Car totaled at the track.

[vinnybarber]

I just got to ask. And I don't mean this in a bad way.
What was your first reaction when you felt the car getting loose

 

[gmantheman]

I just got to ask. And I don't mean this in a bad way.
What was your first reaction when you felt the car getting loose

I think just trying to keep the car straight and not to over correct everything happened so fast. I thought I was going to save it but lost control again.

 

[vinnybarber]

Did you keep it a wot
Or let completely off

 

[fordfreak300]

From my perspective the rear of his car started to come around to the left, then it went to the right then back to the left and he hit the wall. I believe I saw the brake lights come on right before he finally hit the wall and contact was unavoidable. He was already coming around when he went passed the finish line and lit up the score board. The first initial slide the car came pretty far out. He was still on the gas when he went through the oil. I couldn't here any other sounds the car made as some idiot in the stands was yelling SAVE IT! SAVE IT! SAVE IT! really loud, oh wait I was that idiot.

The car that dropped the oil was an old pinto with a 4 cylinder turbo in it.

 

[Riptide]

OK I'll ask the question.

When your front end has traction, but the rear doesn't, do you stay in it or get out of it?

Intuitively you would want to get out of it and slam on the brakes. I'm guessing that would be extremely bad. If you let out of it but the front end of the car is pointed in the right direction I would guess that the rear end should straighten out on it's own at that point. If the front is pointed at the wall and the rear decides to settle down then you would go straight for the wall.

 

[vinnybarber]

This can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter if you have 300 or 5000hp.
I have been at the line waiting to be the next to go after a oil down and it's scary as hell.

But to answer to it is.
When you feel it start to move go 1/2 throttle and drive it through.
Do not stay at wot or let completely off or step on brakes.


1/2 throttle and drive it through

 

[gmantheman]

Everything happened so fast. I think initially I thought the car was just doing the typical top end float but I was surprised because I stated earlier I had the PSI at 14. I let off the gas as soon as I could and I didn't hit the brakes until I was going towards the wall. At that point I knew I was screwed.

 

[gmantheman]

This can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter if you have 300 or 5000hp.
I have been at the line waiting to be the next to go after a oil down and it's scary as hell.

But to answer to it is.
When you feel it start to move go 1/2 throttle and drive it through.
Do not stay at wot or let completely off or step on brakes.


1/2 throttle and drive it through

Damn I wish I had known that.

 

[vinnybarber]

Sad thing is nobody seems to ever talk about it. I try to because a lot of drivers don't know.
Even when you do your mind tells you to let off. You have to practice it.

I always tell my self to never get to
Relax on every pass. Because the minute I let my guard down it will bite me.

 

[mpf]

Damn I wish I had known that.

I used to autocross a Mustang, so in that endeavor, you get a feel for what to do when it gets sideways..so yes, keep on the gas "some", and steer
into the skid, like a powerslide thing.
Hope you're back in the saddle soon!

 

[TonyGT]

Damn gman that sucks. Hopefully you get back into a stang soon.

 

[gmantheman]

And I just changed my exhaust. I added SSS terminators and removed my resonators. Car sound awesome.

 

[TonyGT]

And I just changed my exhaust. I added SSS terminators and removed my resonators. Car sound awesome.

Haha you changed your setup again gman. Did you get tired of the macs? Again good luck on either repairing your stang or getting another stang.

 

[702GT]

Were you running E/T Street slicks or the DR?

 

[AZ MSCL]

This is a serious problem. Last time I was at Firebird Raceway four cars blew engines or something... They had to shut down the track each time this happened. I was next up a couple times and hoped like hell they cleaned everything up. They spent at least 15 mins each time and apparently did a good job. There were a lot of older muscle cars out there that sounded like monsters but looked like they were about to fall apart. Makes you think though... Loosing control at 100 mph is not a good thing. Glad it wasn't worse, thank engineers for the new generation of muscle cars and the safety considerations they put in.

 

[gmantheman]

Were you running E/T Street slicks or the DR?

The street slicks.

 

[gmantheman]

Haha you changed your setup again gman. Did you get tired of the macs? Again good luck on either repairing your stang or getting another stang.

I guess I got tired of them but I will admit that you can hear the cams more in the macs then you can with the terminators other than that with the resonators on both axlebacks didn't sound too much different.

 

[VTXFrank]

Sad thing is nobody seems to ever talk about it. I try to because a lot of drivers don't know.
Even when you do your mind tells you to let off. You have to practice it.

I always tell my self to never get to
Relax on every pass. Because the minute I let my guard down it will bite me.

This is something my Uncle told me, who got me involved with putting my first car, a Ford Torino GT, down the 1/4. He said for me to practice it on the street whenever I would light the tires up around a corner and start to sling the rear end out. To not let off the gas completely, but go to 1/2 throttle and steer through the slide. I still practice this today even though I've not been down the 1/4 in a few years. It becomes habit in a very short amount of time too.

 

[RED09GT]

Move somewhere with snow in the winter, you'll learn how to ease out of it and get the car going straight again. I've learned the hard way a couple times but luckily it has just been a snowbank so the only damage was the $$ the tow truck charged.

I've hit oil just before the 330' mark in my 82 and slicks, saved it and pulled over as I figured it was my car that caused it. Turns out the previous car had oiled the track all the way to the end. I figured that the previous car blew a shift or something as he just putted down the track the rest of the way-turns out he knew something was wrong but just continued on his merry way oiling the track the rest of the way to the first return road and halfway back to the pits.
The PA guys had to stress to people to pull over if something is wrong.

 

[gmantheman]

I want to avoid living were there is snow if all possible. I was stationed in Great Lakes for two years so I have a little experience driving in snow but on a front wheel drive car.