redrotorR1

Man ... I wish people driving those big F-250's would watch where there going! Got cut off in the rain by a big-a** truck and spun out. Smacked into curb and did a fair amount of damage. Driver-side front spindle is bent, both driver side wheels are missing huge chunks, rear quarter panel is damaged along with the rear bumper. The front air dam/spoiler is falling off too .... ARGGHH!

Anyone know if the 3rd gen wheels and air dam will be hard to find? The quarter panel will probably need to be replaced ... is that going to have come from Japan or can it be found in the States easily? Also, should the whole suspension be redone after an accident like this? Probably hit that curb at like 30+ mph ...

rotary-tt

That sucks. There are several dismantlers of Mazdas including MazdaRecycling, MazMart, and KE Rodgers who may have parts for you.

mightyslash

Oh man, I feel for you

pedro kim

have any pics?

neo_omega

Don;t know about the wheels. Coz everyone I know want to keep the stock wheel for track racing. But it's not hard to find the air dam. In fact there is a palce selling it in Austin.

MazdaStuff.com

Malachi151

Hey, something I have experiance with!

Firstly, don't freak out.

Secondly take your time with the car, do you have another car to drive or will insurance pay for rental?

You can get used stock rims for as low as $30 if you look around, but I would not pay more then $150.

Get Insurance to cut to a check including all thier estimates for parts and labor and then find a way to get all the stuff cheaper.

You would be amazed what body work can do to fix stuff, I did something similar with mine and they pulled it all out and fixed to exactly like new and I figured it was a total loss. There is no way you can tell what was done on my car on those panels.

Here is a number of a Mazda junk yard that can get just about anything you need. Try to find someone local, but you can always fall back on this: 1-800-699-2664 www.mazda-dism.com They are in Cali.

Are you a member of Mazda Competition? If not then oh well, if so then you canget the air damn from them the cheapest you can find. If not then go to www.mazdamotorsports.com when your car is fixed and get into the program.

Look on partstrader.com there are lots of guy on there parting out and guy s that buy junkers and part them out.

Also, get a hold of Duane at www.crookedwillow.com he sometimes has stock parts that he will sell cheap.

You can also contact Pettit, or PFSupercars too, they will help out cause they have lots of parts laying around too, and dealing with these guys is good cause they know what they are doing.

Flybye

Damn that REALLY sucks. Just one more reason why trucks should be banned $10 says it was some stupid little woman not watching where she was going

Body parts are easy to get, but if you cant find them used, then you are going to have to get them at Mazda. NOONE makes generic replacement parts for the FD.

FstFD3SPOWER

Man.. that suxs.... Hope everything is work out for you bro..
p.s; ifu going to part out ur car.. list da after market goodies

black99

That sucks... there was a brand new quarter panel on ebay, but I forget if it was a left or a right...

GreedyGreg

Hey man I feel ya on the reck I was just driving my rex back from a job interview and i got off the freeway and It STARTED ON FIRE!!! Ya it sucks big time dident have much done to it but it started by the intercooler so thats gone and so is the turbo, hopefully I can salvage the engine...

RyanREX

This man is in pain and you want pics? You bastard!

SleepR1

It's a shame about your accident.

I am curious as to how you got the car out of shape (figuratively and literally I guess) just by braking hard to avoid a truck that didn't see you?

What tires did you have on the car?

I ask these questions because as a high performance driver's education instructor for my driving club, I try to point out to people how relevant performance driving skills are on public roads.

Most people think we're just out having fun on the track--we ARE, but we're also honing our skills so when the time comes for an evasive manuever (like in your situation), we take the proper course of action without much thought...

Good luck!

redrotorR1

Actually what happened was that the truck was cutting across lanes to merge onto a feeder onto I-35. I swerved slightly and tapped the brake to allow the truck to pass; but in the rain @ 45mph, the rear end just started to break loose. So, I tried to fight the spin by turning the wheel and I almost successfully made it out if I had kept my nerve. After the third try of turning the wheel to combat the spin, I hit the brake and that was it .... curb-city.

But, I appreciate the links and the contacts for the stuff, guys. Hopefully, I will be able to get it all fixed and back on the road soon. Much obliged ... or as they say down here in Texas, "grassy-***"

mightyslash

What gear were you in?

redrotorR1

oh ... and the tires. I, just like a number of other ReX owners, read the SCC article and decided to price out the BFG g-force KDW's and guess what ... not too shabby a price @ tirerack.com (~$124 for 245/45 R16)

Good tires on dry road ... real grippy. But the advertised wet traction ... well, I dunno what speed they test the traction control at; but, at 45 mph, that 3/4" directional tread didn't provide very much control at all during a small swerve.

redrotorR1

3rd gear ... just following traffic to work. In the wet, I try not to let the car above 3000 rpm ... no boosting in bad traction.

to_slow

iTrader: (3)

Looks like you in the same boat as me .I did the same thing like 2 weeks ago .. but not as bad as yours .. I know how you feel ..Hope you get your fd back together ..

SleepR1

Actually what happened was that the truck was cutting across lanes to merge onto a feeder onto I-35. I swerved slightly and tapped the brake to allow the truck to pass; but in the rain @ 45mph, the rear end just started to break loose.

Yes this is what I was guessing happened to you. In certain situations braking while turning is used to help a car turn into a corner. Skip Barber calls the technique, simply as "brake-turning". They maintain that's it is NOT trail braking.

"Hindsight is 20/20", as they say...but it would have been best to just apply the brake smoothly and steadily, while turning the wheel to give the truck room. That way you let ABS kick in to help you control the vehicle in the wet. Having tapped the brakes abruptly while turning, you unseated the rear end thus causing the oversteer in the wet.

So, I tried to fight the spin by turning the wheel and I almost successfully made it out if I had kept my nerve. After the third try of turning the wheel to combat the spin, I hit the brake and that was it .... curb-city.

Sounds like you pulled the classic "tank slapper" spin. This is when you catch the slide once, but the car swings around in the other direction, you catch the second slide, and the back end swings back the other way...all the while you're desparately trying to counter steer.

The big mistake most people make with catching an oversteer slide at speed is forgetting to turn the wheel back to STRAIGHT-AHEAD AFTER catching the slide with appropriate opposite lock. Once you feel the car "pause", that's the moment you turn the wheel back to straight-ahead. The rear end staightens out, and off you go.

Unfortunately few people on public roads get to practice these car control maneuvers, until it's too late, and vehicular damage occurs.

Once you get your car back together, I suggest you sign up for a high performance driving school with your local BMW CCA in TX. There should be a few tracks close by. Try the Motorsport Ranch http://www.motorsportranch.com/

FWIW, I spent some time in the Army at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. The on-ramps on to I-410 were about 100 ft...pretty damned short compared with the long, long ramps we have here in Indiana! The short ramps in TX, took time to get accustomed to!

BTW, what tires were on the car? I'm wondering if they were the low-grip Nitto NT 555s, Kumho Ecstas, or Sumitomos...I find that ultra high performance and max performance tires with softer rubber compounds allow the best wet handling (examples are Michelin Pilots, Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrics, and Bridgestone Potenza S-02s/-03s). I've read that the Bridgestone Potenza S-03s excel particularly well in the wet, compared with comparable max performance tires.

Good luck with the car!

boh

I am sorry to hear about your wreck. I almost lost it once driving about 55 mph and got cut off by a civic (who was trying to get me to race him). I was fortunant and regained control of my vehicle.

This may be the perfect time to upgrade to aftermarket rims. If you want original rims, I have a set that I can sell. Let me know if you are interested.

neokai

sorry to hear about the wreck. good luck.

boh

I am also going to sell my Volk Racing AV3's if you are interested. It is currently on my FD so I would have to buy my replacement first.

Merciless

at least yours didn't turn out the way my was...

turborotarypower

jeez did you ever get the car fixed?

redrotorR1

Ouch ... that makes me feel a little better. Merciless, how much suspension damage did you have? I don't have nearly as much body damage, but the wheels and suspension look like I'll be enduring the same pain that you did.

D'oh ...

2FAST7S

Gee, I must be an idiot driving 90 on the highway in the rain... never had much discomfort with a bit of hydroplaining. I find the shitty *** Khumo(yes I know they suck dont have to tell me, i cant wait to replace them) ecsta to provide decent wet handling as long as youre not trying to cut straigt angles!
I've never heard of anyone spinning out at 45 mph???????? and you couldn't get it back?
Dont get me wrong, I feel your pain and your FD's mainly but like the instructor said "GO TO PERFORMANCE DRIVING 101"