My First Hydroplaned This Afternoon
02-06-2009, 07:04 PM
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My First Hydroplaned This Afternoon
so I have been driving for about 3 years now. I never claim im a great driver, and i don't speed. I had an e36 325is M_Tech before my S which i sold 4 month ago. anyway i was driving to the mall in pleasanton this afternoon and it started raining again...
as i got near the mall i took a tight corner doing 10-14 mph aprx. next thing you know, the car started lashing around and fish tailing like nothing else. i kept turning the wheel side to side, and it kept playing with me...it took me 4 tries to bring it to halt, i was so close to hiting one of the curbs, for a second i thought "this is it, im going to hit something"...
luckly nothing was behind me, i stoped the car in middle of the road. my heart was pounding like nothing else, not that i was scared of my life. i was just scared of hitting my beloved S (love the car to bits)... the over all experience was scary and fun at the same time and it gave me a second thought.
it happend so quick that i don't know what i did. but i was fortunate that nothing happend.
I was wondering are there any places in BayArea that have tracks for simulating and practicing Hydroplane and similar stuff...??!!?
as i got near the mall i took a tight corner doing 10-14 mph aprx. next thing you know, the car started lashing around and fish tailing like nothing else. i kept turning the wheel side to side, and it kept playing with me...it took me 4 tries to bring it to halt, i was so close to hiting one of the curbs, for a second i thought "this is it, im going to hit something"...
luckly nothing was behind me, i stoped the car in middle of the road. my heart was pounding like nothing else, not that i was scared of my life. i was just scared of hitting my beloved S (love the car to bits)... the over all experience was scary and fun at the same time and it gave me a second thought.
it happend so quick that i don't know what i did. but i was fortunate that nothing happend.
I was wondering are there any places in BayArea that have tracks for simulating and practicing Hydroplane and similar stuff...??!!?
02-06-2009, 08:05 PM
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Originally Posted by gospeedgo1,Feb 6 2009, 08:49 PM
hows your tires?
i have to check them out.
02-06-2009, 09:05 PM
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About two months ago I went for a drive at night and hit a patch of ice - completely lost all control. Spun out going about 45 and ended up in the middle of the road - luckily no one was coming the other way. I put snow tires on the next day.
I've autocrossed for a few years and consider myself to be a good driver, but shit happens.
I've autocrossed for a few years and consider myself to be a good driver, but shit happens.
02-06-2009, 09:28 PM
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did you lift off or brake mid corner? what tires are you on? i notice the kumho's i have on my crx are garbage when it gets cold or wet. i have hydroplaned pretty bad a couple of times driving the car regularly.
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02-06-2009, 09:57 PM
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Yeah, it was raining HARD today. I'm surprised I didn't have any issues driving to Santa Cruz and back this morning, but then again, I was king of the right-hand lane for most of the way.
I also find that shifting very early helps, obviously. I'm always nervous in this car when there's a lot of water out.
I also find that shifting very early helps, obviously. I'm always nervous in this car when there's a lot of water out.
02-06-2009, 10:37 PM
#10
FYI... not trying to be a Mr. smarty pants but that was not hydroplaning. Hydroplaning is when you are moving fast enough to actually ride on top of the water. It is quite the experience! Happened in my CRX a few times when hitting few inch deep puddles that had collected under an over pass while doing about 80 mph IIRC. You lose ALL steering control until the tire reconnects with the road.
You simply lost traction, I highly recommend that you go find an empty parking lot both wet and dry and find out exactly where the limits are and practice correcting them. Tapping the brakes or even lifting the throttle during a slide will upset the balance and cause the fish tailing that you described. Best thing to do is keep the gas steady and point the front wheels where you want to go. You should also find out how long it takes to stop in both wet and dry under FULL braking. You might feel like you are abusing your car but it might save your life someday.
I wish it was mandatory for everyone on the roads to take a driving class (in their own vehicle) to know their cars limits, it would make the world a much safer place.
You simply lost traction, I highly recommend that you go find an empty parking lot both wet and dry and find out exactly where the limits are and practice correcting them. Tapping the brakes or even lifting the throttle during a slide will upset the balance and cause the fish tailing that you described. Best thing to do is keep the gas steady and point the front wheels where you want to go. You should also find out how long it takes to stop in both wet and dry under FULL braking. You might feel like you are abusing your car but it might save your life someday.
I wish it was mandatory for everyone on the roads to take a driving class (in their own vehicle) to know their cars limits, it would make the world a much safer place.