This morning I was hopping onto an exit ramp, probably going faster than I should have... I made the turn into the ramp fine, so I added a little gas. Then the rear end started fishtailing to the left. So I turned the wheel left, then the rear end came around and was fishtailing to the right. I got scared and hit my brakes, which resulted in me doing a 180 and sitting in the middle of the ramp with a stalled out car.

Luckily I didn't hit anything, but it scared the cr*p out of me. I pulled over to the side with gravity and sat there trying to get the engine to start for 5 minutes. After awhile it did & I got it back around and headed to work.

There was a little snow/frost on the edges of the ramp. I am driving on 4 blizzak snow tires. Did I react correctly or is there some trick to getting out of that situation?

 

You made every mistake in the book to regain control from loss of rear tire traction!

1. Do NOT overcorrect! If the car is fishtailing to the left...do not cut the wheel sharply to the right! You have to feather it till the car starts straightening out

2. Do Not hit the brakes! When you are under a loss of traction scenario (like fishtailing) the absolute worst thing you can do is brake. You must ride out the slide using throttle and steering inputs only.

3. Do not let off the gas! It's hard to believe but when you start sliding, letting off the gas fully is almost as bad as braking! It causes engine braking to the rear wheels and a shift of weight forward which is the last thing you want when the rear tires have lost grip! Steady on the throttle, ease it off just to the point that you are no longer accelerating but not engine braking while smooth countersteering.

Now, in the event of ice. Sometimes the best driver in the world is still...screwed!

 

When the rear started to fishtail to the left, did you let off the gas at any point?

Hitting brakes will Always contribute to it whip around further...It begins with you letting off the gas in the panic.

 

It's hard to say since it all happened so fast - also I was half asleep. I've fishtailed before on wet road, so I usually try to stay on the gas. I think I didn't "feather" it enough though.

I've never had fishtailing one way turn into fishtailing the other way before. I think that's what prompted instincts to take over and slam on the brakes...

I don't need a cup of coffee to wake up this morning! Yikes!

 

JLUDE said it all. You pretty much did everything wrong, especially hitting the brakes. Staying calm - good. Panic - bad. Next time, if there is one, try to take it easy and do what he advised.

 

All of that contributed to spinning out.

1) Prevention - not worth it to go go faster than you should on street, especially in adverse conditions.

2) Braking, as mentioned earlier, will shift weight forward. And when all the weight is in the front, the back end will continue in the direction i was going.

There's no "trick". It's a matter of smooth corrections in the steering, throttle, and sometimes brake. So I'll be the guy to say it - check out a local autocross when summer comes around. Drive hard enough there and you'll probably spin out in the dry. An in-car instructor, safe environment, and a little experimentation can go a long way. This, imo, is the best way to learn - by doing. And it's tons of fun anyway. After while, your instinct won't be to hit the brakes. Until then, take it easy in the winter.

 

I experiened the same thing coming out of a turn on a small back road. It was spring time and I was doing some spirited driving.. As soon as I felt the rear break loose, I also panicked and let off the throttle and applied the brakes(DUMB DUMB DUMB). This caused me to violently do a 360 and 180 and I slid off the road and and into someone's yard.. Luckily the shoulder was was pretty flat I didn't suffer any damaged to the suspension, just a lot of dirt and grass to be cleaned out from under the car and tires.. It was the scariest moment I've ever had in the S. Be safe out there..

 

Never hit the brakes... Thats what did you in. If you countered when you were going right you MAY have regained control.

Whenever you spin and the car dies TURN the car off, wait a few seconds then turn the key back on and wait for fuel pump to prime. It's some weird safety feature IIRC. It's been mentioned long ago.

If you can take some driving classes or go autox'ing or HPDE so you can learn how to control your car better.

 

In extremely sketchy weather, I left foot brake. Don't try this if you haven't calibrated your left foot.

If driving and the rear starts to slip, you'd have to back down on the throttle extremely gently so that it can regain grip. That's really hard to do and many people wind up giving an abrupt LIFT. That's just as bad as gassing aggressively... you won't regain rear grip.

So in that situation, I hold at the same throttle position (easier than trying to modulate in that split second) and give gentle left foot braking to stop the rear wheels from spinning, slow down the car a little, and allow the rear tires to grip.

We have a rear brake bias which helps this manuever. You have to do it very gently, though so that you don't get the weight transfer that people are talking about.

My advice:
1. Don't get into that situation in the first place. If you have a lot of lateral rotation going into a slippery curve, nothing is going to save you. Learn car balance and control. Many clubs have winter driving courses where they take you on skidpads and frozen lakes to teach you balance. Autocross in the summer. Play racing simulators (not video games).

2. Don't do anything abrupt in the Winter. No "banging shifts," no mashing the pedal, no stabbing the brakes, no pitching the car. It's ballet, not a mosh pit. You have to set up waaaaay in advance for a turn or else it'll be too late.

3. While you're learning, slow down.

4. There is also an aftermarket traction control unit for ~$1000 that helps out if you're not too ham-fisted.

 

A few guys mentioned going to an autox to learn the characteristics of the car- great idea. Since it is winter though, you probably wont find many events. Go into an empty parking lot and try to recreate the situation. Im not saying to do a bunch of donuts but try to learn the effects of counter-steering with the car (especially now that they are different because of the snow/ice you mentioned). The wheel base is short and the steering ratio is pretty tight, so the car is more difficult to correct than say, a 240sx. Having the ability to correct oversteer is good to have as a reflex, and i believe that reflex can be learned.