Yikes! 360 Hwy Spinout.....help?

[911Rob]

I gotta post here because I spun my 911 out and don't really know why? Freaked the Sh$t outa me.

I was coming home from Vancouver, BC heading East on Trans Can Hwy towards Abottsford. It was raining and the roads were wet. I was doing about 65 MPH and changing lanes from the fast lane to slow lane preparing for an exit into Abbotsford. As I steered to the right (very slight) for the lane change, I think I went over a small bridge type platform, possible a couple inches of water ponded?, but not positive.

All of a sudden my car severely went into a 4 wheel drifting slide sharp to the left. I probably was off the accelerator at the time too. Within a 'nano-second' I was facing the concrete barricade running parallel to the hwy. on the left side. It seemed as if the car actually accelerated for a moment towards the vehicles in front of me, but I didn't hit them. The rear end continued to spin around and I was heading straight towards the concrete wall, A$$ end first.

Looking out the winshield at 3 lanes of rush hour traffic (4:30PM, Friday afternoon) travelling backwards towards the left of hwy., I decided to steer the car left and punch the gas. Now I was going backwards, and I must've de-accelerated enough by then that the car instantly spun with the added acceleration and completed the full 360 spin, so now I was facing the proper direction in the middle of the hwy. I continued to power out of the drift and gained control of the car. There was a wall of traffic behind me all watching the show; It was so exillerating I couldn't think of what to do, so I rolled down my window and pumped my fist in the air a couple times, indicating my victory of not even a scratch.

Whew!, thank God for my Gaurdian Angel once again.

I immediately exited into Abbotsford, found the Chevron Station and checked my tires and car. All A-OK. Now I really don't know WTF happened? I've only been driving my 911 for 3 years now, and I've driven sports cars all my life and nothing like this has ever happened to me before (spin out going 'straight').

Perhaps the slight change of steering at that moment acted like paddles in the ponded water and jolted my car to the left? But maybe someone can tell me what caused this, so I can drive in the rain again without being freaked out?

I'm running Dunlop SP Sport 8000 tires, which are rated high for wet conditions FYI;

Thanks in advance for your feedback..........otherwise, I hope you enjoyed my story of one days drive in the rain.

[tt_targa]

74 CAB ??

There is an article in this months motor trend that talks about relationship between tire pressure and hydroplaning.

I spun at Thunderhill in the classic TTO fashion. I had read all about TTO. Couldn't believe how fast and uncontrollable it was.

There are obvious stability issues with a rear engine that I think invalidate much of Porshes engineering.

Glad you had no damage.

[masraum]

Sounds to me like a classic case of hydroplaning. Even when you are driving straight and not slightly turning the wheel to change lanes a car car go into a spin from hydroplaning. Fortunately for most of us the car just looses traction for an instant and then regains for a minor pucker moment.

The fact that you were changing lanes and off of the accelerator probably had a lot to do with it, but there is no guaranty that changing either would have made a difference.

Check the wear on your front tires, since they have the least weight on them they are probably the most likely to cause hydroplaning, and therefore the most important in the rain, just as the rears are the most important on a front wheel drive or other front engined car.

[ZCAT3]

What they said - sounds like hydroplaning. I'll tell you one thing - there must be several people in your area retelling this story with a sense of awe - that must have been something to see.

I have hydroplaned in my 87 Carrera more than once and it is not a good feeling. I have never lost control but all the weight in the rear with no traction is a bad feeling. In fact, I pretty much have stopped driving the car in anything more than mild to moderate rain. Between the terrible windshield wiper design and traction issues I prefer my Volvo.

[beepbeep]

I hydroplaned in my 930 @ 90mph on 285's...i never drove it in the rain after that.

[TerryH]

To add the hydroplaning issue, it doesn't take much standing water to turn our cars into pontoon boats. The pans aren't high enough to tread through even where most passenger cars can pass safely. Try to avoid all standing water.

[cvfncrew]

Thank goodness you where in a Porsche and not in a SUV.

[vash]

sounds like there was two skids that night, one on the watered down road, and the other in your underpants! glad, you are ok! post a picture of your 74 cab please....

[Zeke]

Prost, Senna or Shucmacher couldn't have made it look any better. Go bakc and try it again!

How high is the rubber on your tires, or what are the tires? Summer high performance tires? Or, are they designed for water control. On the street, I run a deep circumferance grooved tire even though it never rains here (Except today, it is raining as we speak on the Long Beach Grand Prix. Only about the 2nd time in 30 years they've seem any significant water on the track.)

Cliff, who wears underpants?

[RoninLB]

I bet the "off throttle" when changing lanes contributed to the oversteer.

[jyl]

As others have said, maybe hydroplaning. Sounds like you went off a slightly raised surface into an area of standing water.

I don't buy the idea that 911s are unusually dangerous to drive in the rain. My 89 Carrera is my regular driver and I live in the SF Bay Area, so it gets driven in the rain a lot, including heavy rain. The car does just fine.

I do think that many 911 drivers do two things that make rain driving rather riskier.

First, they fit wide, dry performance tires. For rain you want narrower with open tread patterns. So my 225 Bridgestone SO-3s (rear) are a lot better choice than 265 Michelin Pilot Sports, for example. The lighter the car, the narrower the tire. So my 205 (front) on my appx 2900 lb car is better than the same 205 tire on a 2400 lb (?) early 911.

Second, they drive too fast. I drive <65 in rain, and down to 50-55 when there's standing water. Our cars are so nimble that we get used to having really superior car control. As traction decreases (dry -> wet -> snow -> ice), our advantage decreases. At some point the light weight and wider tires work against us enough that we have inferior car control - in heavy rain / standing water, we should actually be driving slower than other cars.

[350HP930]

It only took one incident that threw my car into a 90 degree spin down the roadway to make me extra cautious about driving my car in the rain.

Small light cars on big tires are always a dangerous combo. Then when you add two different track widths at each axle with a heavy ass end only makes it worse.

Manual steering also can contribute to a turn in effect when you hit standing water on one side. When I drive in the rain I make sure to grip the wheel tightly and brace my left arm with my leg.

[GrindingGears]

I'm so glad you made it out unscathed. I was laughing out loud with relief when you said "I rolled down my window and pumped my fist in the air a couple times".

My tips for driving in the rain:
1) Keep safe distance from other vehicles.
2) Stay on high side of the road.
3) Slow down.

Is it possible you may have flat spots on your tires now?

[atlporsche]

Originally posted by Zeke
Prost, Senna or Shucmacher couldn't have made it look any better. Go bakc and try it again!


Cliff, who wears underpants?

Danny sullivan could have...

sjd

[Emission]

I like the pumped fists! Quick thinking on your part!

Water, lifting off the throttle, steering inputs, rise in the highway = easy spin potential. It doesn't sound like something you did directly to cause this.

Lower speed and deeper treads would help prevent hydroplaning.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by GrindingGears

Is it possible you may have flat spots on your tires now?

Nah, he was burning rubber like Dale Earnhardt in a spin. That guy tried to drive out of the impossible and sometimes did. Anyway, I don't think he panicked and locked 'em up. He just drove on like a pro with his fist in the air, abeit his shaking fist.

[MAS]

I dunno... but there's maybe even more to the story than you know. I've (temporarily) hydroplaned before, but I've been able to regain control of the car pretty quickly. I'm guessing that there may have been oil, of something else slippery on the road too.

-MAS

[nostatic]

I don't think you need oil...my guess is the steering input to change lanes along with getting off the throttle was enough to send it around. Whenever I've felt the front end start to go, I will let off the gas but not try to turn the wheel at all.

Some of my "practice" for dealing with this was many years ago in my '67 bug. After a good rain there was a big open cul de sac that was coated with a couple of inches of mud (back in the days before all of San Diego was paved over). I spent about an hour doing high speed mudroplane passes and donuts. It's big fun when you don't have to worry about running into anything.

[MAS]

"... but I've been able to regain control of the car pretty quickly"

So far, I should add

-MAS

[nostatic]

Originally posted by MAS
"... but I've been able to regain control of the car pretty quickly"

So far, I should add

-MAS

yes, best not to tempt fate/kharma. Ask me now I know