations in the road, I suppose you could call it tramlining under braking.
>> Edited by MOD500 on Thursday 13th May 17:21
Have had the same situation a few times myself though thankfully never span, it must be because people don't check there mirrors or because the car is so low as you say.
I cannot understand how people cannot see / hear a tiv steaming along at high revs?
MOD.
Edited to say: When I have had to brake really sharp, as long at the car is on a very smooth road it stops dead straight, if the road is at all cambered or uneven or both I have pooed myself.....you feel all the weight going to the front end and the car weaves about following the indulations in the road, I suppose you could call it tramlining under braking.
>> Edited by MOD500 on Thursday 13th May 17:21
plunkett said:
i have also had a scary moment with fishtailing and i am interested to ask how many others have experienced this? and reasons why it happened??
It happens because the rear end of the Chimaeraa is quite light, and in a non-modified car, the rear brakes are overly powerful compared to the fronts. First thing I did with mine was upgrade the fronts, put a bit more bias to the front and the problem almost disappears...
Firstly glad you are ok, the car is just that - a car, precious but not worth as much as your life. It will be repaired to better than before, I'm sure.
This reinforces my thoughts on overtaking. I always try somehow to see from the reaction of the driver I am about to pass that they have noticed me. I look at their head position to see if they have glanced in their mirror, or I look at their front wheels as I am passing, any slight movement indicates they are straying off line. In any case I am not afraid to use my horn (just a friendly toot-toot) to alert them that I am there, and coming past. If they don't like it tough, I'd rather be in one piece and in any case I'll be soon past and gone.
Good luck with the claim - Rich...
This reinforces my thoughts on overtaking. I always try somehow to see from the reaction of the driver I am about to pass that they have noticed me. I look at their head position to see if they have glanced in their mirror, or I look at their front wheels as I am passing, any slight movement indicates they are straying off line. In any case I am not afraid to use my horn (just a friendly toot-toot) to alert them that I am there, and coming past. If they don't like it tough, I'd rather be in one piece and in any case I'll be soon past and gone.
Good luck with the claim - Rich...
manek said:
It happens because the rear end of the Chimaeraa is quite light, and in a non-modified car, the rear brakes are overly powerful compared to the fronts. First thing I did with mine was upgrade the fronts, put a bit more bias to the front and the problem almost disappears...
Yep, its quite common for a chim or a griff to spin under heavy braking...
the rear of the car lifts and goes light the rear wheels lock up and then the back overtakes the front.
the remedy is bigger front brakes and nitron dampers which reduce the lift under braking...
I was very surprised when i upgraded mine...it made a huge difference to the stability under braking...
G
At least you are alright - as said by previous posters it was just a car.
Hopefully you will get loads of cash with out having to go through the process of selling (which is never nice - trying to see a silver lining...) and get a lovely new shiney beast!
Good luck with the claim etc.
Roger
Hopefully you will get loads of cash with out having to go through the process of selling (which is never nice - trying to see a silver lining...) and get a lovely new shiney beast!
Good luck with the claim etc.
Roger
hongkongfooi said:
Thanks for the comments peeps.
As a matter of impending interest.....my car was insured for 15000, how much could I expect from the insurers? I am expecting a few cheeky offers!
Less than that. If it's a write off, do some research, get figures from adverts and so on for a similar spec/mileage/condition. If you bought from a dealer, get dealer figures. If private go through the classifieds. Like you say they will give you an offer. Not an actual price. It's normally up for negotiation.
Rob
Comiserations mate, but at least you came out of it (relativly) unhurt. I only had a small low speed dink in mine before Xmas and it broke my heart, so I can only imagine how you feel.
So how bad is the damage? Is it just a panel or two or did the whole car get it?
Good luck in getting it sorted and having it back on the road ASAP.
So how bad is the damage? Is it just a panel or two or did the whole car get it?
Good luck in getting it sorted and having it back on the road ASAP.
Graham said:
It happens because the rear end of the Chimaeraa is quite light, and in a non-modified car, the rear brakes are overly powerful compared to the fronts. First thing I did with mine was upgrade the fronts, put a bit more bias to the front and the problem almost disappears...
Yep, its quite common for a chim or a griff to spin under heavy braking...
the rear of the car lifts and goes light the rear wheels lock up and then the back overtakes the front.
the remedy is bigger front brakes and nitron dampers which reduce the lift under braking...
I was very surprised when i upgraded mine...it made a huge difference to the stability under braking...
G
Glad you're OK Hongkongfooi.
Not keen on disagreeing with Graham and Manek, both of whom I expect know what they're talking about, but one of the biggest factors causing fishtailing under braking is depressing the clutch too early. I have standard brakes on my Griff and the fronts lock up first. Even so, if the clutch is depressed when braking hard the car wanders about but leave the clutch alone until just before it stalls and it is much more controlled. Don't mean to teach grandma to suck eggs but until this was pointed out to me on a driving course, I didn't realise how soon I had been depressing the clutch in an emergency stop situation.
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