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Glad things turned out good for you but one thing I had learn over the years is not to play with the vette's throttle when the road is wet or damp. That's asking for trouble !!!
I've had mine break traction under acceleration, but never yet in a turn. This car differs a lot from other cars I've owned in that, it grips so well that I am not sure where the breaking point is. There's no warning that it's getting close, in all other cars I've driven, there's warning. For that reason, I am afraid that when it does finally go it's going to be abrupt. I need to get the car somewhere to find out where it breaks loose cause at this point, I'm not sure when it'll be. And that doesn't give me confidence.
You just found out that the power that a C5 has must always be respected - it doesn't take a lot to lose control and have something terrible happen. Glad nothing serious, other than some shaken nerves, happened to you.
And a lot of us (me included) have "been there done that".
Be grateful that this lesson didn't cost/hurt anyone...enjoy your car and always put safety first.
Thanks for sharing that, young man. You're smart to realize what your impulse was, and hopefully you'll let those moments pass in the future.
When i I got my C5 two years ago I took it slow getting acquainted with her. I also watched a bunch of crash videos on YouTube that helped me see how easy it was to suffer the same fate.
I know this car really well now. I don't push it all that hard, and I know where the limits are. But I'm 52 and have decades of hard aggressive driving under my belt.
These cars have enough power to get you into serious trouble pretty damn quickly. Very happy to hear you and your vette survived the episode. There is a pretty substantial learning curve in driving performance cars in slick conditions. If you drive in the wet a very large and empty parking lot can provide you with some hands on experience in learning the handling characteristics of your vette in those conditions. Once again, glad you're safe! Best wishes!
Funny enough, I almost wrecked a 911 in a similar fashion, but on dry roads. Taking the turn relatively quickly (far slower than it could have handled, though faster than an average person would take a turn) and let off because there was a car in front of me, and the thing just gave up all rear end grip.
Off throttle oversteer is probably the worst feeling in the world, especially when you're in a car than isn't yours, like I was. Porsche might make a fast car, but unless you're a very experienced driver, you probably won't be driving it particularly fast.
When I was at a NASA track day years ago, the chief instructor madea statement in a classroom session that has stuck with me " You did'n't lose control of your car , you gave it up " and "Your brakes didn't fail , you failed your brakes ' !
I did the same as you back when I was 21(34 years ago this past March 5th) with a totally different outcome. It happens in a blink and you think about the what-if for the rest of your life. I walked away without a scratch. My sweet 1968 vert not so much. The lesson learned here is to not give in to the temptation. Enjoy the car and everything that it delivers, but always respect its power.
I did a pretty dumb thing yesterday. So I was driving home in my 01 Z06 from seeing some family for Christmas and I was taking the on ramp to the freeway. Its one of those that loop around in a cloverleaf like fashion.
It had rained last night and the ground was pretty wet. Its a pretty tight loop and you have to take it pretty slow. As I was just entering the loop a black Porsche pulled up behind to take the same ramp to the freeway.
Well, me being a young and stupid twenty one year old I had the urge to pull away from him in a superior show of horsepower. I wasn't even trying to race the guy I just wanted to be a little faster to show how cool I was. I guess in a way I lost control of myself. I wanted to show off and be cool and it almost cost me an accident.
By this time as the curve of the on ramp was starting to mellow out and I could see the freeway ahead I added what I thought was a little throttle and completely lost traction in the rear wheels. The rear end slipped to the left and the front started swinging to the right at the ramp wall. The only thing that saved my stupid *** was the Active handling which violently jerked the car back into a straight line.
Strangely I sorta laughed it off as I watched the Porsche drive away. Only now today did I sit and think about what happened and the seriousness of it and how I got off lucky. I feel pretty ashamed.
I hope this story can serve as a lesson to new Corvette owners like me. Be careful! Go easy on the throttle in tight turns and beware of wet roads. Stay in control of yourself as well as your car.
I got lucky.
That's the neat thing about cars today, I've wondered how good the AHC is on my 03, glad to hear your's worked
I did a pretty dumb thing yesterday. So I was driving home in my 01 Z06 from seeing some family for Christmas and I was taking the on ramp to the freeway. Its one of those that loop around in a cloverleaf like fashion.
It had rained last night and the ground was pretty wet. Its a pretty tight loop and you have to take it pretty slow. As I was just entering the loop a black Porsche pulled up behind to take the same ramp to the freeway.
Well, me being a young and stupid twenty one year old I had the urge to pull away from him in a superior show of horsepower. I wasn't even trying to race the guy I just wanted to be a little faster to show how cool I was. I guess in a way I lost control of myself. I wanted to show off and be cool and it almost cost me an accident.
By this time as the curve of the on ramp was starting to mellow out and I could see the freeway ahead I added what I thought was a little throttle and completely lost traction in the rear wheels. The rear end slipped to the left and the front started swinging to the right at the ramp wall. The only thing that saved my stupid *** was the Active handling which violently jerked the car back into a straight line.
Strangely I sorta laughed it off as I watched the Porsche drive away. Only now today did I sit and think about what happened and the seriousness of it and how I got off lucky. I feel pretty ashamed.
I hope this story can serve as a lesson to new Corvette owners like me. Be careful! Go easy on the throttle in tight turns and beware of wet roads. Stay in control of yourself as well as your car.
I got lucky.
I'm new to mine too, a 2003 convertible, just got it this summer and I'm 68. I've been taking it pretty easy other than some straight line stuff for the first 3 or 4 gears from a 10 mph roll but honestly this thing scares the **** out of me and I really don't know what it will do and when it is near the end of it's limits to control it. I've driven in the rain just once taking it easy but I think as previously stated some practice somewhere in a safe environment would be a good thing for me to do too. **** happens real quick with these things don't it and I ain't even been over 85 yet and that don't take long does it?
12-06-2016, 12:49 PM
