Lift off oversteer.....whoops

[Evil Ally]

I was out on the track for the first time today at a "track day school". We had a half hour open session at the end and I was on my last lap of the day. For some reason I had lost focus and I think I let go of the power on a corner and *snap* I'm sideways. I try to correct but I get snapped the other way. I eventually come to rest backwards in a cloud of tyre smoke :dapprove: Completely my own stupid fault.

This was scary enough, but what scared me more was that the car took a few tries to get started again :S I suspect I didn't get the clutch down fast enough and I was maybe going backwards in 4th. I drove the car home (long journey) and it seems fine. Could I have caused any damage?

 

[Englebert]

Well the good thing is you learnt about it on track and not on a roundabout

My 172 didn't like starting the other day, but has been fine since.

 

[Evil Ally]

Too right, I'm still brickin it!

Did you drive it backwards in 4th per chance?

 

[Englebert]

Oh right..

Well next time you spin remember to brake AND put your clutch down

Hope the car doesn't die!

 

[AliasOmega]

if its broke, take it back...

 

[Serg]

on a hijack where can you get 'track day schools' as i wana get on the track but have never been b4

 

[Rich]

I span my old 205 GTi after a L-O-O moment and it was a bugger to restart. Just normal I think, must cause some kind of fuel starvation, doubt you have a problem.

 

[Munday]

I once spun my saxo after hitting a grass bank and it was hard to get it started. Didn't drive too great with 2 flat tyres either! lol

 

[edde]

Most likly just hammered the clutch. Engines don't like restarts on track days mine never likes restarting and thats after a bit of cooldonw.
I wouldn't owrry unless you have further problem leave the engines to cool down and most problems fix themselves.

 

[clio__chris]

surrender monkeys i tell thee!

 

[Evil Ally]

Drove it work today, couldn't detect any problems...I'm SO relieved

No I wasn't on a hijack cause I'm a big newbie It was a knockhill track day school and I do recommend it, got some good instruction and then half an hour to try our own thing. There were only 8 cars and we had the place to ourselves :approve:

 

[Tyson-182]

^^^ Sounds good, and i'm glad your 182 is fine!

Stamp on the brake before the bend, turn in, apex, exit with foot pretty much flat (depending how good you are)

Tyson.

 

[Weeman]

Next time get yr foot back on the gas, while correcting, it'll pull the front forwards and help straighten u out, if you stay lifted off, you risk it snapping the other way, I found that out on the Nurburgring, with a car full of very scared peeps. Now with a bit of practice just about any fwd car will do it, even the mazda 3 i have can be induced into a good slew of sideways action, LOL

 

[Ross M]

how much did it cost from knockhill if u dnt mind me asking ?

 

[Evil Ally]

Sounds like good advice. They had cones out to show turn in, apex and exit. I just wasn't concentrating properly.

The trackday school was £90 or £99 I think. I found it ideal for me as I have no track experience. We got an initial talk, a number of laps in an intructor driven leon cupra R to show us the corners, then we went round in a convoy behind the instructor car for a number of laps. we each got a go at the front following the instructors car. Then we got told what we were doing wrong etc. Finally we got half an hour to do our own thing. About 3 hours total.

 

[Ross M]

was one of the guys called scott ??

 

[Justin]

Sounds good mate, might have to take a trip down to knockhill when i get my clio back!

 

[Ross M]

^^ give us a shout too and ill come along ... really fancy it n i know the guys that work there.

 

[Evil Ally]

Don't recall a scott. Our group's instructor was sasha, top lady.

 

[Ross M]

na its cool he was off that day lol

 

[klio]

A lot of cars does that after it spins up, I guess is just like a person being shaken up, needs a couple seconds to wake up, haha... Lift throttle is quite dangers in a corner, but if used correctly, its actually a very useful weapon.

 

[Thomss]

This happened to me on a main road! Went on to a field soooo lucky not a single scratch mark dent or anything!
I was taking it on the way back....

 

[rory182]

hell yeah its a feature, I deliberately lifted off 3 times in one bend to re-balance the car, ended up coming out of a hairpin at 80 or so on the Scottish Road trip, was on 3 wheels apparently as well lol.

 

[Evil Ally]

lol well at least I'm not alone ^^

I notice there's a lot of black sooty stuff in the inside of the exhaust that wasn't there before. I guess a side effect of doing 17mpg ^^

 

[Dubai182]

Sounds like a great experience. The black sooty stuff is burnt carbon i think...just from hard driving i imagine. I'm getting on the track for the 1st time too soon.

 

[Djw John]

Rory, first or 2nd trip?!

Ah well Ally, not a better place to find out what its all about! Dipping the clutch helps as well, kills some speed at the same time, just fo rthe love of god never hit the brakes!

 

[rory182]

2nd trip John, not far before Inveraray a nice hairpin at the head of one of the lochs, I was losing grip so lifted off to re-balance it 2 or 3 times.

 

[Djw John]

Ah yeah, plenty of chances on that road!