Crash *2 !

[Jimlad]

I nearly lost the back end at the weekend while I was following Jappybeast around my home town. Wasn't good.

Was my own fault sorta ( was flooring it in second while going round a bend.. not a good idea in a turbo... and the roads were damp. ).

The back end started twitching... then the front a little... finally caught it, but I did cack it. It started seriously wanging about the road... I was like "AAARGH !". I had images of me spinning off the road... scary !! Couldn't have handled another 7 weeks while my MR2 was getting repaired !!

I also noticed JappyBeast seemed to be able to floor it and stick to the road better than myself, most probably due to the fact that he has a N/A as opposed to a Turbo. Or possibly because he has stock 14" rims, where I have 17" rims.

Advice for any newbie drivers out there looking to get a Mr2... get a N/A to get used to it first.

Advice for Tubby owners.... don't get complacent... especially in the wet. Respect the car or it'll throw you off the road.... lol.

[Yarisboy]

hi jim :)

i have no experience of rwd cars but i'll throw in my 2pence anyway

i don't think it'll be cos u've got bigger wheels that u don't stick to the road as well as jappy when flooring it...

i reckon it's more likely that because his power is put down smoother... more progressively... whereas I imagine your power is put down more abruptly, which makes it harder for the tyres to grip

like i said i'm not an expert but perhaps with practice u can put the power in your mr2turbo down more efficiently if u practice a bit more with the accelerator, then you'll be sailing around corners much faster than jappy

[Jimlad]

yeah... I know what you mean mate... in the N/A it will be progressive. With the turbo it is progressive... then the turbo seriously kicks in and the power increases very rapidly. This is prob why it is harder for the turbo to grip while cornering and your foot flat on the floor in second.

I need to get myself a lighter foot !! .... can't handle any more " let's slide all over the road " efforts.... lol... don't want any more brown trousers. :D

I would love to see TopGear have the MR2 Turbo on the show... does anyone know if they ever have ?

[Yarisboy]

i suppose the obvious way around it is to go into the corner with the turbo already in action rather than letting it kick in as ur half way around :o

or go around the corner with the turbo winding up, then as it straightens out put ur foot down and give jappy a good thrashing

might be an idea until u learn to fine tune ur foot :D

[Jimlad]

yeah.... lol... need to practice this one.. anyone got a spare track ??

Doesn't matter that much tho, cos as soon as I'm out of the corner I could fly past Jappy.

[dawesy]

also dont forget the tubby has more weight hanging out the back

[Dame]

It is most likely due to the way the power arrives somewhat abruptly on the turbo. That kick you feel will be enough to snap the back end of the car, causing the handing problems you've experienced. As a rule of thumb, never push the car unless the conditions are ideal. I always drive mine extra carefully in the wet, having experienced a 'wayward' back end several times in the past.

[ZeroBlade]

***** u'll never learn will u m8 :P

good 2 hear nothin happened tho, and that'l teach u for tryin to keep u w. an n/a haha, j/k ;)

-Z

[dj_davo]

true answers fellas.

u put too much power down too quickly with a turbo then the back wheels will suddenly be spinning quicker than the fronts (as we have lovely rwd cars), then the back end will skate (even in a straight line).

round a corner - obviously worse! :(

i tread very carefully round corners in my tubby - especially, as we all know, AND U IN PARTICULAR JIM! how twitchy the 2 can be.

take it steady jimlad. if ur racing, let the other peeps beat u on the corners, then cane it, catch back up and overtake!

[ZeroBlade]

Try and get to know ur car a little more, in particular the timings fo the turbo.

Ur bet best would be to cane i down a straight and try and guage when the tubby kicks in, check rpm in gears.

what u prolly want to do is slow it a little round the corner so turbo doesnt kick in during mid cornering, then as ur about to clear the corner plant ur foot so the tubo kicks in and u'll fly in the straight!

-Z

[pizza boy]

Ye its so tru. For example in a Lotus Elise,because its NA, its just a straight linear power output. Even my 16 yr ol bro slid a 111s around in the wet its soooo predicatable. Simply because in NA cars when you put your foot on the throttle..you know EXACTLY how much power will be produced..predictable.

In the turbo ....oh dear!

My m8 who owns the Elise said to me that my car is just SCARY in the wet when he drove it. I had to let him...it shut up his 'your just a crap driver' claims when i refused to drift around with him heh

[ZeroBlade]

hence the reason i got an n/a.

I actually wanna see sideways action in this, and i reckon by the time i get good enough to pull it off in the 2, i can upgrade to a tubby, or stick in a black top baby!

-Z

[CraigT]

Nearly had an accident myself the other night.

Heading towards a roundabout on my way home from work late at night. I usually slow down a lot for it but the roads were dead so I decided that I was going to fly around it.

As I approached the roundabout I checked for cars but didnt see any head lights or anything. By this point I was absolutely belting along. Anyway I crossed the giveway line leading onto the roundabout and there it was....right in front of me....as if from nowhere....an old clapped out Nova going dead slow and right in my path! Where it came from I dont know, maybe I was just tired, but at that point in time I had about one and a half seconds to react. I jammed the steering wheel to the left sharply and was expecting my first MR2 spin out.

To my surprise I didnt smash the poor Nova dude into next week and I didnt spin the MR2. It gripped the road like a beast :) I had just rescued myself from one hell of a crash.

My heart was seriously pumping by this point but the funniest thing of all was that the Nova dude didnt even seem to notice me or the fact that I nearly smashed him into next year.

I go slower on that roundabout now

[midmotorsteve]

jim get on the track, get an instructor £15 more per session, you'll leave being the turbo driving damon

http://www.bookatrack.co.uk/-pV?6

[ZeroBlade]

Elvington in york...

hrm im up for that. York aint too far, gives me an excuse to visit a friend (of the female variety ;))

u boys wanna make a day out of it?

there's a black roadster gonna be there...

-Z

[John R]

I'm not too far from york

[ZeroBlade]

it'l b about £115 then w. an instructor.

Price is similar to other places.

I think there was aplace up in scotland that cost this much. cept u drove their elises.

least u dont have to worry about fuel/tyre wear there :)

[dj_davo]

im up for a bit o'that.

being in sheffield not too far for me to travel. would need to get a spare set of wheels and tyres perhaps beforehand so i dont ruin my stupidly expensive eagle f1's.

maybe early spring, perhaps end of march or sometime then?

[JappyBeast]

Jimlad,

2 reasons Im better round town...

I have had my MR2 for over a year and know how to drive it... and

My MR2 is quicker than yours! :P :P

No honest.. it is.

[ZeroBlade]

maybe early spring, perhaps end of march or sometime then?

Woulda hve to be early march, the 6th to be exact:

Event's Page

They have preset date for the event.

Take a ganders at the right hand side of that page, Elvington is scheduled on march 6th.

-Z

[Jimlad]

Jimlad,

2 reasons Im better round town...

I have had my MR2 for over a year and know how to drive it... and

My MR2 is quicker than yours! :P :P

No honest.. it is.

get in the turbo then mate.... then you'll see it's a totally different story.

As for it being quicker than mine ? You can always dream mate... you can always dream.

[ZeroBlade]

My MR2 is quicker than yours!  :P  :P

No honest.. it is.

...You can always dream mate... you can always dream.

haha, knew that'd hit a nerve with jimbo, lol :D

[JappyBeast]

I did think that he looked a bit small in my rear view!....

[ZeroBlade]

hey, hey jappy quit teasin jimbo, ur gonna get him killed, when he's tryin to keep up w. ya, haha :D

-Z

[Jimlad]

I did think that he looked a bit small in my rear view!....

yeah yeah mate....... " like whatever ".

Stop trying to wind me up or I'll beat you with a stick.