Attempted Murder #3 for Gretchin

Was driving back from the US today, enjoying the nice, banked curves of the US roads. 70KM/H... 80KM/H... 90KM/H... Everything was going wonderful. Eventually, in order to keep up with my dad, I hit triple digits while flying through the banks (He had quite a bit of a lead on me, you see). Gretchin was putting up with my tom-foolery, until one fated corner, where she had enough and decided to try and kill me...

Entered the corner at just a nose over 110, a nice 90-degree left hand. Smooth, deep banked, two lane road... Really a wonderful corner to be honest... Immeadiately she backhanded me with a heap of understeer. Not an issue, I know what the slip angle is like, I just turned the wheel an extra half turn and things would work out, but there was still too much understeer to account for. Thus, I decided to just dab the brakes ever so lightly to move the weight onto the fronts a bit more. The method worked, and the front tires bit down hard, and instantly turned the car very sharp.

Alas, now oversteer became the concern.

Well, oversteer is a bit of an understatement. In what can only be described as a heartbeat, her tail-end whipped up hurredly, making her take up both lanes as she whipped sideways. In that heart-stopping moment, sheer panic rushed over me. I almost simply lost my nerve, and didn't react, but if there was ever a case to be made for video games, it is now:

I snapped out of my panic-induced trance and grabbed the wheel and turned it further to make her spin a bit more. Now her backside was actually leading the car. Nerves ablaze I then spun the wheel as far as I could make it go to the right, inducing the front end to whip back around, completing a 360 and sliding her harmlessly over on the far side of the road. The car had of course stalled during the procedure, and I took a moment to calm myself before I fired her back up and drove up behind my dad once again who had apparently watched the whole event under the assumption that was to be my last act on earth.

Fortunately, video-game-derived-hyper-active reflexes saved me from slamming into lamp posts or flying into the ditch. That, and a bit of luck, to be sure.

Nah man, that would be NO FUN AT ALL. Nah, in all seriousness, it was a bit of a wake-up call, I probably will knock of a little bit of the speed in the corners, at the very least until the car is safe (Shocks, brakes and sway bar are all in working order).

Graeme wrote: Just try to imagine not only yourself on the roads and that there may be others that want to make it home alive.

Excellent point.

Tristan, you and I are buddies in this club. You're a great guy and a lot of fun to be around.

However, real life isn't like some stupid video game where if you screw up you just reboot and start over.

Will you please smarten up and start driving responsibly before you kill yourself or worse yet, some innocent bystander!

Well...need to have a little chat as this old fart will chew your ear out also!.  I started to autox and track, but invested time to learn and conduct myself in a mature manner...take it out on tbe track and not the street and learn how to handle your car...by what I read, you have NO IDEA how to drive!...need to know Gretchen and how to control her!:)

Saying that, I do hope to see you out at the next PCA autox which I already posted for many for Fiero owners to come out...imagine this a club event, except the go cart is your car:)

Advicate of track not street racing, you have a lot to offer to this world, do NOT want to see it run short!...Smarten Up:)...lol

Expensive...as Colby said above and honestly....getting really tired of the excuses made that it's expensive...it can be if you get into it as I have, or come out as Colby for $40 and maybe 1/4 tank gas...5-6 1 minute runs really eat up your gas:)...NOT!.

If you went out for a basic dinner with another, a movie,...a basic outing you spend $40 easy...Ah let me think...$40 on autox and learn many things or DEAD!...easy choice:)

Not going to beat this up:)...drive safer is all we ask, I think you realize many here care otherwise there would have been no replies:).

T

Take it to the TRACK

M

Gee away from my computer for a while and see everyone jumping on the don't' drive fast bandwagon. However that does not bother, I have spoke up driving within a persons or cars limits in the past, what I think bothers me the most is seeing everyone jump down on Romeo.  We have all driven fast at one time or another in our lives.  I think most of us have spun a car around at least one, and  I don't think there is a single adult male on this forum that when they were in their teens did not drive like a maniac at least once.  Hell I see many of you posting in here, that I KNOW still have a tendency to drive with a lead foot.

At one time I had to figure speeding tickets into my monthly budgets.  None of us own 2 seat sports cars because of there practicality either, or else we would all be driving 4cyl Hybrid Econo Box's. 

        Romeo made a mistake by driving beyond either what his car or he was capable of, however don't make him feel like he made a bigger mistake in telling us about it.