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I had the gnarliest drivetrain shock ever tonight.

I was driving home in the rain. Acutally, it had just drizzled, and the roads were SLICK.

I have my RE92's on because the Nitto's have a screw in one and slow leaks in 2 of them and the right rear is shreaded.

I started rolling in 1st and hit it. All 4 lit up. I shifted to 2nd hard, and the car was shifting and jumping as the speedo and tach climbed.

I bet that was a sight and a half to see. I spun through all of first and second in the rain, from a roll. I shut it down before the shift to 3rd.

Talk about a shock though. I was expecting first to go up in smoke, but second? Damn!

The best I could get on the Nitto's was only a mild chirp in 2nd, and again a chirp when I spool up, but this was ALL of second, GONE. I looked in my rear view mirrors when this was going on, and all I could see was PLUMES of water mist. I can only imagine what it looks like when a car becomes engulfed in a cloud of water. It was neat.

It was a wild night tonight. That is all.

Ha, sounds like fun. I guess you found out what re92's are good for

Nice. Yeah, they do serve a small purpose.

the re92's are super poop.......I can't see how people drive on them.

Oh, Josh, you mean you don't like the feeling of being helpless and on the verge of being out of control? Just kidding. But a couple of weeks ago I forgot about the less-than-average traction the RE-92s have on wet pavement. I was in rush, went over a hill into a reverse-banked, downhill curve at 55 mph. It was like a prayer and a promise that if I get through this curve without sliding into the oncoming traffic that I'd NEVER forget how unsafe these tires are in the wet. I think the cars behind me realized something was happening (or about to happen) because I noticed that they all slowed down. I made it through okay but it felt like if I just sneezed I may not be driving my car today. But since I don't have any money for tires, I have no choice but to drive on them till I can afford better tires.

or maybe they realized that slowing down into a reverse bank downhill is always a good idea.

oh and why is the title ouch?

Because it hurts to feel the car hop as all 4 wheels fight for traction. Wheelhop x4.

BAC: Wheelhop X 4 = that IS a BIG OUCH! I can feel it!

azn2nr: Yeah, it's a good idea to slow down before getting into the turn but once you're into the turn . . . well, maybe I'm not experienced as some of you guys are but it felt like ANY disruption of the balance of the car and I would have been a goner.

BTW, you guys who race, since I was already four-wheel drifting, what could I have done with those slippery tires on?

Possibly lead out with the steering to regain some traction? Without being there to feel the traction and road it's tough to say.

Steve

In the rain, it's just a matter of applying the power to control the angle of the slide, and counter steering.

There is this one turn that I take on the way home from work. It's empty, and nicely sloped. Just twitch right, lift throttle, snap left, on throttle, counter steer, and modulate angle with the throttle. More rotation, more throttle, less rotation (i.e. straighten out), less throttle. Roll off the throttle smoothly, or the car will SNAP into it's line and you'll over correct. That's how I do it in the rain. When counter steering, ideally, keep the wheels pointed where you want to end up. Keep your eyes where you want to go and the car will follow. Full lock is never something you want to do unless you have the room to fuck up.

A lot of times, when I am out with a road race friend of mine, he will just slip into a drift with lift-throttle oversteer, then float, counter steer and apply power. This is mostly a dry tactic, and he runs super high grip tires (the least sticky set of tires in his garage is a set of Falken Azenis).

It ALL depends on the slide. Just gotta feel it. When you slide, you'll feel a dead zone, almost where you feel like you are floating in the seat as the car slides. That's usually the point of countersteering. To early to countersteer, and you can over correct and snap the car around. To late, and you loop out. In a panic, just keep both feet out (car in neutral, no foot on the brake or gas) and steer into the slide.

There's a saying I remember from when I was little, before I could even drive. I read it in a magazine. "Wheels spin, both feet in. When in doubt, both feet out."

If you have traction, i.e. not sliding, then you work the gas or brake. If you don't know, or don't have traction, then keep both feet out. You can usually recover if you follow that.

BAC5.2 wrote:
There's a saying I remember from when I was little, before I could even drive. I read it in a magazine. "Wheels spin, both feet in. When in doubt, both feet out."

I'm seeing a turbo legacy sliding through a turn, the driver desperately muttering poems...

The "both feet in" part is about fully declutching and locking up the brakes (these were the days before ubiquitous ABS). If you're in an uncontrollable spin, and can't reasonably expect to recover grip, it's best to make your car's trajectory as predictable as possible so other drivers can avoid you.

I've slid driving on ice many times before and I know that "dead zone" feeling. The road feel in the steering wheel is just about gone completely and the car seems to be floating. That's where I was on that curve with only about 3 feet from going out of my lane. If my car slid any further toward the oncoming traffic I don't know if I'd have had enough room to correct.

Thanks for the input, guys. I think one of these days I'll have to make time to see what my car will do when pushed past the limit. But I'll do that in a parking lot or something, of course.

Driving in the rain is fun, I remember getting sideways a little while turning onto an onramp. sliding is fun

I can't get the back end around on-power in a parking lot without it violently snaping out. Not sure why.

I can roll into a turn then hit it, and feather the throttle, and slide until I say "when" no problem though. I just can never seem to do it in the rain. To much understeer

A bit of fun in a parking lot is good way to get a feel for your tires in the wet. Might save your ass on the street as well.
I'm thinking about getting a DCCD tranny for fun, then it's keep your foot in it and don't countersteer. Must feel weird.

when I read ouch, i thought this was gonna be a thread about you stripping the teeth off of a gear.