Spin Damage

Technical Area Steering & Suspension
2

I span my mk1 on a wet roundabout today while “exploring the rear wheel drive handling characteristics”.  No one else was involved thank god.

I was shocked by how suddenly it lost control considering how predictable its been up to now.  There must have been diesel or something down to make it so slippy.

Anyway, luckily i didnt hit anything (or anyone), but I did bounce up a curb at speed while going backwards (and to the right) , which I was certain had caused some damage to the suspension/ underside of car. 

However on visual inspection I couldnt see any damage, and furthermore it seems to drive ok.  Are these cars really that strong?  What kind of damage would you expect from this kind of thing normally, surely it must happen alot at track days and racing leages etc - any advice?

Immediately after coming to standstill I could smell petrol so thought I had ruptured the tank or something, but in hindsight I think it must have been the petrol sloshing up the tank breather hose -  gives an idea of the king of jolt .

Any ideas about what kind of things i need to look out for/check, that would be great.  Thanks.

 

3

 i had a similar accident in a prev car…i took it alont to a tyre and tracking place and they were kind enough to put up on the ramp give it a good inspection and check the tracking…all was fine and because nothing needed adjusting / replacing there was no charge

4

 I have had five of these little B*****s. All were tail happy in the wet I pulled a couple of 360s with the only damage being to my underwear. they do let go without warning I find specially if accelerating, our Mk2 was positively dangerous in wet or damp conditions, so we tended to garage it in winter and use the 4x4. Our mk2 was on Toyo tyres which I thought were good in the dry and scary in the wet.

Rgds Johno

5

strange, i had toyo proxes t1r on an old car and it stuck like glue in the wet,thought they were renowned to be a good wet weather tyre.

I loosened the back end a little turning onto a side road only doing about 15mph,was up a hill so guess the combo of turning and giving it some beans to get up there wasn’t a good one!

6

There is a pot hole at Norfolk Arena that I hit sideways about every third lap. No damage at all to the car so far and it’s been getting this sort of treatment for years. The suspension is strong, but it’s worth getting it checked after a big off.

Maybe before winter you should get on a skid pan for a reminder of what to do when the roads are slippery. Maybe we all should.

7

i had a spin on diesel and did the same thing on a curb, only split a lower balljoint… replaced that but the car does tend to drift left, should be sorted i hope when i visit wim!

charlie

8

Hi all,

Very scarry episode on the way to Dieppe car ferry terminal, just after new year, when travelling at about 50 or 60 on a dry road, suddenly the car swerved towards the concrete central divide, rode up it a little, I tried to correct and ended up, going backwards at about 50 (Is that possible?) over the rough grass beside the road.

A narrow ditch eventually stopped the experience.

This all in the dark.

Examination showed a flat back tyre, a bit of a scuff on the nearside and the soft top roof coming un-secured.

A tow truck, organised by the overseas car rescue my insurance provided, (First time in 40 odd years of driving I have had or needed such a service!) came and towed me onto the road and then onto the back of the truck, the idea being to put on spare in a safe place.

As I could not find, I had only had the car a week, the key to unlock the wheel, the tyre was inflated and has stayed inflated ever since.

What went wrong I have no idea, but it has made me very cautious about using since.

Back in England, on the A27, the wipers stopped mid first wipe, so with much use of radar I found a laybye and again called the AA.

A binding drive rod was the cause, probably the result of the spin and agricultural foray earlier, again simple treatment and I was on my way again.

Must admit they do seem strong cars, just dangerous.

Note to self, keep clean trousers in glove box.

Big Smile

 

9

After hitting a kerb sideways, there is the possibility that you have knocked the geometry a little out of whack. I know I did. Take a trip to Wheels in Motion.

If your car is really tail happy in the wet, then it usually means:

  1. Rubbish tyres

  2. Geometry wrong

  3. Oil/ deisel spill

  4. Putting the loud foot down at the wrong time.Disapproving wave

10

After my spin on the M20 at about 50 mph, I avoided hitting anything but suffered a bad vibration. On investigation one of the rear tyres had blistered badly but was it a tyre failure that caused the spin, it was a bit icy in patches so it would not have taken much to promot a spin.

11

 

Dangerous?

Having had them 10years, I would disagree, it is usually a lack of respect/knowledge of rear wheel drive handling

12

 

 

Cannot admit 10 year ownership of MX5’s but agree with last bit - I reckon a lot of people have forgotten that rear wheel drive cars aren’t as ‘safe’ or forgiving as front wheel drive cars which make up the majority of cars on the roads today.

13

Hi all,

Hope that comment was not levelled at me.

You are right of course, rear wheel drives are very different to front wheel drive cars.

However I have had 40 odd years of driving, much of it in RWD Leylands, including an Ital for 10 years, and that had dreadfull handling.

I also drove commercially, a range of vehicles from 50 seater coaches to Mercedes salons.

I do agree RWD’s are more of a handful, but it does seem that MX5 owners seem to have more experiences of “looking at where they have just come from” than say BMW drivers report, not that I have asked, but reading forums and chatting to owners this is what comes across.

My spin occured on a straight, dry road, at cruising speed. All I can assume is that the tyre deflated prior to the spin, but why I have no idea. As part of my commercial traing I always take a walk round the vehicle before I set off, so know the tyres were OK.

Oil, is the only other possibility.

What I will aplaude is the french style of central reservation divide, which seem designed to allow the car to rise up the wall before being pushed back onto the road, giving some time in which to control the car.

I am also glad that the car was designed and built with too much strength, as the pounding it took bouncing over the rough grass may well have defeated a lot of lighter built cars.

Anyway, here’s to dry days with the top down. Cool 

An extra special experience, especially going backwards. Big Smile