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View Full Version : So my friend flipped his RX8 last night



Terry S
02-16-2006, 09:19 AM
We were leaving IVC at about 9:15pm last night and as he was making the right turn out of the parking lot, he gave it some gas, lost traction and started sliding towards the curb. So he over-corrected a bit to much and got his car facing the center median, while still sliding. Then he way overcorrected that slide back towards the right side curb and ended up hitting the curb head on while sliding forward. The car rolled onto its side, then onto its roof pretty slowly. I watched the whole thing from the stop sign this started from, not 100 feet from where it ended. Friend was ok and he actually was able to leave the car before I could finish pulling over to help him. However, his car looks totaled. Oh and only his driver side curtain airbag deployed, no others.

In a way its ironic because a few weeks before, I had told him I skipped out on the RX8 and decided on an Evo because I didn't feel comfortable with the handling of the RX8.

I took a short video of the car upside-down and a few pictures with my camcorder but I haven't loaded them up yet. I'll put them in this thread when I do.

Terry S

Thero
02-16-2006, 09:22 AM
Damn its good that he made it out ok. Yeah I think RX8's are not the best handling vehicles around :-P

chuckdashi
02-16-2006, 09:31 AM
those thing just dont seem safe enough

Blaze
02-16-2006, 09:32 AM
Damn its good that he made it out ok. Yeah I think RX8's are not the best handling vehicles around :-P


I've driven a few of those. They aren't overly stable from the factory. "Much more body roll then I was prepared to expect".

*chris*
02-16-2006, 09:40 AM
damn ...lucky hes alright. as soon as i read your 'handling' comment i instantly thought of the salesman who sold my friend his rx8.

'yah its got great handling, 50/50 weight distribution so it handles great. very stable and has a wide stance too. all this makes your insurance cheaper than normal.'

i must admit when he was getting on it in a couple turns i didnt feel quite as secure as in my evo.

Dmoney
02-16-2006, 09:41 AM
Hey Terry did it happened to be a white Rx-8 wingless?

Terry S
02-16-2006, 09:56 AM
Hey Terry did it happened to be a white Rx-8 wingless?


Silver, with wing, paper plates. Guy hasn't even made the first payment yet.

My personal oppinion of why it happened is that he probably accidentally dumped the clutch, plus his tires were cold, plus the ground was cold, plus he obviously wasn't sure what to do in that car when he lost traction.

I'm going to suggest a HPDE if he decides to get a replacement car. Last night he said he wasn't going to since he had another car and a bike; both paid off.

Terry S

silvery_eagle
02-16-2006, 10:34 AM
damn that sucks....yesterday was a bit cold.
amazing that the car can still do that for just coming out of the parking lot...

DTunedEvoX
02-16-2006, 10:41 AM
I think your friend was to blame not the handling ... Most all RWD would of reacted the same way ... My condolences to your friends right - least hes ok ... It could of been much much worse ..

Terry S
02-16-2006, 11:24 AM
I think your friend was to blame not the handling ... Most all RWD would of reacted the same way ... My condolences to your friends right - least hes ok ... It could of been much much worse ..


You are correct, it was definitely driver error in this case. But at the speed he was going, he should have been able to recover regardless of driver skill.

Terry S

DTunedEvoX
02-16-2006, 11:27 AM
I think your friend was to blame not the handling ... Most all RWD would of reacted the same way ... My condolences to your friends right - least hes ok ... It could of been much much worse ..


You are correct, it was definitely driver error in this case. But at the speed he was going, he should have been able to recover regardless of driver skill.

Terry S


Tires were cold too- its been downwards of around the mid 30's around here @ night!

Absinthe
02-16-2006, 11:29 AM
two feet in, hit curb, bend wheel, bust control arm etc; or was he going much faster than I envision.

gen4k20a2
02-16-2006, 11:45 AM
damn...cant wait to see the vids

Terry S
02-16-2006, 12:27 PM
two feet in, hit curb, bend wheel, bust control arm etc; or was he going much faster than I envision.


It was a short curb. He probably hit the curb at 15mph. Broke one of the rear rims, scratched up the front one badly (rocks were imbeded inbetween the tire and the rim). His car came to rest entirely *off* the street and into a dirt parking lot in about 1 foot from the curb..



damn...cant wait to see the vids


The vid isn't of the crash. Its 1:33 of me walking around the car after the crash with my night vision mode on. Very hard to see, but I figured its better than nothing if he needs it.

Terry S

GokuSSJ4
02-16-2006, 12:39 PM
damn!!

hksevo8
02-16-2006, 02:54 PM
i hope he has gap ins.

Terry S
02-16-2006, 03:15 PM
i hope he has gap ins.


Thats what I said last night... He put 5k down on the car though, so even if he doesn't, he shouldn't be upside down.

Terry S

gen4k20a2
02-16-2006, 08:29 PM
id still like to see how bad it was....either way hope it works out ok $$$ wise

ac_schnauzer
03-03-2006, 04:55 PM
wow that sucks. Glad your friend is ok though.

Highrever
03-03-2006, 09:57 PM
I did an assinine ( not that your friend did it to look cool) move in my E46 M3 when I first got it, I took of all the traction control and bumped the SMG up to full tilt, then proceeded to drift around corners for shits and giggles and over corrected much like your friend did, the tail whipped out a few times before I spun out heading toward a curb, I was probably about 10 feet from hopping the curb and doing considerable damage, possibly flipping it, no one was around so the only one I would have injured was myself, I won't try that garbage anymore.

KawRider
03-03-2006, 11:07 PM
I did an assinine ( not that your friend did it to look cool) move in my E46 M3 when I first got it, I took of all the traction control and bumped the SMG up to full tilt, then proceeded to drift around corners for shits and giggles and over corrected much like your friend did, the tail whipped out a few times before I spun out heading toward a curb, I was probably about 10 feet from hopping the curb and doing considerable damage, possibly flipping it, no one was around so the only one I would have injured was myself, I won't try that garbage anymore.


The BMW traction control and stability control is pretty good.... only problem on my 03 E46 it is a bit TOO agressive and really will cut fuel and do a LOT of differential braking when you get aggressive.* The newer BMWs (06) and porches (even the Z06 I read about) are supposed to have greatly tweaked traction control and stability control software, that will let you get a lot closer to the edge before it steps in to try to save you.* I even read that on one of the new cars (can't remember which one?) if you have all the systems turned off, and actually brake hard enough to activate full 4 wheel ABS, the system will kick back on.* The electronics are a double edge sword... they make the car better and safer, but also are more expensive to fix.* Doesn't the RX8 have stability control/traction control?* I guess he had it turned off... oh well... I too have learned the hard way... when you get a new vehicle you have to take a while to get to know the vehicle really well before getting too crazy in it. Good luck to him.

mangoes
03-04-2006, 12:18 AM
the rx-8 has traction control.. theres a button called (TCS) that u push and it turns it off. You're right, his friend probably turned it off to get the vehicle to slide. My friend has an RX-8 and he tried to do a burnout (in a private place of course :grin:) with the TCS system on and the car's rear tires immediately stopped when they lost grip.

Good luck to your friend.

gofaster87
03-04-2006, 12:06 PM
I agree wiht a few of these people, it wasnt the cars handling. Ive driven an rx8 and it handled just fine. Some people just cant drive.