I am (not) a driving God.
Discussion
Coming off an empty roundabout today onto a dual carriageway. Car is in 'slackened off' traction control mode and the road is moist, so I am taking care - but nevertheless making progress. I accelerate off the roundabout as the car straightens up, (in the left hand lane) and my right foot eventually hits the stops. So far so good. Far up ahead are a couple of cars, so I point the car ever so gently at the right hand lane just as I pulled the paddle for third, foot still to the floor...
As the car went up the third I must have been sat on the white line, because from my original lane-changing angle of about 5 degrees, the back of the car swung out to about 35 degrees. (Does this sound plausible?) Now at this point I would love to regale you all with a tale of cool Ken Block-esque car control, but what actually transpired was a thoroughly pant-changing experience. I have no shame in saying that at about 60mph I absolutely f
king bricked it. I st you not that time slowed down as I feathered the throttle and somehow held onto it. After a prolonged tail wag I found myself in the right hand lane, face devoid of all colour. While I would like to think that it was my manly and skillful driving that kept me in a straight line I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it was BMW's finest computer boffins that prevented me stacking it into the central reservation.
So let this post stand as a reminder that I should never be let out in a TVR. Ever.
As the car went up the third I must have been sat on the white line, because from my original lane-changing angle of about 5 degrees, the back of the car swung out to about 35 degrees. (Does this sound plausible?) Now at this point I would love to regale you all with a tale of cool Ken Block-esque car control, but what actually transpired was a thoroughly pant-changing experience. I have no shame in saying that at about 60mph I absolutely f
king bricked it. I st you not that time slowed down as I feathered the throttle and somehow held onto it. After a prolonged tail wag I found myself in the right hand lane, face devoid of all colour. While I would like to think that it was my manly and skillful driving that kept me in a straight line I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that it was BMW's finest computer boffins that prevented me stacking it into the central reservation.So let this post stand as a reminder that I should never be let out in a TVR. Ever.
Edited by gubsta on Tuesday 13th July 21:56
This reminds me of a M535i that my dad had when I was a kid. It would every now and then try and kill him, as soon as he applied power it would just try and spin.
The specialist that he bought the car from was ready to tell him to drive more sensibly, when it did it to him. He drove back a lot more slowly.
It turned out to be a broken collar on the LSD, which meant that on occasions it would drive one rear wheel only.
The specialist that he bought the car from was ready to tell him to drive more sensibly, when it did it to him. He drove back a lot more slowly.
It turned out to be a broken collar on the LSD, which meant that on occasions it would drive one rear wheel only.
I my 330d, the traction control / stability control is almost telephathicly good i think! leave it fully on, and it allows you a slight amount of wheel spin if the car is not yawing, but build any yaw and it grabs a frotn brake to straighten you up and pulls the throttle back just the right amount to avoid a tank slapper. With it in "less intervention" mode it allows you loads of wheel spin in a straight line and about 20deg of yaw before it intervenes with a brake grab.
If you want , you can just stamp the throttle to the floor halfway around a corner, and let go of the steering wheel and it just sorts it all for you!
Personnally i turn it off and drift it like i stole it.......... ;-)
If you want , you can just stamp the throttle to the floor halfway around a corner, and let go of the steering wheel and it just sorts it all for you!
Personnally i turn it off and drift it like i stole it.......... ;-)
gubsta said:
So let this post stand as a reminder that I should never be let out in a TVR. Ever.
LOL....except with a TVR the gear stick is in the traditional place on the floor. As such the same outcome from stepping too harshly on the loud pedal on a damp road leaves you with what bikers refer to as a "tank slapper" whilst only having one hand on the wheel. This leaves you with the option of putting the left hand back on the wheel and trying to provide some input, or covering your eyes and proceeding directly to the scene of the accident 
For my part I somehow got both hands on the wheel and slid gracefully at an angle of about 45 degrees for 50 yards or so until the tyres gripped again and slung the car back into the straight ahead position. I may have provided some input to the wheel but I cannot remember at all. In this 5 seconds or so of total mayhem I managed to age 10 years, sweat like a rapist in a hedge, rapidly digest my lunch to the point where it almost came out the right end in a hurry and caused me to drive the next 400 yards to a turn off in a complete trance.
TVR's......gotta luv 'em
bazking69 said:
MSTRBKR said:
Flooring it in the rain and relying on traction/stability control 
The worrying thing is that so many people rely on and expect all these gizmos to get them out of trouble and offset their often poor driving given conditions....t then I might have expected to stuff it on the roundabout - not the dead straight smooth road after it!gubsta said:
bazking69 said:
MSTRBKR said:
Flooring it in the rain and relying on traction/stability control
The worrying thing is that so many people rely on and expect all these gizmos to get them out of trouble and offset their often poor driving given conditions....t then I might have expected to stuff it on the roundabout - not the dead straight smooth road after it!t' you would have been ready for it.In much the same way that one has a heightened sense of awareness when really pushing on,but are more likely to get caught speeding or not notice another driver about to pull out when you are dawdling along listening to the Archers
I can't explain this but don't downshifts usually cause a car to lose traction rather than upshifts? I'd say it was more to do with how slippery white lines are when wet (especially new ones) and flooring it. Assuming you probably changed near the red line in 2nd that's what, 60mph in an M3?
I don't floor my car in the rain - not even close when it's as greasy as it was today. Plus I've got no TC in a fairly powerful car, I'd be nuts to floor it and take it up to the red line on the greasy roads I was on today!
ETA: I'd like to point out that I'm 21 and apparently a risk on the road
I don't floor my car in the rain - not even close when it's as greasy as it was today. Plus I've got no TC in a fairly powerful car, I'd be nuts to floor it and take it up to the red line on the greasy roads I was on today!
ETA: I'd like to point out that I'm 21 and apparently a risk on the road
Edited by MSTRBKR on Wednesday 14th July 08:04
OP - have you ever thought of attending one of the novice drift days? DWYB at Santa Pod or Norfolk Arena monthly are great for learning how to control your car when things like that happen. I would definitely recommend it to any driver of a powerful RWD car, it will teach you a lot about its driving characteristic plus you won't have to change your pants every time your back will slide... 
Edited by rottie102 on Wednesday 14th July 00:10
MSTRBKR said:
I can't explain this but don't downshifts usually cause a car to lose traction rather than upshifts?
Any shift is going to mean a moment of no power then power being applied, thus upsetting the balance to a greater or lesser extent. Combined with a bit of slippy white line - yep.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff