It has been raining on and off today for the first time in nearly three months and as anyone who lives in an area which sees little rain knows, after the first rain the roads are fucking slick with oil. Driving my 1996 Eagle Talon TSIAWD, I was on my way home from dinner; second to last turn before arriving home I make a left turn onto a three lane road at a light.
I've owned the car for about four months and this was probably the second time I've driven it in wet conditions. This was also the first time dealing with a loss in traction in anything other than a front wheel drive econobox, but I had read that when the back end starts to go out like that you are supposed to keep a steady throttle pressure and steer the wheels where you want the car to go.
As I brought the car through the turn I felt a loss in traction and the car slid diagonally into the middle lane, rear end drifting out to the right. As I finally caught traction again the car over-steered in the direction I was trying to correct (which is surprising because I really didn't think I was over-correcting). I over-corrected the car back to the left, let off the gas, swung again to the right, then back to the left in a heart stopping fishtail. After the final over-correction I realized there was no avoiding the center median this time. I mashed on the brakes to slow the car down as much as I could before impact. I went up over the median with my front left tire and down into the turn lane. Another dozen feet and this turn lane would have given me what little room I needed to finally correct the car as I was only going about 5mph when I hit the median.
I limped my car the last quarter mile home expecting to at least see a bent rim. I think I got lucky in that the only visible damage is a scratched rim and concrete abrasion on the side wall of my tire. I took the car out for a short trip around the block and the car seems to be still aligned (surprisingly) but the rattle I had previously in that wheel when going over bumps seems to have intensified. I'll have to check the car over more thoroughly in the morning. What should I inspect for damage?
I'm pretty shocked that the car would come around so violently at such low speeds. I doubt I ever saw more than 15-20mph or one-third throttle. Looking back it felt like the front wheels might have caught before the rear and flung the car around.
I've owned the car for about four months and this was probably the second time I've driven it in wet conditions. This was also the first time dealing with a loss in traction in anything other than a front wheel drive econobox, but I had read that when the back end starts to go out like that you are supposed to keep a steady throttle pressure and steer the wheels where you want the car to go.
As I brought the car through the turn I felt a loss in traction and the car slid diagonally into the middle lane, rear end drifting out to the right. As I finally caught traction again the car over-steered in the direction I was trying to correct (which is surprising because I really didn't think I was over-correcting). I over-corrected the car back to the left, let off the gas, swung again to the right, then back to the left in a heart stopping fishtail. After the final over-correction I realized there was no avoiding the center median this time. I mashed on the brakes to slow the car down as much as I could before impact. I went up over the median with my front left tire and down into the turn lane. Another dozen feet and this turn lane would have given me what little room I needed to finally correct the car as I was only going about 5mph when I hit the median.
I limped my car the last quarter mile home expecting to at least see a bent rim. I think I got lucky in that the only visible damage is a scratched rim and concrete abrasion on the side wall of my tire. I took the car out for a short trip around the block and the car seems to be still aligned (surprisingly) but the rattle I had previously in that wheel when going over bumps seems to have intensified. I'll have to check the car over more thoroughly in the morning. What should I inspect for damage?
I'm pretty shocked that the car would come around so violently at such low speeds. I doubt I ever saw more than 15-20mph or one-third throttle. Looking back it felt like the front wheels might have caught before the rear and flung the car around.
