Chickwithastick

I feel like a complete idiot and I really didn't want to tell anyone... I'm so embarrassed. So... here's what happened:

Last Friday night I was coming home on 59N... exited for Buffalo Speedway and stopped at the light to make a L onto BS. My boyfriend David was next to me in the inside lane in his integra... Light turns green and we go... not fast, not slow... just a normal speed. I was going 15mph he was going about the same towards the underpass. Next thing I know the ass end fishtails out of nowhere in the S2000 from oversteer being that it went towards the outside first, and the front end almost hits the back quarter panel of his car... me not being used to the S2000 yet instinctively let off the throttle and the car straightened out... but I had already counter-steered. The car goes towards the curb now and I push in the clutch with both feet missing the brake with my right foot because of the spacing of these pedals I guess.... I must be so used to the integra after driving that for 5+ years... so I go up over the curb and into the metal traffic control box.... BAM right into the corner of it.

David looked in his rear-view and saw what happened then and turned around... we decided to call the cops... STUPID STUPID STUPID! Cops came and gave me 2 tickets... failure to show proof of insurance... idiots I had my insurance card with me but it didn't have this car on it yet... and I had the bill of sale with me since that was just completed 4 days prior and I just registered the car that day.... They also got me with "failure to maintain proper lane." The cop was SUCH an asshole to me... I told him I had no clue what happened, I was in 1st gear going 15-20mph and it just fish-tailed... witnesses stopped as well and said the same thing.... yet he was telling me it's "too much power for a female" that I "shouldn't be driving a car like this" blah blah blah. He then dropped my license under my car and made ME crawl under there to get it...

So... I guess these cars really are just that touchy, or I hit oil or something of the sort... I wasn't mashing the gas at all or anything. It had rained earlier in the day, perhaps some oil was on the surface of the road that didn't get washed off... I don't know. Either way, I wasn't going fast, otherwise the integra would have NEVER been in front of me to begin with lol... everyone knows the S2000 with romp on a GSR... It sucks because I really do baby this car since I haven't had a chance to take it out to autox or a track yet... I feel I am a damn good driver.. at least in my integra and this just boggles my mind... the 2 cars are COMPLETE opposites, but I don't think I did anything to encourage the ass end to just break like that so easy... I would at least like to think I can learn from this experience, but I can't figure out what happened... any input??

Also, I may be looking for some parts... passenger side fender, headlight assembly and bumper. Also, numerous suspension parts.

Here's some pictures...

alleykat

Fishtail at 15mph? Sorry but I doubt that highly.Unless there was a slab of ice or puddle of oil laying in the road,then something might be wrong with your car.Thats not nearly enough speed to fishtail.And the s2k isnt exactly a torque monster.

04S2kSS

Ouch....

Chickwithastick

Which is exactly why I cannot figure out what happened... I think it may have been more like 20mph... I didn't look at the speed, I was just turning normally, but David stated he was going about 15-20... I don't know if it's the surface of that road there or what... I completely do not understand, but I was coming from a red light, I couldn't have been going that fast at all. I don't know if anything was wrong with the car... I only had it for 4 days prior and really didn't drive it much at all.

medicalstudent

Ouch. Glad you're ok. And no, that won't buff right out

If you're not used to driving a rear-wheel drive car, this car can get you into trouble, particularly if it's an AP1 (2000-2003). In a front-wheel drive car, it's much less prone to oversteer and tends to understeer. When you understeer, letting off the throttle (instinctive) will load the car to the front again and re-control the car. In a RWD car, when you oversteer, letting off the throttle is a big no-no. When you oversteer, you need to "gently" push the throttle (very counter-intuitive) while counter-steering (turn the steering wheel exactly where you want it to go).

Before I added coilovers which dialed out the oversteer in my car, I used to induce snap oversteer so I can "drift" through turns

All it takes is bad tires &/or slick roads to induce snap oversteer in this car.

It's not a hard car to learn on, but I would highly recommend taking the car to an autocross and trackdays to learn the dynamics of the car.

I wrecked my M3 b/c I didn't understand how RWD cars should be driven. After I got mine fixed, I decided to go to the track and learn how to drive the car. 9 years later, I love RWD cars

Cops suck

Good luck getting your car fixed! Whether or not it's fully fixed, you should still come check us out at the car show/bbq meet in July

second2none

[QUOTE=medicalstudent,Jun 20 2008, 02:20 PM] Ouch.

Chickwithastick

Thanks for the help guys... I know I need to take it to the track or autox... but I haven't had a chance yet... hopefully in September, as I will be away for the next 2 events. I know my reactions definitely didn't help, but it's all I know after driving the integra for so long... thanks for not flaming! Seems it happens to the best of us at some point... at least I walked away, and it will be fixed shortly.

w00tw00t111

Wow, Karen, that's so weird. In the ramblings thread I was totally gonna ask Alex where you've been. And now we know!

I can completely relate to your story! After about 3 weeks of ownership of my s I drove up to Austin to meet some friends. On 290 right before entering Brenham I made 3 complete spins. Fortunately for me, I didn't hit anything and even though it was 5 o' clock traffic there was no one close enough to hit me. As Skyler and Tom mentioned I soon found out (very, very quickly) that bald tires on this car make it very quirky. Add to that slightly we pavement and possible dirt/oil and you've got the perfect makings for an unintentional drift showoff.

Not to thread jack, but even still (with fresh RE01 tires) if I hit about 85+ on a freeway it still feels very squirly. Versus my Accord which didn't get weird on me till about 115+

I'm glad you're alright and you can get that bad boy repaired. Just look at it this way, you have a reason to purchase aftermarket stuff! w00t!

Oh and Cops FTL!!!

After my 1080 I had a volunteer cop pull up next to me (after I pulled over) and threatened to take me to jail. Seriously, GTFO, catch the murders, thieves, and true dangers to society KTHX! /end-rant

medicalstudent

That means you need an alignment (and I would strongly recommend Curt's shop for that). Otherwise, your fresh RE01 tires are going to go bad very quickly

Chickwithastick

I'm confuzzled... are you referring to me as Karen, or did someone else post who's name is Karen?? Because I am Trish

Either way, thanks for sharing your story... I don't know if the rear tires are bald... I am going to have to check them out... I don't believe they are because the tires seemed to be pretty new, but I didn't look at the middle of the tires, just the outsides, and who knows with people these days. They think over-inflating their tires will magically give them 100mpg... sorry hunny... not in this thing!