Death Machine
#41
I did get away with it, and I'm thankful. Clearly my actions was the triggering event, but my question has been ... Should it have? I never had this ever come close to happening in any other performance car.
Also, I don't think 550 hp has anything to do with it. At 60 mph, shifting to 4th, doesn't get you anywhere that is outside of the range of lots of cars....
I'm not saying I had nothing to do with it, of course I did...but I think there was a huge aggravating factor, and that's what I'm trying to figure out....
Also, I don't think 550 hp has anything to do with it. At 60 mph, shifting to 4th, doesn't get you anywhere that is outside of the range of lots of cars....
I'm not saying I had nothing to do with it, of course I did...but I think there was a huge aggravating factor, and that's what I'm trying to figure out....
#42
Perhaps, but timing is everything.
If the downshift was initiated just prior to the intended application of throttle, the snap spin was likely initiated before he made it to the throttle. Since everything happened so quickly, it would be impossible to accurately reconstruct one's actions through the adrenalin fog.
If the downshift was initiated just prior to the intended application of throttle, the snap spin was likely initiated before he made it to the throttle. Since everything happened so quickly, it would be impossible to accurately reconstruct one's actions through the adrenalin fog.
I'm with Foosh on this one. From an engineering perspective, that was culprit.
#43
Only in America ... this thread is unbelievable ... again Americans know nothing about driving whether fast or in inclement weather ... this thread is as ridiculous as people wearing safety gear for a standing mile event which in Germany is simply called the on-ramp ...
Number ONE rule for inclement weather driving is no SUDDEN changes, no hard accelerating, braking, shifting, steering ... especially not with high performance 295 water skis on the rear .... you drop two gears, that is a hard shift no matter the transmission, the engine does not have the time to match the rev no matter what, that is like slamming the brakes....
Number ONE rule for inclement weather driving is no SUDDEN changes, no hard accelerating, braking, shifting, steering ... especially not with high performance 295 water skis on the rear .... you drop two gears, that is a hard shift no matter the transmission, the engine does not have the time to match the rev no matter what, that is like slamming the brakes....
#44
Only in America ... this thread is unbelievable ... again Americans know nothing about driving whether fast or in inclement weather ... this thread is as ridiculous as people wearing safety gear for a standing mile event which in Germany is simply called the on-ramp ...
Number ONE rule for inclement weather driving is no SUDDEN changes, no hard accelerating, braking, shifting, steering ... especially not with high performance 295 water skis on the rear .... you drop two gears, that is a hard shift no matter the transmission, the engine does not have the time to match the rev no matter what, that is like slamming the brakes....
Number ONE rule for inclement weather driving is no SUDDEN changes, no hard accelerating, braking, shifting, steering ... especially not with high performance 295 water skis on the rear .... you drop two gears, that is a hard shift no matter the transmission, the engine does not have the time to match the rev no matter what, that is like slamming the brakes....
#45
You know, any car regardless of it's racing heritage or how balanced it is or isn't will ALWAYS require the driver to be vigilant and focused on it's use in certain conditions. The car did what you instructed it to do but the car relied on you to carry the burden of that instruction. The downshift clearly upset the balance of the car, the weight transfer made the rear end light thus creating a possible oversteer reaction by yourself to correct after the rear became loose. Less than optimal tires will not allow the car the sufficient grip it needs to minimize instability or sudden change in forward or lateral momentum so again the driver must make up for that too. In the end it was the driver who caused the situation and it is the driver's responsibility to resolve the situation (which you did by saving yourself and the car from being a ball of aluminum foil). Don't take this wrong XFactorX, we all have made mistakes but understand that the car and all of it's tech wizardry can still be a handful in less than ideal conditions.
Be safe!
Be safe!
#46
#47
XfactoR,
I had a similar type of experience in my XKR about 6 months ago, and I wasn't downshifting. I was driving along the 5 freeway near Bakersfield, CA with a very light rain falling, and I felt at any speed above 50mph I had no control over the car. I check my treadware on regular occasions and was confident I had a reasonable amount so that I didn't understand what was causing the rear end to feel like it wasn't attached to the rest of the car. When I got home to Los Angeles, I checked my rear tires more closely as I started losing air in one of them, just a few p.s.i. every week or so. When I checked them, I was quite stunned to find that there was plenty of tread on the outside rows almost all the way across the rear tires, but the inner two or so rows of tread were bald or worse. These were Hankook tires, by the way.
Have you gotten under the car and checked all the way across the tires?
I had a similar type of experience in my XKR about 6 months ago, and I wasn't downshifting. I was driving along the 5 freeway near Bakersfield, CA with a very light rain falling, and I felt at any speed above 50mph I had no control over the car. I check my treadware on regular occasions and was confident I had a reasonable amount so that I didn't understand what was causing the rear end to feel like it wasn't attached to the rest of the car. When I got home to Los Angeles, I checked my rear tires more closely as I started losing air in one of them, just a few p.s.i. every week or so. When I checked them, I was quite stunned to find that there was plenty of tread on the outside rows almost all the way across the rear tires, but the inner two or so rows of tread were bald or worse. These were Hankook tires, by the way.
Have you gotten under the car and checked all the way across the tires?
#48
#50
#51
I did something very similar to that in 1980 with a 1959 GMC 1/2 ton pickup truck, going around a corner, downshifting and hitting a sudden mudslide at the same time...it is ONLY the grace of God that I'm alive today and hadn't gone over the edge back-end first, after swapping ends, and going over a 1000' ft cliff. No exaggeration.
Your car had nothing to do with it other than the operator broke traction in critical conditions. Glad you're still here. Just learn from it.
#52
Firstly I'm glad you and your car are OK. Thank you for posting this to make sure people are aware of what can happen if you aren't careful. I'm with the others that the downshift caused the rear wheels to brake harder than they could grip to the road. If its raining out, its auto-mode only for me. Your playing with fire similar to pulling your e-brake
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