With only 1300 miles on my odometer I got into an accident last week. I didn't hit any other cars or people, thank goodness, but I did hit a speed limit sign which meant I had to call the police and have them file a report.

Basically, I was turning right at normal/slightly fast speed (15-20mph), lost traction on my rear tires for some reason (it was foggy but the road didn't feel especially slick), turned the wheel hard to the right to avoid a car in the left turn lane, my car pointed 90 deg. right, I slammed my foot down but hit the clutch, and went up the curb and hit the speed limit sign. If I would have missed that damn sign I wouldn't have had to call the police. Didn't even damage it, just pulled it out of the wet grass. Sucks. This happened on south bound Hauser & 3rd in Los Angeles three blocks from my apartment.

I just got my S and I was completely shocked to be parked on the sidewalk that morning. The guess from the body shop is $1700 in damage to the front bumper, left Xenon, and the light's mount.

Is losing rear traction at low speed that common in our car? I had heard stories of higher speed spins, but 20mph seems rediculously unsafe. To the car's credit, I am a new manual driver and have been told that my reaction of lifting off the throttle provoked the spin, but I still am upset that I lost traction at all. It sure felt like my Civic would have taken the turn easily, even with the damp conditions.

 

The S2000 sticks corners like no other car i've ever driven. This might be more of a case of driver error. You might also want to check the area for any loose gravel or sand if no moisture was present. I've had mine to the brink of losing traction on a tight right hander but at speeds far greater than 15mph.

I've also seen people armor-all half their treads to get the tires to look nice.

 

You didn't happen to be in first gear/VTEC? I can easilly loose traction under these conditions.

 

i almost lost it in 1st gear vtec also... luckily i was exiting the turn going into the straight.. i just jumped on the gas too soon =P no damage tho

 

Sorry to hear about your incident. To me it sounds like there are multiple factors involved. Inexperience with RWD is the first thing that comes to mind. Inexperience with a manual may also have something to do with it.

However, since you mentioned foggy conditions, I'm assuming it was cool, maybe around 50-60 degrees? S-02s are notorious for their lack of grip when cold. It is well documented on this board that you need a little heat in the tires before they really stick. You didn't mention if you had just started up the car, but if so, it's likely your tires were too cold. It doesn't get too cold here, but since the car doesn't go into VTEC before you have three bars on the temp gauge, I try to take it easy till the car and the tires are warmed up.

You mentioned that you lost traction in the rear, but the damage is to the front? How can this be? Normally when you lose rear traction, the damage is to the rear of the car. If you lost the rear, caught it slightly, and then "nosed into" the sign, I'm guessing you failed to recover from the 'recovery'. Maybe you could consider trying a few autocrosses. This will help you immeasureably with RWD handling in a more controlled enviornment.

 

I dropped a burrito once like that. Cold tires, cold temps, little wet out, and driving over the painted on crosswalk markers. Those are incredibly slippery.

 

why does being in 1st gear vtec matter?

 

ABOVE COMMENTS ARE YOUR ANSWER!!!

A posting about this happens every winter. Basically a warning for all that drive on S-02's to beware below 50 degrees. And strongly recomend against driving in weather below 40-35. Anything below freezing and your just asking for it.

 

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Seems to me like there was maybe some pebbles or some fluid on the road to cause you to lose traction like that, if you weren't driving especially aggressively.

 

Sounds like a case of being used to front wheel drive, not used to the S and maybe a bit of adverse conditions as well to me. One of the reasons there are so many front wheel drive cars on the road these days is because it's harder to get in trouble with them. Shutting down the throttle and cutting the wheel hard at the same time is asking for trouble in any car but I'd think especially so in the S. It's known to be tail happy, has very sharp steering response and tires designed for warm temps and dry conditons. Don't know what the weather's been like in LA recently but if it's been dry for a while even a little bit of fog to dampen the oil buildup on the roads can make them pretty slippery. Best bet might have been to try out your new ABS brakes, hitting them hard, holding them down and steering a little more gently to avoid the other car.

ron