Almost totalled my 986S today, lost control of the car!

[aBsOlUt]

I cannot believe it. I was so proud of its handling and everything but it must have been my fault. I know no car can go against the law of physics. My tires must have been wet from a rain that was going on all morning. Everything was dry at the time of the incident.

It all happened in a back road next to where I live, I was with a friend and I even told him "I like this road", turned the wheel even more and pressed the gas (probably the biggest mistake). Car loses control, butt is flying to the right, front is going and jumps on the conrete part of the pedestrian road, gets on top of the grass and somehow I turned my wheel to the right to get back into the road and it did it. If it didnt do that it would have kept going on a downward slope with more grass and possibly roll the car around.

A piece of plastic fell on the road and it appears it took most of the damage. The car does not leak any oil or has any visible damage at all. The car is full of grass thrown on one side.

Steering feels the shame, car keeps going straight even if I dont hold the wheel, I zig-zagged a bit, gears seem to do just fine.

I am taking it to the dealer to be checked. Any worries I should have?

Just wanted to share the story...I blame the mistake to me not the car.

[BobMarley1]

How is your friend,

[aBsOlUt]

Couldnt stop apologizing for what happened. I might post some screenshots soon if I find my digital camera.

[blue2000s]

Did you actually hit anything or just slide around?

[drburton]

How fast were you going? I try to get my backend out on some sharp turns around my house just to get a better feel for the car and it takes alot of effort. When it does happen it is generally very controlled and easy to get back in line. You must have been cruising to have it get that far out on you.

Hopefully the damage is minimal, sounds like all seems well.

I bet your heart was pumping after you came to a stop.

[slogans7]

If you like going fast, take a course on how to do it well and safely. I would recommend Skip Barber.

http://www.skipbarber.com/

[aBsOlUt]

Yes I did hit the curb and half of the car was on the grass and the rest on the road.

I must admit I did intentionally try to get the turn a bit hard. Like I said it was my mistake by turning the wheel more and pressing the gas. I took the turn at around 47-51 miles per hour I would say - dont rmbr exactly.

I went to the dealer they did a check all seems fine. The piece of plastic is under front bumper - passenger side - and it cost 7.00$. It takes about 20 minutes to go on the dealer and another 20 to come back.

Car drove fine. I think I got out very lucky considering how worse it could have been.

[Scooter986]

Originally Posted by aBsOlUt

[a]nd somehow I turned my wheel to the right to get back into the road and it did it.

Now that is what a 986 is supposed to do. It gets back in line, with some coaxing of course.

I am glad everything worked out.

[Brucelee]

I recommend that you:

Have the car aligned by a quality shop.

Have them do a thorough inspection underneath. If you hit the curb at speed, I suspect you have some damage, even if it is just an alignment issue.

Enroll in a qualilty driving school.

Stop trying to show off when lives are at stake. If you want to risk your own life, that is your call. Your friend might take exception to risking his.

Good luck.

[aBsOlUt]

Does anyone know a driving school here in Charlotte, North Carolina?

[Perfectlap]

you don't need a driving school if you local SCCA or Autocross clubs.
For $50 you can get an instructor driving with you showing you the ropes.
After a two or three weekends you will have learned nearly as much as you
would in one those formal driving schools that cost thousands of dollars and
are only a couple of days long. Nobody learns in two days.
If after at lealst half a dozen autocross events you want some in depth instruction
look into spending the grande dollars.


check this out maybe some are close to you
http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmEventList.Show?pstext=autocross&psstate_province=nc&psrnd=.72059533676417466846326134354050418874

[mjw930]

It really does sound like you need to get some track time either through one of the expensive schools or through your local PCA Drivers Education program. Think of it as a little insurance that's a whole lot more fun that writing checks to fix mistakes.

[Jump]

This is as good of time as any to gain a better understanding of PSM. What exactly does this control? Shouldn't it have helped in this situation (assuming he had it)?