Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Pine Needles+experienced driver+traction control=Disaster

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best pics i got right now are...
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...16b2a39940.jpg
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http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...5654b66ec9.jpg
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yeah so I hit the left hand turn at about 35mph, +/- 5 mph
this next part all happens in about 5 seconds start to finish...
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i don't know how, but i hit a patch of pine needles bthick enough in one spot and the back gets loose towards the outside of the road.
so I turn into it to correct the turn like I'M supposed to. car straightens out and continue driving
AND THEN orange light starts blinking super crazy the brakes LOCK UP because of the pine needles
the back end swings out the OTHER way towards the inside of the lane
the passenger side nose of the car just goes thru three trees at about a 6 inch diameter.
====


the messed up part is, i could have gotten out of that situation if I didn't have traction control.
i'm really angry about this actually.
because i really liked the traction control.
i though it was good, not the best. but really good. and then that had to go and happen.

it was like as soon as the orange light turned on i felt like i was on ice and the car sped up!
and since the tires locked on the pine needles I had NO control

funny too because when the cops came and the convo goes something like this
cop "so how fast were you going"
me: "honestly no more than 10 miles an hour over the limit. probably not even that fast."
cop: "that'a srt8?"
me: "yeah"
cop: "and you weren't going fast?"
me: "yeah its fg b-st."
cop pulls out the meter to measure the tire skids
"we'll see about that"
cop comes back 5 minutes later talks to the other cop...
"there's no tire marks, sooo..."

and that's pretty much it.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

GLAD YOU ARE OK!! Sorry about the car, man, but you know it can be replaced.
Not to kick you while you're down, but it is stories like your's that made me give up on automatic trannies years ago.

In those situations I simply clutch, coast/brake and steer out of it. When I do drive cars with autos I coast over slick spots if I see them coming. Good luck with your car.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Automatic cars have a neutral gear that works just fine, I"ve used it in an icy situation when I didn't know better then to live where it's cold enough to ice up:D. Sorry about your car partner but most important you're ok. The car can be fixed or replaced. Now your broken heart is another story.:(

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Man that makes me sick to my stomach. So sorry about the bad luck. I'm just glad no one was hurt.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

trev I am sorry to read what happened but I thank god you are OK!

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

thanks everyone who was worried about my safety.
just went and looked at the car. the engine and trani look salvageable.

maybe i might put them into an old chally?

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Well, now that you have mentioned it...

If they total it, let me know if you plan to buy the salvage. I'd be interested in the drive line for my RAM 1500. Where you located?

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Monterey, CA

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Oooohhf, I'll have to check with a friend and see if he's got some freight coming out of Cali over the next few months. Keep me posted.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

fo sho

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Sorry bout the car, Trev. I had an accident similar with a 94 Camaro years ago. I was driving along and hit black ice and the car went all willy nilly til it stood up on a telephone pole. I had rims and a cowl hood on it so the cop immediately thought I was speeding. He was writing the report when WHAM! there was a head on collision about a half a block away. Seems the ice did exist! Glad you are OK.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Trev i'm glad your ok and I can't imagine how you feel.

Are you insured ? I am pretty sure yours was an 08 right? What are you doing as far as replacing it , if you are ....?

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Damn, Glad your OK.:eek:

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

wow... Sorry bro...
Let off the gas and steer out of it... next time... Shoot i'd be interested in the tranny and engine also... let us know

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Trev, glad you're alright brother! Sorry about the car, but they are replacebale, you my friend are not. Well, you proved it is a safe vehicle at least;)

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Glad you are ok. Sux about the Challenger but you know that already.

Not sure about California, but here in Illinois, Insurance COs won't let you buy back your salvaged wreck if they deem it is not worth the repair cost AND if the car is less than 5 yrs old. Something to do with making it easier to take down chop shops by keeping these newer car salvage titles out of the hands of the general public (if you've got one, you must be a criminal; or some goofy logic like that). But I think you can petition to buy back parts (engines, etc) from the insurance company if you can get them to give you the auction information.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

wow that really sucks man. glad your ok.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

ouch my insurance just went up from looking at it, glad you are Ok, 5 star crash rating FTW!

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Glad your ok. Its amazing how things can happen so fast Keep us informed about your challenger's outcome.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

of course he is ok the car has a 5 star crash rating sorry about your car man

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Im sorry to see that happen, but Im glad your ok.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

What a shame...at least you are ok. I personally would want that car total'd after a hard front hit like that.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Soryy about your car, glad your ok though.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Cars can be replaced...people can't. Glad you're ok.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

If i am reading this right, it sounds like it was slow on the uptake, and may have interpreted your countersteer to correct the skid as the way you actually wanted to go. That would give the feeling of the back end swinging toward the inside, and you shooting off the road nose first. Scary if that is the case. I do not have a ton of experience with traction control, but I have had a couple instances where I felt that I was correcting the skid before the computer intervened, and that the intervention made a routine correction into a scarier situation.

I always thought car mags were flattering themselves when they complained about cars where traction control could not be turned off, but after experiencing the BMW version, I definitely find it a bit annoying/unsettling.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

thats pretty much what went down.
it corrected my correction.
i anticipated before the traction control did.

it was stupid.
i've never crashed a car in my life.
never even had a close call like that before.
the whole thing is really stupid.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Yeah, I feel ya. So painful to have a car destroyed by such a weird, flukey situation. [:'(] Stupid electronic nannies.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

glad you walked away from this. could havebeen much more worse.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Glad you are ok . I know the feeling . I wrecked a brand new 71 Challenger RT . Throttle cable stuck wide open . Went into a curve and pulled the automatic to low to try and blow the engine ( should have put it in netural ) . But if the engine isn't running you couldn't steer ( had learned that before ) . The car shifted out and turned sideway's . Climbed a embankment doing over a 100 . Through a yard infront of a house . Hit a small post . My driver side looked just like your passenger side. They fixed it . But was a piece of junk after that . Engine block cracked . Learned after I got rid of the car . The early 71's had some throttle cables that where too long and caused the cable to stick when you had wide open throttle. I'd had it do it once at a traffic light at part throttle . But got it un stuck . Those pine needles are tricky also. I have had some dealing with them also . Almost lost a car on wet leafs also. I'd make them go for a new car.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Man sorry to hear about that and glad you're ok. Sucks that the things that suppose to help keep you safe ends up being the thing that messes you up.

RE: Went thru 3 trees last night...
 

Oh God man that is terrible! Sorry to hear about the car and like everyone else said good thing you weren't hurt.

I'm not a big fan of traction control either. I wish my car didn't default to having it turned on. There is a relay I can make myself or buy off ebay that will fix that problem and keep it turned off by default. Definitely on my list of things to buy.