i dont post much guys but ive been reading the rx7 forums since i got my fd you guys are great and ive learned alot from this place(installed my boost gauge with the info from this forum) i hope you guys can help me out on this

heres the story


after i installed my boost gauge i took the car for a little spin to test out my boost gauge, it was raining about 2 hours before but the ground wasnt covered with rain at all so i decided to go out anyway.


everything was going perfect first time testing my boost pattern for the first time after buying my car (about 3 months ago) perfect 10-8-10 patern and was going home happy. i was waiting for the green light to turn left on a wide 90 degree turn and about half way through the turn i lost traction on my rear tires and spinned out

i hit the side curve on the left with my front left tire and rear left tire going about 15-20 mph

i didnt mount the curve i just somehow countersteered to the right and then stoped

im worried about the damage to my fd, it wasnt a huge hit but here are some pictures so you can judge for yourself for the damage

i only hit the curve with my front left wheel side, then countersteered and my rear left tire hit the curve then came to a complete stop

will take it to a mechanic soon what should i ask him to check? im thinking suspension/alignment/trailing arms

i also read somewhere in the forums that the powersteering pump might be damaged on spin outs like this due to the hit, what else do you guys think?

also my rims got a small dent on them, rear left and front left rims, the rear left is not as around as before on one spot of the rim just slightly.

also the rear left tire seems to have a wider gap than the rear right tire, im not sure if it was like this when i bought it or i did the damage when i spinned out( you can check the pics and see for yourself)


here are the pictures, the onyl damage done was to the front air dam which i removed

 

Guess what??? You have to be very careful with the throttle when roads are wet. Hope it isn't too bad, and that you learned something.

 

how old are you, ghostridah?

 

New alignment, rim, and lip. The day I picked my FD up I did the same thing on a test drive. I heard the sales man did it...

I assume the gap in nose was there before if not that might no be a good sign.

 

20, almost 21 i am a carefull driver have never red lined my car and plan on keeping it stock, never speed on the roads and dont go too much over the speed limit( drive my fd about 2 times a week)

when i took the turn i didnt speed up at all, did not push the thottle hard, although my mistake might have been taking it like if the road was dry(just a tad bid slower than normal). i didnt do anything different in this turn, didnt take the turn fast or anything i really dont know why my rear tires lost traction this time, i drove before on harder rain ( i had to, was coming back home and it started raining like crazy), ill get some pics of my rims tommorow, its too dark outside to take any

anything else i should look out for that might have been damaged?

 

The first rain is usually the worst, even if it's a "mild" rain. The roads become very slick with residual oil. Notice the rainbow-colored water in the storm drains?

 

Looks fine to me....doesnt look like you did any damage, i think the tire thing is just your imagination. You got a free lesson, the car will do ****, just take it for granted...and rich...im 18 and you dont pick on me

 

Is your steering wheel still nice and straight when your going straight down the road ? Looks like you just got a little curb rash on that rim and your front lip didn't make it too well. My guess would be the tire/rim took the brunt of the impact and your alignment is fine...

 

Find a straight, flat (not sloped) road somewhere...take the car up to about 75mph and see how it tracks. If it tracks straight and true then you should be in good shape. Speed exhaggerates any problem with alignment or the frame. GL

 

hey are you covering your car with one of those hard and rough plastic covers?...

 

What i think might have happened is that you took the turn and lifted off the throttle at the right moment which caused the weight of the car to transfer from the rear of the car to the front. This causes the rear tires to lose traction and slide.

The damage doesnt look too bad though.

 

Ghostridah,

I've done track events in the rain, but unfortunately that doesn't mean much on the regular street. It can be very dangerous in any kind of rain on the regular street if it hasn't rain in a while. Why? Oil, coolant, transmission fluids, etc... All the stuff that leaks out of other cars on the streets, surface when the rain comes. If it hasn't rain in a while, or rained hard enough to wash that junk away, it will be damn slick even if your car were to have electronic stability control.

You'll have to be a little more cautious in the future after you analyze what happened with this situation. That's the only way to put a positive spin on something like this: to learn from it.

 

This is what I was going to say.. Take it back on the street (dry condition and good paved road) and see if it pull or vibrates.

 

Lift throttle is a bitch. BTW, how old are your shocks and bushings?

And just so you dont feel bad, Ive spun out my SATURN STATION WAGON BEATER in the rain recently, and before that in my crapalier. In the crapalier i was able to countersteer and the tires werent bald, but I need to rotate the tires of the saturn and well... I ended up perpendicular to the direction of the road.

So yeah, be careful, be glad you got ABS, and make sure your rear tires have good tread blocks in the rain

 

similar thing happened to me the other day while headed to a job interview, but i caught it in time... merging onto the freeway and added a bit more throttle than usual... cool dry air plus pavement that was ever-so-slightly wet meant more power and loss of traction.

all the good advice has been given. take it easy in the turns, dont lift-off mid turn or jab brakes mid turn.... especially in the wet. make sure your tires and shocks are up to snuff as well.

and one last thing,

Traction Control is for Sissies

 

How old are your tires? Tread compounds tend to harden with age, and even with good tread depth may have poor grip in the rain. In addition, tire types and brands vary widely in wet traction.

If you are in doubt about how good your tires are, get new ones, paying close attention to the speed rating (should be "W") and the wet traction description and rating.

The Firestone Firehawk "Wide Oval" is a very good, relatively inexpensive, choice.

 

I hope all this doesnt stay true for long. You better not baby this car around like a sissy little girl. These cars were ment to be driven. Just be very very careful in the rain. Good luck with the damage.

 

havent driven mine in the rain yet
but after reading all the rain horror stories
ill be exrta careful

 

heres a little update


i took it for a test drive this morning to check if anything is wrong and to check how the alignment is. i kept it slow and drove around just to check the handling is, the alignment feels like its off for sure because when i keep the wheel straight the car starts moving to the right side, when i hold the wheel a little to the left, the car stays straight so the alignment is problably off

any other parts that i should be worried about that could be damaged? hopefully the driveshaft and rear axles arent damaged, anything else i should look for that is causing this alignment problem?

thanks for all the help guys and yea jic, be extra carefull in the rain/wet roads i never thought this would happen to me so everyone keep it slow on the rain

 

Did you make sure your tire pressure was even??

 

Good point - hitting a curb could make the tire lose some air instantly, or a bent rim could cause a leak.

 

Driving in the rain isn't too bad. Just refrain from going into boost. The rear end of my car swung out at only 3000-3500 rpms before. This means when you take corners, you'll probalby have to drive slower than a fwd car or a car with less power. If you boost the car, you have too much power to the rear tires, which cause you to spin easily.

 

i know how u feel dude..nghtstlkr7 knows what im talkin about.... course mine was just stupidity and lack of respect..lol. trust me...i have much respect know...lol

 

Ghostridah it doesn't look to be that bad. Take it to a tire specialist and have him check out the rims see if air is leaking around the beed. Have him check alinment. I don't think you hit hard enough to damage the driveshaft or rear axle.

 

I've driven mine in the rain many times with no problems

Maybe the fact that my first car was a 1st gen and I spun that one out many times and my second car a 2nd gen made me learn how to handle a rwd car in the rain...