Thank you for the tip. I will keep it in mind. Haven’t had any kind of issue on the road since I was 21 which was about 10 years ago, that one wasn’t my fault… pile up in Memphis, destroyed my Mustang. Getting into any kind of collision can be pretty scary for sure. In the moment, it’s hard to be grateful when you see your car torn up, however I have gained quite a bit of perspective in the last 24 hours

 

Tires.CHECK the dates. Five years and out on a high performance vehicle.

 

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. It’s going to be fine.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to spend my way out of a mechanical misfortune. But I was focused on enjoying what I was doing, and those instances are just a blip in the past.

The fun times remain front and center.

 

You should take those old tires out to the abandoned lot and turn 'em to smoke learning how to swing the car around a bit and recover it. I tried it in the rain/dark, flicked off TCS, did a couple rolling burn outs, got dizzy pretty quick driving in circles at full lock, been meaning to go back during the day/dry. I just learned that I have been driving all winter on summer tires (no wonder I had to baby all those sharp turns, no wonder the back kicked out in the freezing rain in 3rd gear at less than half throttle) The TCS has been slow to react and I have no idea if I'm catching the car by lifting and counter steering or it is. Sometimes I feel a slamming sensation right as the car comes back inline and I assume that is the Stability Control applying the brakes, sometimes I feel it refuse my throttle input when I'm peeling away in 2nd. I kinda want to turn it off but I want a little more practice, also want to try and push it and see what it's limits are but I don't know if I can trust it.

 

You definitely NEED new tires. Summer tires are not intended for use in temps under 40 degrees. Using them they way you have would have actively damaged the rubber compound. As such, regardless of age or tread, those tires are no longer safe in any driving conditions.

 

There is a saying, you learn the hard way. I was given this advice when I got my car 3 years ago, if you want to floor it, only in straight line, otherwise, you'll get to see your butt soon.
it may be difficult to tame the torque of the car at low speed sometimes...
it's a car, they are easy to work with, in US you have access to a huge parts stock. Look for some used spare parts to reduce the bill if necessary (the OEM can be crazy expensive and the AC Delco aftermarket - same or very similar for better price), use a independent reputable mechanic and enjoy your car softly to start with. Tame it on a desert parking lot if needs be.
all the best!
TCFS

 

I understand what you’re saying but I think this situation was a little bit different. I didn’t come close to flooring it in fact I probably only gave it a quarter throttle. There is no reason it shouldn’t have locked up besides bad tires and something slick being on the road. It is very torquey no doubt. Everyone on here saying it was tires, were dead on correct. She’s waiting to go to the shop right now, local independent guy who specializes and only works on Corvettes who has a great reputation. Luckily my insurance is picking up the bill minus my deductible, I would prefer OEM only so I’ll let them handle it.

 

this is a great idea for sure. It would allow me to test my limits without worrying about jumping another f****** median. Like I was saying, I wasn’t doing anything reckless when I made that turn. I may be gave a quarter throttle. The combination of the old, hard tires and the fact that there are wrecks in that spot all the time tells me there had to of been some kind of oil or fluid residue on the asphalt and I just got very unlucky. I’m sure new tires would have prevented it or at least allowed a proper lock up/recovery. I like your idea about testing in a parking lot though, the only thing is, the insurance is replacing the rear tires so I’m going to buy matching ones for the front. I’m just going to let them do all of the work while it’s there. Also having them adjust one of my windows and replace some weatherstripping. Probably also getting my lumbar support switch replaced as well. Might as well knock it all out

 

Don't be so hard on yourself - accidents do happen. Hard to say whether or not there is any frame damage - that would need to be checked by the body shop. Sorry to see the damage and best of luck in getting it repaired.

 

The worst of the damage is the crack in the rocker panel on the passenger side. Just about everything on these cars is modular and can simply be removed and replaced if it's damaged beyond economical repair. The rockers are a bit different. They can still be removed, but they're glued directly onto the frame and are a BEAR to remove. That means that not only is it a lot of work to remove damaged ones, but it's also a lot of work to try to remove undamaged ones from parts cars. Fenders, bumpers, all the linings, etc are all super easy and are mostly a matter of removing a few screws and bolts, but the rocker is a different animal. Fortunately, the crack appears to be in a spot that's accessible from both sides so it can be repaired. It might not be absolutely perfect, but will likely be far cheaper than trying to replace that panel. I wouldn't worry one bit about the damage on the underside.

It's very unlikely that you have frame damage. You probably bent either a control arm and/or the toe link in the rear and that's what's causing your alignment and steering issues. All those parts are a simple matter of unbolting the damaged parts and bolting in replacement parts, no big deal.

One thing to check for is wheel runout. Even if the wheel doesn't appear to be damaged, it can get bent at the hub so now the hub of the wheel and the outer barrel are no longer in the same plane. This will cause the wheel to wobble when spinning and is no good. Lift the back of the car so both rear wheels are off the ground, then put it in gear and let the wheels spin. Look for any sign of wobble. This is what I'm talking about:

 

Tis merely a flesh wound besides the damaged suspension component(s), which are easily (and cheaply) replaced with plentiful used OEM parts. The suspension components on these are SUPER simple and easy to work on/replace. You'll be back to cruising in no time

 

Just an update. The shop looked at my car in detail today for a little bit. They pointed out some bad overspray spots where somebody painted the car, I didn’t catch this either. Sucks but whatever. Met with the body shop manager. The guy knows what he’s talking about no doubt. Super cool guy and very happy to have him in my corner. He found a few more things going on with it but said he doesn’t believe any kind of frame damage at all. He said he can get it back straight no problem and he has this. Unfortunately it will be about a month before they can get me in, but I’d rather it be done right than done quickly. Feeling pretty good about it just still kind of bummed I guess. Just going suck seeing out in my driveway like that for a few weeks!! I’ll keep updating you guys. Again, thank you for all of the support. Luckily I am holding on to my pickup for awhile longer before my brother needs it so at least I’ve got wheels!

On another note, once he pointed out these paint spots, it was upsetting because now I can’t unsee them. But I’m the type of guy that would rather have it straight than being bs’d. Given that, sometime soon when I get money again, I’m going to want to do something about the paint. I know a quality paint job is probably 12k+ That’s just a pipe dream at this point for me. How do y’all feel about a quality wrap? The manager at the shop said no way he would ever get a wrap, and I understand but it’s simply not fathomable for me to buy a paint job after all of this especially. Open to all opinions

 

Personally - not a huge fan of wraps, but some people are just fine with them. Go to a few car shows and see if you can find some wrapped cars, and see what YOU think of them.

What I can say is that a paint job does NOT have to be Ultra Expensive. Much of the cost of a paint job is in the prep. Some prep needs to be done right before the paint is shot, but some of the prep can be done by you - at home. Talk to the guy at the body shop, and see what he would charge if you did some of the sanding prep yourself... It can't hurt to ask...

 

good advice thanks a lot man. I will certainly look into this and talk to them

 

Here’s the deal. A wrap will look really good,…initially. But if there’s imperfections underneath? Only you will know…and that will eventually eat at you…and the cost to fix won’t matter. A wrap is best looked at as a way to cover (or protect) perfection …not imperfections.