BillyPilgrim

Hi all... I have been lurking on this board now for over 6 months and this is my first post. Something happened on the way to work this morning which was kind of bizzare and I wanted to share it... I was driving along on a 4 lane road in the middle of town when I pulled up to a stop light... normal daily commute... not too much traffic yet... anyway, right next to me was a 350z, beautiful, black, looked fairly new. I was checking out this guy's car when the light changed and I started moving ahead.... nothing aggressive, no engine reving or crap like that. 350z puts on his blinker and falls in behind me just as I am getting to the next intersection. I was taking a right and at this particular intersection you just take the right without stopping... basically you have a dedicated lane. Anyway, since no one was in front of me, I decided to have a little fun and get into the curve a little fast, just to see if he would keep up.... So I enter the turn about 35 mph, hit the apex and accelarate out in second to 45 mph which is the speed limit... bear in mind this is a hard right, practically in the middle of town... I slid around in the seat a little... it was fun, but no where near the limits of the car/tires/suspension. Well, I looked up in the rear-view just in time to see this guy come around the corner and I guess he goosed it a little too much because his back end came all the way around in a beautiful arc and he smashed into the curb with the rear driver side wheel/fender and then when the back wheels caught again he sent the front of the car into the curb. It was almost like it happened in slow motion ... then he was left staring the wrong way into traffic.

Well, I drove on. Maybe I should have stopped, but I thought maybe the guy would be pissed at me. I called my brother when I got to work (I bought my 8 from my little brother, so I thought this was a story he would appreciate) and he laughed for a few minutes and then he asked me if I felt guilty... "Well no," I told him.... "I didn't make the guy do anything... he did it all himself." "Yeah, but you kinda goaded him into it don't you think?" is how my brother responded.

Maybe he's right... I mean I have to admit that there was a moment when I thought "Man, I wish I had a video of this!" But I never in a million years would have believed this would happen on the way to work on a Wednesday.

BTW... This thread is NOT about 350z bashing... I like the car, though I've never driven one. However, now I wonder if they are tricky to handle.

otherside

I wouldnt feel guilty. Just chalk it up to his inexperience.

Nopstnz

That's funny. I would probably feel slightly guilty but otherside is right. It is his fault.

BillyPilgrim

Exactly!.... I guess I do feel a little guilty... but logic says it is his own fault... anyway, I guess I mostly feel that shared embarrassment when you see someone publicly do something really stupid.... like wrecking your ride at 7:45 am, during the lemming commute.

Raptor2k

I've done this before but the drivers who try to chase me in the curve usually are smart enough to slow down.

I should probably stop...

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

When I was young, dumb, and inexperienced I did the same thing as him in my 82' 280ZX Turbo. Trying to show off, all I did was ruin a rim and look like a dipshit.

BillyPilgrim

Unfortunately, I think this guy ruined more than a rim.... he hit the curb amazingly hard and it was a tall curb, so the concrete was into the lower parts of the body.

rglbegl

Must have been a base model 350Z. Even the 'enthusiast' model has traction control.
The base has NO limited slip OR traction control.
If he spun . . it was HIS fault. Cuz the 2 cars are almost identical on the handling.

Easy_E1

iTrader: (2)

The Z driver had a choice and he made the wrong one. He made the choice.
+1 for the RX-8.

Raptor2k

prescriptionmazda

I would say no.
But at the same time, I probably would've stopped....to gloat. j/k

fluffysheap

He probably just floored it and broke the rear wheels loose. On a car with a lot of torque it is very easy to do that in a curve. I blame the driver, not the car.

Only reason to feel guilty is if you had done something to make him wipe out and from your description you didn't. But you are pretty close to the fine line - any horsing around in traffic is inherently dangerous. Your potential guilt is not for him (he put himself at risk trying to keep up with you) but for the potential innocent bystander who could have been involved.

Razz1

Now, another Z owner that hates the 8.

TimzSI

I've only owned my 8 for a few weeks. Well I broke 800 miles yesterday, so I turned of the DSC for the first time. Going about my chores, I'm leaving my bank turning left across traffic. Well I goosed it pretty good, hit some sand from the recent snow in the middle turn lane, and BLAMO, completely 90. I quickly got back into it after a little opposite lock, caught it, and shot off down the left hander of a two lane. Just in time, as a car had come around the bend where the turn was located. If I hadn't caught my slide, I woulda had a ruined rear/side of a brand new car!

carbonRX8

iTrader: (1)

You dont happen to own a chrysler crossfire, do you? This story sounds remarkably familiar. Wasn't there a crown vic involved or something?

dmc27

If you start feeling guilty for other people's stupidity, you'll quickly find you have no time for anything but guilt.

Joel Ramsey

Don't feel guilty, just learn from his mistake. I've done some mighty ballsy....read stupid things in my 8 and should of had a massive wreck.

Seeing someone else do that instead tends to bring things into perspective.

The good thing about having a car with less torque is not having to worry about the car getting squirrelly coming out of a turn.

RX-XSIV

+1 for the 8.

THE Z CANT HANDLE THE TWISTIESSSSSSS =]

RX-XSIV

haha seriously though.. wehre do u live? because in a cold enough enviornment.. we all know how much the potenzas suck.. if that was just a stock looking Z.. he was probably rolling with the potenzas.. if the ground is cold enough , youre sure enough to get some wheel spin and get the car a lil slippery out of the turns..especailly in a Z w/ its high torque.. i was in my friends Z last night.. no snow on the road but it was like 15 degrees. just shifting into 3rd gear was enough to make the wheels hop a lil bit

Feras

iTrader: (1)

you ever driven one? Zs aren't buses they corner extremely well, much less roll than our cars.

StewC625

By the fact that it wasn't a severe accident where he might have gotten hurt, I think you were OK with the drive on. Youir defense is that you didn't see it occur - the only thing that hurts is your conscience. Which is good, in a way. Shows you're a good person.

I had a similar thing happen to me - near my house is one of those looping/270-degree on-ramps onto an expressway. It's marked 35 mph, but on dry pavement, daylight with warm tires, I can go through it at 60+ mph.

One day last summer some moron in a lowered/riced-up Civic chased me down that ramp - he was following me and I accelerated to my normal 60 mph down that ramp and looked back to see if he was keeping up - well, the doofus tried to gain on me, and near the bottom of the ramp, right before the merge, the curve tightens and the banking increases - further loading your suspension. If you're not ready for it, it can throw a rear driver into oversteer and a front driver into understeer.

Well, you can do the math: This ricer is accelerating beyond the capabiity of his car to handle, the curve tightens, he's not ready, his front tires break loose and he pushed straight forward off the road and noses down into a ditch, very hard, buries the nose of the car into the opposite bank, pops up goes up the hill about 15 feet, then rolls back down, smashing the back bumper.

The front of the car was completely smashed - front fascia completely off, and the overall front end pointing skyward at a 15 degree angle. Fired the airbags and everything.

Obviously, I stopped. It looked very bad.

I went back, he was out of the car standing there, and just said to me "**** man, how did you not wreck when the curve tightens". I said "practice - I've taken that curve hundreds of times, and I know the limit. You were above it."

He told the cop he was reaching for his phone and drove off the road. Smart ricer.

XRX8X

it never surprises me to see how many people that are not in tune with there car ,truck,suv,bike p/ups what ever.when you drive the way you do in any condition you should know what your car can or cannot do! don't blame anyone for there mistakes.if the shoe was on the other foot you could and would understand it.many a time i find people who will not stay off my bumper no matter what untill i make a last second move around someone who stopping in front of me and let the person on my *** have a shock of there life when they need to stop suddenly.(of course i am gone with the wind with a smile on my face and glad this a/hole is not on my *** anymore.)just stay safe and give yourself distance on the fools that surround you in everyday drives!(cell phones,make up,newspapers,radio adjustments,eatting,drinking,cursing at there kids,looking for something other than the road.all is fare in the drive on the road .know your vehicle and have fun.

XRX8X

buy the way the answer is no!!!

Aero8

Stewy, At least he took responsibility for his actions.

BillyPilgrim, I would feel slightly guilty, but like others have said, it was his choice, he didn't have the experience to be driving his car like that, sometimes it takes a situation like that to get the experience though.

One of the meets I went to out here we were all cruising, we went from one hwy onto another and as we entered the on ramp I was going slightly too fast and went over a bump that, combined with my miscontrol of the gas/brakes, was enough for my back end to lose traction. My car started to slide sideways a bit. I was able to control it, but there was some large stupidity on my part.
Benefit: one of the best learning experiences I have had in this car.