Close calls

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm probably the only person who's ever gotten a bit ambitious with the throttle going onto a freeway or into traffic where the world started spinning around my car in a violent manner (hp will do that to the world)

Anyone else willing to fess up to where their car's ability outperformed the passenger behind the steering wheel and yet didn't wreck?

[Barry Donovan]

my first ever spin out was leaving a toll booth.

I had just fixed a 250xi with a monojet, 74 chevelle sedan. Car in the middle 20s mpg...I went for a 500 mile ride.

Somewhere along the way the nightmare for intake manifold decided it liked the block again and sealed...about 400 miles into the trip. I knew it was the block, the sixxes bend the long way in maine.

it could go through all 3 on a wet pavement. funky sounding 250. Shreaking monojet getting killed by it.

of course everything I get my hands on ends up funky sound.

anyway, real surprise. That car ended up with a 350.

[moparmaniac07]

The only one I've had was with a 140 horse FWD beast on loose gravel (I was only 16 though). The world didn't spin, but I don't know how I made it around the turn. The rest of mine were off road, and mostly on something much smaller than a car where body weight, and where you put it, actually has an effect on how it turns out.

[phitter67]

The phone pole and two trees spoiled the "didn't wreck" part. Dad was none too happy either. I'd had my license 12 days.

[DirtyWhiteBoy]

1987 2wd s-10 Blazer with a 383/700r/4:10 setup. I was late for a Christmas break wrestling practice (I was asst coach). I was cruising 80ish on a 2 lane hwy. A curve had become snow covered, and suddenly, I was in a 4 wheel drift. I was in the oncoming traffic lane, expecting to die on impact with the truck who's lane I was in. As a last resort, I hammered the gas. The rear wheels came around, and some how gained enough traction to shoot me across the road, through the snow bank, over the ditch into the corn field. I never let off of the gas. Somehow I made it back onto the hwy and kept going. When I got to the school, I walked around looking for damage and found none. The Iroc wheels were all completely packed with snow, as were the wheel wells and the fog light holes in the bumper. I guess that is as close as I have been to death, and didn't even scratch the truck.

[DanStokes]

Does the 4 wheel drift into the Advance Auto count? I was in the Dakota, which was pretty peppy - and light in the rear. All of a sudden my early training in ice driving kicked in and I just drifted right into the lot like I had intended to do that. No witnesses - bummer!

Dan

[silver_bullet]

Growing up in eastern Iowa on gravel, spinning out was a right of passage... yeah I messed up as several neighboring farmers can attest to... they always said no to the 20 dollar bill, and I always got them to take it anyway...thanks to them for pulling me out and not spreading the word..

[Scott Liggett]

The list is long and glamorous. One of more humorous one was turning onto freeway on ramp at a great rate of speed in a 1990 caddy 100" stretch limo. The only one with decent power, sbc 350 tbi. Hit a great big manure spill on the freeway and spun out. Ended up backwards halfway up the on ramp. Couldnt back onto freeway and couldnt go back down the now blocked on ramp. I mashed the gas and spun the car back around. The manure was nice, wet, slimy, and stinky. And it was all over the car now. Took clients home. Sacramento rednecks were at a Reba concert and didnt even notice.

I got an angry call from our detailer next day about the car' s condition. The warehouse had a nice barn yard aroma for a week.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I was 16, had my license maybe a month. I was driving in Portland on a 270* off-ramp. At the top of the ramp, the banking was reversed. I got to the top, and started spinning. went around at least twice and ended up facing oncoming traffic, but on the shoulder for the fast lane (3 lane highway). I still remember all I was thinking - "my mom is going to kill me for wrecking her car" twice in the spins I thought I was going to head-on into the guardrails, but each time it came around (through absolutely no help from the meatsack behind the wheel). I told my dad about that maybe 5 years ago.... he was irritated


DWB - your adventure, my thought "across the freeway, through the semi, over the snowbank, through the barn... nothing but net"

And Scott - that really stinks (that pun had to be done)

[Scott Liggett]

After my dad fixed the '73 coupe de ville after Jen jumped it, it still didn't drive right. So, dad sold it. He bought a 77 Accord as a third car, I got that to drive. 83 hp and two speed semi auto trans. Slllllloooooowwww!! But, it had the fun handle in between the seats, the hand brake. The winter of my sophomore year, I worked at a restaurant. Every night on the way home, I detoured through the high school's back lot to have some fun. There was a long road running in between the practice fields and tennis courts into the lot and I got that little shit box to go as fast as it could.

The lot was plowed with a pickup truck with a blade into a nice smooth hockey rink. When I hit the lot, I jerked the wheel and pulled the handbrake. My record was nine 360's. I was a giggling, dizzy kid when I got home every night.

I did this all winter until I guess the ice melted a bit because I must've hit a dry patch and the ended up hopping across the lot on two wheels. All I could think of was how I was going to explain how the car got flipped over a dozen times. Thankfully, Lil Honda made it back onto all four wheels and I drove off very slowly and carefully.

[Thumpin455]

Was driving the 72 GTO with the healthy 400 stuffed in it, opened the throttle a bit on a gravel road just after I turned off the pavement. Well the throttle went to the floor and stuck there. The return spring popped off and I was fishtailing all over the road. Killed the engine and coasted to a stop. Didnt really lose control, just scared the hell out of me.

I grew up driving on gravel, snow and ice, since age 11. Before that I was driving farm equipment and I had a go-kart that would drift effortlessly on the gravel driveway at 45mph. That kart let me master the turn left to go right thing at an early age, and it has saved me more than once. Used to drive the 79 Formula to work with the 540hp 455 in it, in the snow, on hard packed roads. I could go the two miles to work on straight roads completely sideways, steering more with the throttle. Fun times.

[cantvalve16]

Thanksgiving day about 7 years ago, I was driving my '91 Mustang GT from one dinner to another. Left hand turn through an intersection coming up and I was GOING to make the light. Slid into the intersection doing about 45 thinking I could hang onto it. I made it through the intersection like I was writing the textbook how to, but overcorrected and spun the car 180 degrees around the other way.
When I got stopped, the wheels were inches from the curb and the car the perfectly parallel parked... backwards... on the wrong side of the street. So, I took a breath, did a smoky donut to obscure my license plate and took off before any other cars on the road could get my plate number.