Just completely lost control of my car

saitrix · 24 Jan 2006 at 11:18

thebrasso said:
Aye, I found on a skid pan (with mega inflated tyres, oil slick/water surface) which will facilitate loss of traction even at low speeds RWD was much more difficult to correct than FWD. However I haven't driven RWD in real world road situations.

On a skid pan i found the fwd car car to control as a whole. What you did in the rwd car just seemed more natural to me. I got plenty of time to practise with the rear out (handbrake turns on the skid pan) and found all you had to do was keep the wheels pointing where you want to go and put the power on and the rear came back in.

Shock · 24 Jan 2006 at 11:44

Lowe said:
No-one else notice that?

More driving lessons needed I think!

Sorry but how on earth did you work that out?

Yes I am only 18, with a years claim-free driving. I Have one big mishap and you say I need more lessons? Since when did instructors teach how to combat oversteer?

/Defensive mode off.

As it happens I think I've found the problem:

Shock said:
I'm not sure if this could have been a problem, but I'm one of my suspension arms (trailing arm?) has gone on the back, which I'm waiting to get fixed. Apart from making a noise over bumps I wasn't aware it too serious?

A quick browse on Puntosports has lead me to:

TURBS said:
how do you know when the lower arms of the suspension have gone

faster4_tec said:
on the rear, your car will try and go sideways, it will crab, it will tramline at highspeeds (well anything over 40mph will scare the living crp out of you), it will knock and clatter over potholes and speedbumps.

That could explain it. :/

Freefaller · 24 Jan 2006 at 11:45

I did the exact same thing at 19.

It teaches you a lot. You learn that you're not god's gift to driving. That there is a lot more to appreciating the road you're driving on, and that there is a lot more going on when you go round a corner than you first thought.

Put it down to experience, maybe go and do some skid pan or advanced driver training, and take it more easy in future.

Sounds like a lesson learnt. I can't have a go as I'm sure we've all been there at some point in our driving experiences.

Matt82 · 24 Jan 2006 at 12:28

Shock said:
Sorry but how on earth did you work that out?

Yes I am only 18, with a years claim-free driving. I Have one big mishap and you say I need more lessons? Since when did instructors teach how to combat oversteer?

/Defensive mode off.

As it happens I think I've found the problem:

A quick browse on Puntosports has lead me to:

That could explain it. :/

im sure they teach about driving at appropriate speeds. you didnt know which direction the road went or how tight.

usually you can read the road but you made a mistake.. you were lucky... as you were!

saitrix · 24 Jan 2006 at 12:46

Probably IAM course would be better?

Lowe · 24 Jan 2006 at 12:47

My point was you shouldn't unintentionally totally lose control of a car ever. You should be able to feel the onset of the tail letting go, or even better drive to within the conditions of the road. Bar total mechanical failure (thankfully rare) or spillage on the road (sadly not so rare) you shouldn't really be finding the tail end of a normal FWD car swapping ends unless you're being a bit of a tool. Sorry.

Also, skid control is part of learning how to drive, not learning how to pass a test. Whilst I appreciate that probably isn't your fault, it is the fault of the powers that be. I was lucky enough to have a proper driving instructor who taught me how to drive and whilst we didn't go hooning around roads he made sure I understood what would happen should the situation arise. It has, and I was able to recognise it and deal with it.

Lecture over - I'm sure the last thing you need is a telling off from a stranger on an internet forum, I'm pretty sure you've learned a valueable lesson. Be sure to learn from it.

cokker · 24 Jan 2006 at 12:56

I took a corner too fast a few years back, i didnt keep it on the road tho

rolled three times into a 12ft ditch, i got out 2 mins after thinking am i dead or bloody lucky? An old boy on a push bike came up to me and said "you ok?" fine i said (not a scrach on me) "you took that corner a bit fast!" no Please read the rules on swearing. sherlock i thought lol

Enfield · 24 Jan 2006 at 13:02

Nathan said:
Not at 40

I've had the back end of my 306 out at 40! It understeered so I had to come off the throttle and the backend just popped out. This was the first time it had happened to me, I did however manage to catch it by jumping on the throttle (maybe too much lol) because it snaked down the road.

I've had the backend out going around a roundabout flat out in the dry (only a little bit).

Had the back end out under breaking into a corner at low speeds.

Had the back step out after coming out of a corner and applying the brakes gently, but it just completely lost it. I blame this on have 3 different types of tyres each with different levels of tread and a rear offside wheel that looked like this " \ " no joke.

Never will I get a 306 again.

205 4 eva

gord · 24 Jan 2006 at 13:18

Thing is, its damn natural to let off the old accelerator as soon as you see youve messed up your judgement of the corner ahead.

Then thats when your in all kinds of turd.

Enfield · 24 Jan 2006 at 13:23

gord said:
Thing is, its damn natural to let off the old accelerator as soon as you see youve messed up your judgement of the corner ahead.

Then thats when your in all kinds of turd.

The first time I had to let off the throttle I had to otherwise i'd have gone straight into the kurb at a funny angle.

Lopéz · 24 Jan 2006 at 13:50

Enfield said:
Never will I get a 306 again.

205 4 eva

You do know that the 205 has the same rear suspension design?

Enfield · 24 Jan 2006 at 13:55

Lopéz said:
You do know that the 205 has the same rear suspension design?

Exactly the same?

Maybe the backend on my 306 came out so much because of the dodgy wheel and the near bald rear nearside tyre.

I have had the backend out on my 205 but did it on purpose, it was easier to catch, but I put that down to having no PAS and being able to feel the road better in it.

NickXX · 24 Jan 2006 at 20:54

ECS/ACR 4tw. Computers do a great job of keeping us pointing in the right direction.

NathanE · 24 Jan 2006 at 21:02

Enfield said:
Maybe the backend on my 306 came out so much because of the dodgy wheel and the near bald rear nearside tyre.

It's not just yours

I drove a 306 once and almost lost it... sure, it was raining but I wasn't pushing it any harder than any other car.

MagicBoy · 25 Jan 2006 at 00:00

NathanE said:
It's not just yours I drove a 306 once and almost lost it... sure, it was raining but I wasn't pushing it any harder than any other car.

I drove a 306 for two years and only had an arse out moment once. It was the second day I owned it and I suddenly closed the throttle while going round a corner on a motorway slip when I realised I was going faster than I thought I was. Caught the slide and marked it down as a lesson learnt. Never had any problem in the wet - front end grip and the steering feedback was excellent.

The only car I've ever spun was my Vauxhall Nova when I was 17. Black ice on a roundabout, 135 section tyres and too much speed ended up as a 360 with it nicely parked nose on 2 inches from the armco.

The_Dark_Side · 25 Jan 2006 at 01:09

Enfield said:
205 4 eva

try a 309.
much better than a 205.

MagicBoy said:
I drove a 306 for two years and only had an arse out moment once. It was the second day I owned it and I suddenly closed the throttle while going round a corner on a motorway slip when I realised I was going faster than I thought I was.

so basically the problems were.
1.you were going too fast.
2.you had an incorrect perception of your vehicles speed.

hardly an indictment of the 306 is it?

[TW]Fox · 25 Jan 2006 at 01:12

I don't think he said it was - actually I think he was supporting the car by saying he only had one issue and that it was his fault anyway.

The_Dark_Side · 25 Jan 2006 at 01:21

[TW]Fox said:
I don't think he said it was - actually I think he was supporting the car by saying he only had one issue and that it was his fault anyway.

maybe,maybe not...again hard to tell on a text based system.
but,coming after a long line of posts criticising the car,and quoting one of them in the original passage,i chose to take it that way.

Hesky82 · 25 Jan 2006 at 04:12

just as freefaller said "Put it down to experience"
next time it could be messy! I had a similar incident when I was 18, but unfortunately my car ended up stuck on its roof with me trapped inside, I could do nothin but watch fuel trickle down the road until someone came to help. never been so scared in my life!
for a good while after I was pretty sad about loosing my pride and joy, but now I look back and think why the hell did I have a 200bhp car when I had so little driving experience, simple case of to fast to soon!

The_Dark_Side · 25 Jan 2006 at 06:24

Hesky82 said:
EDIT...and think why the hell did I have a 200bhp car when I had so little driving experience, simple case of to fast to soon!

you bring up a very good point,something needs to be done to address this.
if you passed your test 40 years ago,if you were very lucky then maybe your (hypothetically) rich parents could've bought you a Riley Elf.
today,assuming your parents have enough money,in the same scenario they could buy you a Ferrari.
the sooner the Govt address this problem the better IMHO.