Wrecked FR-S Crash Already - Not Mine

[Roen]

Originally Posted by neutral

Hey everyone.

I'm the idiot that crashed the FR-S. Not really sure where to begin, so I'll start with how it happened.

I was on my way to lunch with a coworker. There's a right turn I've taken a million times over the past 4 years that's very wide and has huge visibility, and I would sometimes get on the gas a little in my B16-swapped CRX through the turn. I never went over the speed limit, and I only did it if there was absolutely no one else around. Being a FWD, the front tires would break free a little and it would make the turn a bit more fun. Well, before leaving work I decided it would be a good idea to turn off the traction control and try something similar in the FR-S. That was my first mistake. I entered the turn at about 20mph, and halfway through it I got on the gas and I honestly can't remember exactly what happened after that. I remember being extremely surprised and then all of a sudden I was careening for a telephone pole, and then bam. I don't even think I hit the brakes. I must've hit the clutch pedal at some point because the car was still running when I stopped. Both airbags deployed. My passenger said he didn't even touch the airbag, I grazed it a little bit and it felt like I got hit in the face with a soft pillow. I must've been going 15-20mph at the impact. I couldn't believe how much the car just crumpled. I just looked at it and sat on the ground. I can't even describe to you the feeling of seeing it like that. I just wanted to cry.

I'm 24 years old, been driving since 16, and this is my first accident/ticket. I was ticketed for "failure to maintain reasonable control", which honestly was extremely generous given the circumstances. I feel like the world's biggest idiot. I feel like I've shamed myself and done a huge disservice to the community. Sorry just doesn't say enough. I swore I wouldn't be one of those guys everyone was saying would do something stupid and wreck the car and drive up the insurance rates. Now I'm not only that guy, but it seems I'm the _first_ guy. Not exactly the best way to make an impression. I want you guys to know that I truly feel awful about the whole thing. I am truly sorry for letting my fellow FR-S owners down, and through making a complete ass out of myself, I feel I've learned a valuable lesson, albeit a hard one. I know some of you (a lot of you) will hate me, call me an idiot, tell me I shouldn't have even tried anything like that on a public road, etc. And I agree with you 100%. I made a stupid, stupid, irresponsible choice, and now I'm paying for it. I don't think any of you can hate me more than I hate myself.

I hope I can stand as an example of what can happen even at relatively low speeds when you're being stupid. Please for the love of god don't be me. Drive safe, keep traction control on on public roads, and don't try to be Ken Block. Unless you are Ken Block, in which case, keep being awesome.

If they replace your car, make auto-x your first priority.

[Rabble]

Moral of the story is don't try to impress your friends by doing stupid shit in your brand new 25000 sports car

With great power comes great responsibility.

[neutral]

So my insurance adjuster called. He said they're waiting on the body shop, who's waiting on Toyota to give them prices of the parts they need. No ETA. I have a feeling it's going to be a long while before I sit in the driver's seat of an FR-S again.

[Rabble]

Neutral I'm sorry to tell you this but yes you will be without your car for a long while. There is no warehouse of spare parts yet so everything has to come direct from the factory in Japan. When I wrecked my Jetta 2 weeks after I got it, it took them 2 months to get the replacement parts from the factory in Mexico. It sucked so bad.

Don't let it affect you too bad though. Everyone makes silly mistakes and we learn and grow from them. When this is all over you will have a newfound appreciation for your car

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by neutral

So my insurance adjuster called. He said they're waiting on the body shop, who's waiting on Toyota to give them prices of the parts they need. No ETA. I have a feeling it's going to be a long while before I sit in the driver's seat of an FR-S again.

On the positive side, you'll be getting genuine OEM new parts.

[bakerr6]

why not see if there are any aftermarket companies that could use your car to develope parts, such as vis racing, etc.?

[mauricio]

funny mention about these controlls and driving aids, I always drive with them on but driving in Miami is basically just bumper to bumper so it wouldn't make much of a difference. I learned how to drive in an MR2 without anything and it was tough but taught me a lot, I've been through a couple of cars since then and it's been so so about whether they help or not. I guess it's all up to the driver. I did notice in my gf's corolla, it's about 1 year old, it has a traction control button and when you press it for 5 secs just like the fr-s it disables the stability control. That must be intense in that corolla, no wonder it has the spoiler to keep it on the ground :0 it's something every car comes with these day's im guessing, and if they've invested enough money in it then it's there for a reason, I can do without them and drive just fine, but I leave them on for the same reason I can do without a/c in my house, but it's always at 70.

btw sorry about the crash, but like everyone else has told you, anything can be replaced except a life. I've been totaled actually saw the nose in my car go up in the air...it wasn't my fault as I wasn't moving just waiting to make a turn and a car ran into me going over what I would guess was 60. Be glad safety feautres like airbags and controls are there, they sure as hell saved my life. Maybe if the guy's car didn't have abs he would have hit me harder now that I think about it.

[Sall]

heres a vid for all RWD rookies .(including me lol ) [ame="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HvoGWHdiY"]YouTube - How to Control a Rear Wheel Drive Car on a Skid Pan?[/ame]

[Max Schnell]

The key points he mentioned are not to hit the gas hard/suddenly on a turn and to keep the wheels pointed towards (or steer towards) where you want to go even if it is counter intuitive. The weight transfer mentioned is good info too but kind of quickly glossed over.

Same thing you would learn through autox in the dry/rain and talking to people at the autox about car handling techniques.

I guess my point is if you want to learn handling a car do Autox. There is no better way to learn limits of the car safely at reasonable speeds.

[tripjammer]

They did not total it out? Damn! I feel for you bro. Your resale value is going to suck big time...

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by Reflex

Make me weary to drive my FR-S now since i'm coming from a weak, FWD '98 civic..

Hope this doesn't happen to anyone else though.. damn

No need to worry!
Just don't step on the throttle like mad, especially in low-speed corners or in the wet. There is no need at all to start your personal RWD career with a drift.
Start with VSC switched on... It's just a car.
The situation isn't different at all for new Mazda MX-5/Miata owners. So don't panic.
You will soon find out, how much fun a RWD car is - even without any drifts.
And keep in mind, even a weak FWD Civic can start to oversteer.


I will try to translate my little tutorial about handling oversteer and drifting for you guys. Just have a little patience, this isn't so easy for me. I am not a native speaker.


The other thing is:
What has caused unfortunately a bad accident for our poor friend "neutral" (because he did not have developed the steering reflex yet) is what other more trained driver do just to have some fun. I have a similar very tight corner with bowldering instead of tarmac on my way home, and I love to take it sideways occasionally.... It can be SOOO much fun - once you learned how to handle it.

[neutral]

Originally Posted by tripjammer

They did not total it out? Damn! I feel for you bro. Your resale value is going to suck big time...

They haven't made a decision yet. They can't make a decision until they determine whether the cost to repair is 75-80% of the total cost of the car or not. And they can't determine that until they get the cost of the parts, and thus the repair. So for now it's just a waiting game.

But hey, this is the _first_ wrecked FR-S. It's practically a collector's item right? ...Right?

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by neutral

...But hey, this is the _first_ wrecked FR-S. It's practically a collector's item right? ...Right?

Well, I suppose if the total it, you could always buy the "remains" and have it crushed into a coffee table cube!

[neutral]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Well, I suppose if the total it, you could always buy the "remains" and have it crushed into a coffee table cube!

Now that is a depressing sight. I think I'd cry every time I looked at that coffee table.