Sonny 00 GTS ACR
Enthusiast
Kumho's? Traction Control? Come to Viperdays and get some serious seat time. You'll learn about car control as well as a healthy respect for what the car will and won't do. Glad you and the car are fine.
I lost control today, Very embarrassing.
- Thread starter HARDVIPER
- Start date
Fast Viper Dan
Enthusiast
OK, When I know it's not going to come back, I turn in and floor it! A lot of smoke, back to first, and on my way. Some times with out stopping. 
V 10 MAFIA
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2004
- Posts
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It was better that you were only embarassed without accident or injury. You could have been devastated like me after I totalled my red 98 RT. Went sideways hitting trees at around 90mph. I shouldn't be here right now.
Lets review the conditions and my mistakes:
-Just turned onto major highway leaving restaurant with cold tires. Outside temp was close to 50F.
-Driving car with 10% of rear tread left on old tires.
-I decided to nail it when I had someone tailgating me for no reason.(Biggest mistake right here, reactive driving on emotion)
-Shifted very hard from 2nd to 3rd and broke tires loose.
(didn't plan on breaking the rear loose above 80)
-At the time the tires spun I was driving around a slight curve on the highway.
-Car instantaneously went sideways and I had no time to react or correct at that speed. I have never experienced a car kicking out sideways that fast with no feedback to compensate. As soon as the car kicked sideways I was off the gas and tried to steer out of it which was physically impossible. Car felt as if it was skidding along sideways on wet grass. Car actually kept going around heading backwards into the trees. Its funny now I can still smell the combination of smoke and fresh pine as the bark and branches were ripped away.
Very hard lesson learned and without injury. I was Very lucky unlike many people that have died in similar situations.
Don't feel bad, another friend just spun his 2001 RT when on the gas and changing lanes. He didn't plan on the car comming around either.
Lesson: Keep car pointed straight when full throttle.
Use New tires with enough tread.
Drive with more awareness of how car may react in
cold weather.
No hard shifts when going around curves even if
they are slight.
Do not race on emotion.
Lets review the conditions and my mistakes:
-Just turned onto major highway leaving restaurant with cold tires. Outside temp was close to 50F.
-Driving car with 10% of rear tread left on old tires.
-I decided to nail it when I had someone tailgating me for no reason.(Biggest mistake right here, reactive driving on emotion)
-Shifted very hard from 2nd to 3rd and broke tires loose.
(didn't plan on breaking the rear loose above 80)
-At the time the tires spun I was driving around a slight curve on the highway.
-Car instantaneously went sideways and I had no time to react or correct at that speed. I have never experienced a car kicking out sideways that fast with no feedback to compensate. As soon as the car kicked sideways I was off the gas and tried to steer out of it which was physically impossible. Car felt as if it was skidding along sideways on wet grass. Car actually kept going around heading backwards into the trees. Its funny now I can still smell the combination of smoke and fresh pine as the bark and branches were ripped away.
Very hard lesson learned and without injury. I was Very lucky unlike many people that have died in similar situations.
Don't feel bad, another friend just spun his 2001 RT when on the gas and changing lanes. He didn't plan on the car comming around either.
Lesson: Keep car pointed straight when full throttle.
Use New tires with enough tread.
Drive with more awareness of how car may react in
cold weather.
No hard shifts when going around curves even if
they are slight.
Do not race on emotion.
ViperRay
Enthusiast
Dan,
I like it
I like it
joe117
Enthusiast
Yes, "Feather the throttle and countersteer"
This is the only way to regain control.
Letting off all the way will make it worse.
Not steering properly will make it worse.
You have a chance, but you must be quick and you must do it exactly right.
"Car instantaneously went sideways and I had no time to react or correct at that speed"
Sorry, but I have to say that you could have saved it if you had detected the problem earlier and corrected properly and in time.
You should be able to feel the rear breaking loose. When it does, you must not try to regain control while still accelerating.
You need to feather off some power and countersteer in order to get the front and back going in a straight line. After you do that, you can then try to make the car go where you want.
Kuhmo or some other sticky tires will help. Old, hard tires are dangerous. Get rid of them.
This is the only way to regain control.
Letting off all the way will make it worse.
Not steering properly will make it worse.
You have a chance, but you must be quick and you must do it exactly right.
"Car instantaneously went sideways and I had no time to react or correct at that speed"
Sorry, but I have to say that you could have saved it if you had detected the problem earlier and corrected properly and in time.
You should be able to feel the rear breaking loose. When it does, you must not try to regain control while still accelerating.
You need to feather off some power and countersteer in order to get the front and back going in a straight line. After you do that, you can then try to make the car go where you want.
Kuhmo or some other sticky tires will help. Old, hard tires are dangerous. Get rid of them.
ViperRay
Enthusiast
The tricky part of the maneuver is knowing when to straighten the front wheels after countersteering. You have to feel when the wheels have regained traction or risk the car going in the opposite direction.
It's good to practice in an empty parking lot or other similar open area when it's wet or slippery (if not at a school).
It's good to practice in an empty parking lot or other similar open area when it's wet or slippery (if not at a school).
RT10Paul
Viper Owner
Don't feel bad. I race cars on regular basis and the first time I got on the snake, she got away from me in a split of a second. The *** came around so fast, I didn't even know what hit me. I barely missed a stack of full garbage pails. This car will bite you in the *** real quick if you're not careful.
YOU DON'T WANT C5-TYPE TRACTION/HANDLING MANAGEMENT!!!! Just ask the current C6 owners. Even with the traction control and active handling turned off, torque management is still active. Cartek has a C6 that they race and they couldn't even do a burnout because the torque management would activate. Viper is a "raw" car and that's how it should remain. If you don't feel comfortable driving a car without this crap, go to a driving school or buy a minivan ;-)
YOU DON'T WANT C5-TYPE TRACTION/HANDLING MANAGEMENT!!!! Just ask the current C6 owners. Even with the traction control and active handling turned off, torque management is still active. Cartek has a C6 that they race and they couldn't even do a burnout because the torque management would activate. Viper is a "raw" car and that's how it should remain. If you don't feel comfortable driving a car without this crap, go to a driving school or buy a minivan ;-)
Cop Magnet
Enthusiast
I agree. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the "counterspin" is more common than a spin in the original direction of travel.
