Just Returned From Fall Colours 03
10-27-2003, 06:31 PM
#11
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Originally posted by S2kRob
Oh man, if there is a track day for FC04 I am definitely going to have to make it there.
Oh man, if there is a track day for FC04 I am definitely going to have to make it there.
I'm 2 for 2 and won a windscreen (finally picked it up from last year) and an actual S2000 camshaft rocker arm from the service tech from AHM.
ers ruined his day man
10-31-2003, 06:10 AM
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As the driver of the third Canadian S2000 attending FC03, I can echo the comments of Steve and Beutler -- it was a great time.
After tolerating freezing temps and frequent snow flurries on the two-day, 600 mile backroad journey from Ottawa to Hagerstown, my wife and I arrived at the host hotel early on Friday afternoon to find much nicer weather conditions. (I immediately washed the car and had to strip down to a T-shirt to do it.)
The highlight of the weekend was definitely the group drive Saturday afternoon. I opted for one of the "spirited" groups and, as it turned out, the one I was slotted into ("Monaco", with 10 cars in total) seems to have been the fastest of all of them -- given that we were the fourth group to leave the starting point but the first to arrive back at the hotel. And unlike three other groups, we suffered no hits, runs or errors. It was a golden opportunity to surf such great roads in a fashion I would never do alone (without the added assurance provided by the indicators being messaged to me by the cars in front, not to mention the oral messages conveyed via the FRS radios).
I felt that I did okay maintaining a spirited pace, retaining a steady distance behind the car in front of me and not slowing down the convoy behind me -- at speeds that were indeed, ahem, spirited. I did feel I was occasionally getting a bit closer to the edge than I might normally like to. Still, no drifting or anything that could really be called a "close call" or a "near miss" -- at least not for me, though more than once I heard someone in the rear of the pack utter a thankful word in appreciation of their ABS after they'd come around a blind curve or over a sudden camel back only to find the whole group had come to a standstill for an unannounced stopsign.
Unfortunately, on the return trip to Ottawa we encountered rain by the end of the first day (Sunday). So we spent the night in Cortland, NY, just south of Syracuse. It rained all that night and continued throughout the day on Monday. We set out for the last four hours of driving early on Monday morning. Given the miserable weather, I felt there was no point in taking the backroads, as I'd normally do, so we got on the I-81 conveyor belt headed for the Thousand Islands crossing. I set the cruise control at the average speed of the ambient traffic and tried to stay out of other vehicles' rooster tails.
Tragically, a combination of factors came together as we were passing Watertown and we did some roadsurfing of an entirely different kind. Hydroplaning big time! Absolutely no warning. I'd already been doing two hours of driving in the same wet conditions and never felt the slightest hint of poor adhesion. But just as I came abreast of an 18-wheeler in the right-hand lane, all four wheels lost traction simultaneously and there was absolutely no control available to me. The car rotated clockwise, its front right corner striking the front left bumper of the truck. This impact caused it to bounce back counterclockwise, swinging its tail back against the cab's rear wheel assembly (denting one of the truck's rims and deflating that tire, and also crushing the car's trunk severely). The car either remained attached to the truck momentarily or continued to swing around to the left (counterclockwise) until the trailer's rear wheel assembly crashed into the driver's door, crushing it inward perhaps 10 inches, smashing the window. The roof got jambed under the flatbed portion of the trailer, crushing it a few inches out of shape.
But... both Sandra and I were totally unhurt (except for some whiplash effects that are already fading). We were able to get out the passenger door and proceeded to stand around in the rain for an hour or more before the car was towed away and the Trooper gave us a courtesy ride to the nearest car rental office. He almost apologetically explained that he had to give me a ticket for an "unsafe lane change."
Still no word from the insurance adjuster as to whether the car is a write off, but I can't help but assume it must be. Unfortunately my depreciation waiver coverage expired after 24 months (bought the car 31 months ago, an 01). It had 67,000 km on the clock but was in immaculate condition. Still, the "blue book" value will not be enough for me to easily replace it.
So, a wonderful long weekend get-together with 130 other S2000 enthusiasts had a tragic but somewhat miraculous ending.
And that which does not kill us makes us stronger, and all that. I now have a heightened appreciation of the potential for hydroplaning and the disadvantages of Interstate highway usage in heavy rain. I will be avoiding all multilane highways in rainy conditions in the future. And I will have a greater appreciation of the diminished traction capacity of high performance tires (Toyo Proxy T1-S) in even cool temperatures (probably about +8' C at that time).
After tolerating freezing temps and frequent snow flurries on the two-day, 600 mile backroad journey from Ottawa to Hagerstown, my wife and I arrived at the host hotel early on Friday afternoon to find much nicer weather conditions. (I immediately washed the car and had to strip down to a T-shirt to do it.)
The highlight of the weekend was definitely the group drive Saturday afternoon. I opted for one of the "spirited" groups and, as it turned out, the one I was slotted into ("Monaco", with 10 cars in total) seems to have been the fastest of all of them -- given that we were the fourth group to leave the starting point but the first to arrive back at the hotel. And unlike three other groups, we suffered no hits, runs or errors. It was a golden opportunity to surf such great roads in a fashion I would never do alone (without the added assurance provided by the indicators being messaged to me by the cars in front, not to mention the oral messages conveyed via the FRS radios).
I felt that I did okay maintaining a spirited pace, retaining a steady distance behind the car in front of me and not slowing down the convoy behind me -- at speeds that were indeed, ahem, spirited. I did feel I was occasionally getting a bit closer to the edge than I might normally like to. Still, no drifting or anything that could really be called a "close call" or a "near miss" -- at least not for me, though more than once I heard someone in the rear of the pack utter a thankful word in appreciation of their ABS after they'd come around a blind curve or over a sudden camel back only to find the whole group had come to a standstill for an unannounced stopsign.
Unfortunately, on the return trip to Ottawa we encountered rain by the end of the first day (Sunday). So we spent the night in Cortland, NY, just south of Syracuse. It rained all that night and continued throughout the day on Monday. We set out for the last four hours of driving early on Monday morning. Given the miserable weather, I felt there was no point in taking the backroads, as I'd normally do, so we got on the I-81 conveyor belt headed for the Thousand Islands crossing. I set the cruise control at the average speed of the ambient traffic and tried to stay out of other vehicles' rooster tails.
Tragically, a combination of factors came together as we were passing Watertown and we did some roadsurfing of an entirely different kind. Hydroplaning big time! Absolutely no warning. I'd already been doing two hours of driving in the same wet conditions and never felt the slightest hint of poor adhesion. But just as I came abreast of an 18-wheeler in the right-hand lane, all four wheels lost traction simultaneously and there was absolutely no control available to me. The car rotated clockwise, its front right corner striking the front left bumper of the truck. This impact caused it to bounce back counterclockwise, swinging its tail back against the cab's rear wheel assembly (denting one of the truck's rims and deflating that tire, and also crushing the car's trunk severely). The car either remained attached to the truck momentarily or continued to swing around to the left (counterclockwise) until the trailer's rear wheel assembly crashed into the driver's door, crushing it inward perhaps 10 inches, smashing the window. The roof got jambed under the flatbed portion of the trailer, crushing it a few inches out of shape.
But... both Sandra and I were totally unhurt (except for some whiplash effects that are already fading). We were able to get out the passenger door and proceeded to stand around in the rain for an hour or more before the car was towed away and the Trooper gave us a courtesy ride to the nearest car rental office. He almost apologetically explained that he had to give me a ticket for an "unsafe lane change."
Still no word from the insurance adjuster as to whether the car is a write off, but I can't help but assume it must be. Unfortunately my depreciation waiver coverage expired after 24 months (bought the car 31 months ago, an 01). It had 67,000 km on the clock but was in immaculate condition. Still, the "blue book" value will not be enough for me to easily replace it.
So, a wonderful long weekend get-together with 130 other S2000 enthusiasts had a tragic but somewhat miraculous ending.
And that which does not kill us makes us stronger, and all that. I now have a heightened appreciation of the potential for hydroplaning and the disadvantages of Interstate highway usage in heavy rain. I will be avoiding all multilane highways in rainy conditions in the future. And I will have a greater appreciation of the diminished traction capacity of high performance tires (Toyo Proxy T1-S) in even cool temperatures (probably about +8' C at that time).
10-31-2003, 06:27 AM
#18
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I'm terribly sorry to hear of your accident. I sure it was a terrifying momment but I'm glad to hear you are both okay.
The irony of your nickname and your incident is uncanny.
The irony of your nickname and your incident is uncanny.
OMG....glad to hear you both came out of this unhurt.
10-31-2003, 08:24 AM
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I'm glad you and your wife is OK. Loosing your car and other more important things happens just too suddenly.
Hopefully that "high resale" replacement value and low '03 prices can get you a new car. If there are any '03 left in town they were going for just north of $40k. Maybe you can go back to the next gen. Miata or even, gasp, a Solstice.
It makes me wonder what my car was doing up I-81 during the 2+ hours of night time rain on the way home. I was "lucky" enough to happen upon a motorhome doing 80 mph at night in a solid rain. After it passed me, I was able to just ride in its wake most of the way home. Actually, there wasn't that much traffic Sunday night ... less 18 wheelers the better.
Hopefully that "high resale" replacement value and low '03 prices can get you a new car. If there are any '03 left in town they were going for just north of $40k. Maybe you can go back to the next gen. Miata or even, gasp, a Solstice.
It makes me wonder what my car was doing up I-81 during the 2+ hours of night time rain on the way home. I was "lucky" enough to happen upon a motorhome doing 80 mph at night in a solid rain. After it passed me, I was able to just ride in its wake most of the way home. Actually, there wasn't that much traffic Sunday night ... less 18 wheelers the better.