Losing control of high powered cars

Man of Honour
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Cold tyres is zero excuse for binning it. That is a circumstance you should know about and drive accordingly. Ive never had a car where cold tyres has been an issue including my race car. Sure they get stickier with heat but when stone cold there is still grip unless the compound is knackered. Wet weather I was spinning up all 4 tyres on my car on Bridgestone but didn’t die dead. Did nearly bin an MX5 race loaner at Silverstone leaving the pits in the wet mind but caught it. Like ice!
 
Soldato
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You don't even need a lot of power to lose control of a RWD car. Tyres and conditions make a much bigger difference than in a FWD or AWD car. Traction control helps but you can't rely on it.

Inexperience causes most of it. Some new drivers think they can go straight from their 1.2 corsa to something like an MX-5 and drive the same way. Nope.

Also some people think they can hold a drift or can handle it without TC on, but find out actually they can't :p
 
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Man of Honour
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Drifting takes real skill and practice to master it. I took an MX5 to Oulton a few years back and expected to be a god for I am a driving god of course. I was all over the shop in the morning and I can easily hold that car sideways in a drift off a nice bend or island but moving a car from lock to lock smoothly takes practice and experience. Catching a rear end stepping out is relatively easy when you know what you're doing, making a car Tokyo drift is somewhat different and takes lots of practice. Binning a car in a straight line, such as this herbert...


..is just crap driving. A few of his 'bluds' came to his support on Twitter when Harris called him a dick but be clear. This was driver error. All the camber, cold tyres, oil on the road crap is just that, crap. Talent under delivered here.
 
Man of Honour
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All he did was accelerate, cant see the insurance not paying up really. It may have involved a launch control but nothing in his insurance about using that on the road I would suggest.

We all make mistakes, but let’s not pretend it’s anything it isn’t.

He cocked up, drove badly, got bitten and it was all down to his lack of driving skill which also involves anticipation less we forget.

I am sure lesson learned....
 
Associate
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All he did was accelerate, cant see the insurance not paying up really.
I'm not so sure. I'm sure given the amount of other lambos and people filming it could be argued by the insurance company he was doing some sort of "demonstration". I know when I've looked through some of my own policies in the past they always have a section about not covering racing/speed tests and then a load of other terms to convey the idea of purposely going to quickly. I think he might struggle to get anything personally, especially given the value of the car. I'd expect that's a 30mph road given it goes into a 20mph zone right around the bridge. He revved out first hard and was starting to rev out second which I'd imagine would be quite fast in a Lambo.
 
Soldato
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There are tones of people binning sports/supercars that way (fishtail and crash).

If you nail it on the road like that, with our crappy UK tarmac, it's asking for trouble especially in something RWD. It's not like on a track which is very smooth and grippy. You hit a pothole or something and the whole car goes out of balance.
 
Caporegime
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Most RWD wouldnt have binned it. He kept his toe in as it started to slide. Most rwd cars sort themselves out but those things have so much power combined with a brutal gear change. No idea if he was in corsa mode or whatever

Probably similar to a GT86 but swap ‘so much power’ with ‘so little grip’.
 
Man of Honour
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Some more rubbish driving



There are ZILLIONS of these out there. Often when surrounded by people waiting for the fail because people are often clueless. Throttle control is a skill when power is involved. The Audi one I have no idea how he did it, special talent to get it so wrong in so little space with a car that makes the entire throttle thing easy. I suspect manual, TC off, booted, snapped.
 
Soldato
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Most RWD wouldnt have binned it. He kept his toe in as it started to slide. Most rwd cars sort themselves out but those things have so much power combined with a brutal gear change. No idea if he was in corsa mode or whatever

Probably similar to a GT86 but swap ‘so much power’ with ‘so little grip’.

Loads of power + loads of grip. When they let go, they go very suddenly. On something made for sliding around it comes in gradually and you don't get that sudden snap that sends you spinning.
 
Soldato
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There are tones of people binning sports/supercars that way (fishtail and crash).

If you nail it on the road like that, with our crappy UK tarmac, it's asking for trouble especially in something RWD. It's not like on a track which is very smooth and grippy. You hit a pothole or something and the whole car goes out of balance.
Wasn't exactly a B road though?

For that a fiesta ST would definitely be better suited ;)
 
Caporegime
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Loads of power + loads of grip. When they let go, they go very suddenly. On something made for sliding around it comes in gradually and you don't get that sudden snap that sends you spinning.
It was the gearchange and in a straight line
 
Soldato
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Limited slip diffs, mostly are a good idea until you lose traction completely.

- (assuming the car doesnt have a load of electronic features or they do and turned them off) even on a piece of relatively straighty road, provided is isnt completely even, and both tyres are not gripping the same amount i can be quite easy. Once it starts to go, if you keep your foot down it'll keep going. The more HP the faster it'll go.

Once one side is creating more forward momentum than another the force will just exagerate itself. Put the breaks on, and make it even worse due to the weight shifting to the front.

Job done.
 
Associate
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I see on some of the other forums the US always say they accelerated at WOT and then ask why they are getting wheel tramp or spin. As said modern drivers lack the ability to drive properly because they have never driven a car with no aids to help them. Power assisted brakes, power steering were a luxury, chassis control and traction control make cars idiot proof......Well depending on the size of the idiot.
 
Soldato
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The issue is many people on the m40 loose it into the armco due to aquaplaning by which time the laws of physics take over and no safety system in the world will save you. Far to many people drive way to fast for the conditions.

See it all the time when going up and down the m40, escpially in the rain.
 
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