Crashed my Z4 on the ice!
- Thread starter theLOLkid
- Start date
That was a pretty lucky escape really given the endless possibilities of other cars, barriers and ditches, fences, etc.
Sorry to hear about this ....
Good to hear you are OK ...
I concur about ice ..Once you start, there isn't much to stop you.
Lucky you weren't joined by several others ...
My 08 Zed beeps at me and flashes at 3 degrees C ...
As it's warning to be cautious of the dreaded "Black Ice"
That;s the flash frozen stuff you rarely are aware of...
I expect over there it's been replaced with a Beep and an automatic turn indicator when you pass by a pub ...
just sayin ...
Bumpy
Good to hear you are OK ...
I concur about ice ..Once you start, there isn't much to stop you.
Lucky you weren't joined by several others ...
My 08 Zed beeps at me and flashes at 3 degrees C ...
As it's warning to be cautious of the dreaded "Black Ice"
That;s the flash frozen stuff you rarely are aware of...
I expect over there it's been replaced with a Beep and an automatic turn indicator when you pass by a pub ...
just sayin ...
Bumpy
Thanks for all the comments guy. As you say, I'm just lucky it wasn't worse.
I'm glad that I managed to get out of the skid which was taking me towards the centre barrier, and I'm just glad that there weren't other cars in the lanes that I ended up going across. I'm also lucky that I had a relatively soft exit from the hard shoulder. My right rear wheel took a hell of a thud on the kerb at the edge of the hard shoulder but a barrier or drop at that side could've been a lot worse.
Whether or not winter tyres would've helped is up for debate I guess. I'm not sure myself, but in future, I'm going to go for them. For the sake of a comparitavely small amount of money, I'm willing to take the chance that they're at least marginally better than the summer ones. I may also consider the possibility of sticking the Z in the garage from Dec to Feb.
Once the skid got into full swing, I felt completely out of control and I'm not convinced that, after pulling left away from the barrier on the initial skid, there was much I could do.
nottyash: I've not had any proper skid control training, but my understanding was that depressing the clutch, staying off the breaks and steering gently out of the skid is the correct method. I thought that with the car in gear, the wheels are unlikely to roll freely and are less likely to regain traction? But as I say, I'm really no expert.
Thanks again guys. Stay safe!
I'm glad that I managed to get out of the skid which was taking me towards the centre barrier, and I'm just glad that there weren't other cars in the lanes that I ended up going across. I'm also lucky that I had a relatively soft exit from the hard shoulder. My right rear wheel took a hell of a thud on the kerb at the edge of the hard shoulder but a barrier or drop at that side could've been a lot worse.
Whether or not winter tyres would've helped is up for debate I guess. I'm not sure myself, but in future, I'm going to go for them. For the sake of a comparitavely small amount of money, I'm willing to take the chance that they're at least marginally better than the summer ones. I may also consider the possibility of sticking the Z in the garage from Dec to Feb.
Once the skid got into full swing, I felt completely out of control and I'm not convinced that, after pulling left away from the barrier on the initial skid, there was much I could do.
nottyash: I've not had any proper skid control training, but my understanding was that depressing the clutch, staying off the breaks and steering gently out of the skid is the correct method. I thought that with the car in gear, the wheels are unlikely to roll freely and are less likely to regain traction? But as I say, I'm really no expert.
Thanks again guys. Stay safe!
Ive never heard of pressing the clutch and steering into the skid, It takes all control away and at what point do you introduce drive again? You may just loose it again. I think this made matters worse for you.theLOLkid said:
Staying off the brakes was the right thing to do. Having the engine connected to the wheels will give some engine braking which you didnt have.
As I said, if it was that quick I doubt you would of got it back anyway, and winter tyres probably wouldnt of made much difference given the speed you were travelling.
Difficult to say really as so many what ifs.....
I did snow and ice training in norway and concur that pressing the clutch in is a big no no when skidding. You're trained to put your foot under the pedal at first to stop you going for the clutch to get you out of the habit!
From experience, it makes the difference between recoverable and uncontrolled, and infact makes a minor skid much worse.
You're ok though, and nobody else hurt, so lesson learnt and not as bad a day it could've been
Sent from my HTC One X
From experience, it makes the difference between recoverable and uncontrolled, and infact makes a minor skid much worse.
You're ok though, and nobody else hurt, so lesson learnt and not as bad a day it could've been
Sent from my HTC One X
strugglinauthor
Member
Timely warning for us all. Main thing is you're OK and I'm sure the Z4 will soon be looking as good as new.
Wow that sounds scary! Really glad you are not hurt. I don't have winters but any hint of bad weather Zed stays at home and I take my other car.
Sorry to hear this. Been said already but at least your ok. And fingers crossed it gets fixed soon.
Sorry to hear about the acvcident, glad you're ok.
RWD = oversteer
FWD = understeer
Did a skid pan day towards the end of last year and I was amazed how much difference engaging the clutch can make to getting it back.
Highly recommend doing one if anyone gets the chance, good fun and educational.
RWD was much more fun on the skid pan and easier to control, but it tends to be more dramatic and 'all over the place', which on the road is more dangerous.
Problem with courses etc is that nothing prepares you for the unepxected incidents.
nottyash said:But front wheel drive cars tend to over steer, and reardrive under steer. :?K99 said:
I cant see what possible advantage that has.
I would never do it.
RWD = oversteer
FWD = understeer
Did a skid pan day towards the end of last year and I was amazed how much difference engaging the clutch can make to getting it back.
Highly recommend doing one if anyone gets the chance, good fun and educational.
RWD was much more fun on the skid pan and easier to control, but it tends to be more dramatic and 'all over the place', which on the road is more dangerous.
Problem with courses etc is that nothing prepares you for the unepxected incidents.
A
Anonymous
Guest
I'm not saying that it would have changed anything but in genral I think that everyone that drives a rear wheel drive car should get out onto a track and get to grips (no pun intended) with oversteer.
Once you have done it a few times your reactions and feel for what's happening at the back end becomes much better.
Don't know about the clutch, i've never considered it as I'm usually trying to hold the drift for as long as possible and am on and off of the throttle. On the track of course.
Winter tyres do help a lot but with ice you need studded tyres which is not an option in the uk.
Very sorry about your car ...
Once you have done it a few times your reactions and feel for what's happening at the back end becomes much better.
Don't know about the clutch, i've never considered it as I'm usually trying to hold the drift for as long as possible and am on and off of the throttle. On the track of course.
Winter tyres do help a lot but with ice you need studded tyres which is not an option in the uk.
Very sorry about your car ...
Good to see all agreed on the ideal course of action.
Sorry about the car.
It looks like it should be okay though.
Winter tyres are worth fitting. I have found them to be enormous fun after spending a day mucking around on snow covered lanes. I am beginning to get a feel for the car. I wouldn't be able to tell you what it is I am doing to recover or balance the car on minimal directional stability but somehow it seems to work.
Sorry about the car.
It looks like it should be okay though.
Winter tyres are worth fitting. I have found them to be enormous fun after spending a day mucking around on snow covered lanes. I am beginning to get a feel for the car. I wouldn't be able to tell you what it is I am doing to recover or balance the car on minimal directional stability but somehow it seems to work.