Well, a royal screw-up today. It rained pretty hard in the Bay Area and I thought it was a good opportunity to see how my Stooker handled the wet roads. I should have hired a driver. I was heading from Oakland to Martinez, warming up through a tunnel that runs through the coastal foothills, and so in 6th gear, thinking that low rpms warm the engine up fastest. Out of the tunnel I downshift to 5th, driving sensibly at 65 or so, heading downhill for about 150 yards, when suddenly I get that floating feeling. It was not euphoric. Suddenly I am spinning, slamming into the freeway wall, both airbags released, slamming again, this time from the rear, braking and a quick stop. There's a lot of smoke and my next concern is fear of fire. The engine's still running, Simon and Garfunkel are still singing Old Friends. The smell, I learn from the CHP, comes from the airbags.

A jeep calls in the accident, CalTrans stops and waits for the CHP to arrive. Officer Jamison is usually on a motorcycle and doesnt like car duty, but we have a very cool time. This particular area of highway, east on 24 before Orinda, is notorious he says for this accident. I had to be doing in excess of 70 but I've suffered enough, he's not going to write me up. In fact, he ends up giving me a lift home.

I remembered that my baby cant be towed lip-up, but has to be carried with all wheels off the ground. The tow operator wasn't happy about that adjustment in the driving rain but accommodated. I called in the claim and now await the estimate, which I think will exceed 10 grand. There isn't much left of the front end, as I hit the wall at what looks like must have been close to 90 degrees. The rear axle is also broken.

Honda of Oakland advised me to tow to Quality Auto Body, and assured me that nothing will be "bent", everything will be replaced -- by Japanese? by hand? I asked Geico to authorize the re-tow so that the claims adjuster can consult with someone who has done work before on the S2K and is actually going to do the work.

So, my questions are....

How the hell do you lose a car at 70 mph in a straight line, whatever gear, whatever weather? I have been driving 45 years, without a fault accident. Is this car light or what?

Would 3rd or 4th made a significant difference at the same speed?

Advice on supervising, controlling, evaluating repairs?
How can I assure a like-new repair? How do I control the settlement process with GEICO? What's the book on them? (I just switched from 21st Century for a favorable rate!)

A search on "rain" brought no results. What's the wet weather insight on the Stooker?

Qtip

 

Sorry to hear that. Bad news on GEICO. Once you make a claim, your out. When your policy expires they will most likely not allow you to renew. They are only authorized to insure people w/no points, in my state at least. That's why the rates are so low Hopefully they will settle your claim w/a minimum of fuss though.

 

we seem to hear this over and over...
this car does not do well in rain, sleet and snow.
i am lucky to have a "rain car"-
glad you are o.k.- i lost it on dry pavement and that was no fun... i can imagine you must have been really scared, expecially hitting the wall and all. insurance really wont total the car so you can get a new one?
the good news is the car seems to do well in accidents and you are o.k.!

 

qtip,

Sorry to read about the accident. What happened is a result of the high performance Bridgestone Potenza S02s which come standard on our stooks. When you examine the thread design you will notice that it is designed to get the most rubber on the road possible. The compromise for this is that it does not sipe water very well. If your do a search on tires (potenza, rain...) you should come up with several threads on the subject. Potenza S02s are not high performance in the rain or in the cold. I'm sorry you had to learn this the hard way. I hope they put your stook back together with the utmost care.

James

 

qtip,
I'm really sorry to hear of your accident, am glad that you are ok. I hit the divider on the 19th avenue to Park Presidio crossover in GG park in Dec after having my rear end slide out on a small patch of wet pavement. Airbags didn't deploy, but front and rear fenders had to be replaced. Eric at Master's autobody was extremely slow, but replaced EVERYTHING with oem parts, even things that really didn't need replacement- new embems, clips, subframe, even a new tire on the rear wheel which was scratched. He matched the paint flawlessly, but painted the entire exterior. I showed several folks from this board the paint match and they agreed that it was indetectable. I'd be happy to demonstrate if you want to see my car. So, if you are compulsive and can stand to wait, I'd have it towed to him, even if it costs you $100. USAA did not hassle me about anything.
Good luck, and keep us posted. Call me if you want any input (415) 476-5981
Don

 

Welcome to the world of hydroplaning. Glad you're OK. Depending on the extent of damage, try to get the car totalled and just get a new one.

 

Ouch, that's terrible. Great story but you have my sympathy. I've experienced that 'floating feeling' twice in previous cars, but - out of sheer luck probably - come out of it with no more damage than a bad case of butterflies in the stomach and the car a bit sideways. It's easy to totally loose the car when aqua-planing. My experience is that the S2K handles brilliantly in the wet if you drive the same speed as 'normal' cars. The problem is you get used to driving much faster and the combination of wet roads and wide tires can be treacherous. Hopefully you'll get your car back in good-as-new shape soon.

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[grey]2000 S2000 - 1998 VFR800 - 2000 Atos[/grey]

 

Yeh, one thing I've got to say: I felt safe the whole time. First of all, I drive with the seat pretty close: I'm short and it's easy, feels right. You know how there is no movement in the car when you take the hard turns? There is no movement in the body when you take the hard hits. You hear it and you feel the spin and the bags pop (pretty small when you see them; I guess they're big when they explode) but you do not move in the seat. As they say in Zen, you are at One with the Car.

Geico has been terrific so far, except they did not honor my request to have her taken to the vet instead of the auto body repair. I doubt that they will total her. She runs. She looks good from the shoulders down, but runs with a limp. CHP said 15 grand and asked if I would let him drive it after it was restored to health.

Qtip

 

Qtip, sorry to hear that. Look on the bright side, you walked away from the accident. Look luck with the insurance.

 

Thanks folks.

The bright side is not that I walked away unharmed. Are you serious? I'm a lawyer. On the basis of these replies if I had been killed I could have been rich. Sorry, but I intend to file a class action lawsuit against Honda. My first demand will be that every S2K must be sold with two sets of tires and my business card. (Hey, my Benz is sold with 2 tops!) Plus, Honda must provide home tire changes up to 10 times per year. (Relax, I'm negotiable.) While they're at it, the Honda tech should be required to change any resident under 3 or over 70 with dirty diapers.

I knew it wasn't my fault! What really gets me is the warning sign on the visor; tell me something I don't know. How about a simple warning in the owner's manual: THIS HONDA IS EQUIPPED WITH A PERFORMANCE TIME INTENDED TO MAXIMIZE ROAD GRIP IN DRY WEATHER. LIKE UNCLE CHARLES WITH ARTHRITIS, IN COLD WET WEATHER IT LOSES ITS GRIP.

I guess the gear doesn't make much difference.

Qtip