Scoobs is no more...
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:14 am
As those victorian members who came away over the weekend would know, I wrote my car off last saturday. I am fine bar some cuts on my head and a new haircut, and the effects of adrenaline on the body.
So the story...
As far as I can tell my speed into the corner was the same as El_Freddo's, but with no weight in the car, particularlly in the boot, the heavy duty springs in the rear did not have enough weight to adequately preload them for this road, and I still had my tires at 36psi...
The corner was pretty downhill, left handed and sharp enough to trip me up... it looks like lots of people have entered into the corner too fast as there were pretty big breaking bumps leading into and IN the corner itself. Given the storms last week, these bumps had come up pretty deep; while the front wheels tracked through straight the back end bounced around and put me almost totally sideways at the exit of the corner. I think it was this bouncing instead of sliding that made the back end come out so unpredictably...
A smaller right hander followed immediately after and the rear swung out left with my correction as I entered a four wheel drift into the corner... I must have over corrected as I was too sideways in the drift and too close to the inside gutter... the front left wheel grabbed the inside of the corner and the back end swung the remaining distance into the gutter to have me facing the way I came... inertia did the rest as the left rear side hit the gutter, the right side came up and my world was upside down. The car settled on its roof in the gutter. As I started to flip I instrinctively put my arm onto the roof and ducked - not sure if it was the right thing to do but it meant I was supported by my arm when the car settled and that the windscreen missed my face - it scrapped the back of my head instead. I opened the passenger door and kicked it open. By the time I was out of my car Bennie (El_Freddo) was already there and helped me to the side. I am really glad I wasn't speeding or hooning, as speed may have had me off the outside of that right hander, which would have sent me rolling downhill into trees, instead of flipping uphill into the gutter/bank.
Damage was crushed a and b pillars on drivers side, no windows left except left hand passenger and back seat, snapped left tie-rod and punctured left tire (by tie rod). All panels were smashed, scrapped or dented apart from the front end which was protected by the bull bar (thank god!) so the powertrain seems to be fine (I'm about to check that now).
I cannot thank all the boys who helped me out enough, I am massively grateful for your help in winching/snatching Scoobs back upright and looking after me in the process - thanks to Rhys and co for winching and Richard (?) and his MY's efforts in pulling and snatching. Pedro and damian thanks heaps for making sure I was okay and keeping an eye on me. A final and massive thanks to Bennie for doing the first-aid (oh and to damian's laptop and digital camera), for organising a mate with a flat bed to get scoobs back to town, for taking me to the hospital to get checked out and for keeping me company all afternoon while waiting for my mate to come pick me and the subi up - I am super grateful and can't thank you enough Bennie.
From here I wait for the insurance company to send an assessor - I have full comp insurance and the car is definately a write-off. I'll keep the car as the motor only has 20,000km since I rebuilt it last july, and the interior is still mint. I'll head to the PAP joint in search of a decent shell over the next few weeks.
Once a shell is sitting next to scoobs I'll be putting a call out on here for helpers to move everything accross. I'm hoping that with enough pairs of hands we can get it done in a weekend.
There were plenty of photos taken, if those who have them would like to put them up please feel free.
Thanks agian to everyone who helped me out!
Cheers,
Owen.
So the story...
As far as I can tell my speed into the corner was the same as El_Freddo's, but with no weight in the car, particularlly in the boot, the heavy duty springs in the rear did not have enough weight to adequately preload them for this road, and I still had my tires at 36psi...
The corner was pretty downhill, left handed and sharp enough to trip me up... it looks like lots of people have entered into the corner too fast as there were pretty big breaking bumps leading into and IN the corner itself. Given the storms last week, these bumps had come up pretty deep; while the front wheels tracked through straight the back end bounced around and put me almost totally sideways at the exit of the corner. I think it was this bouncing instead of sliding that made the back end come out so unpredictably...
A smaller right hander followed immediately after and the rear swung out left with my correction as I entered a four wheel drift into the corner... I must have over corrected as I was too sideways in the drift and too close to the inside gutter... the front left wheel grabbed the inside of the corner and the back end swung the remaining distance into the gutter to have me facing the way I came... inertia did the rest as the left rear side hit the gutter, the right side came up and my world was upside down. The car settled on its roof in the gutter. As I started to flip I instrinctively put my arm onto the roof and ducked - not sure if it was the right thing to do but it meant I was supported by my arm when the car settled and that the windscreen missed my face - it scrapped the back of my head instead. I opened the passenger door and kicked it open. By the time I was out of my car Bennie (El_Freddo) was already there and helped me to the side. I am really glad I wasn't speeding or hooning, as speed may have had me off the outside of that right hander, which would have sent me rolling downhill into trees, instead of flipping uphill into the gutter/bank.
Damage was crushed a and b pillars on drivers side, no windows left except left hand passenger and back seat, snapped left tie-rod and punctured left tire (by tie rod). All panels were smashed, scrapped or dented apart from the front end which was protected by the bull bar (thank god!) so the powertrain seems to be fine (I'm about to check that now).
I cannot thank all the boys who helped me out enough, I am massively grateful for your help in winching/snatching Scoobs back upright and looking after me in the process - thanks to Rhys and co for winching and Richard (?) and his MY's efforts in pulling and snatching. Pedro and damian thanks heaps for making sure I was okay and keeping an eye on me. A final and massive thanks to Bennie for doing the first-aid (oh and to damian's laptop and digital camera), for organising a mate with a flat bed to get scoobs back to town, for taking me to the hospital to get checked out and for keeping me company all afternoon while waiting for my mate to come pick me and the subi up - I am super grateful and can't thank you enough Bennie.
From here I wait for the insurance company to send an assessor - I have full comp insurance and the car is definately a write-off. I'll keep the car as the motor only has 20,000km since I rebuilt it last july, and the interior is still mint. I'll head to the PAP joint in search of a decent shell over the next few weeks.
Once a shell is sitting next to scoobs I'll be putting a call out on here for helpers to move everything accross. I'm hoping that with enough pairs of hands we can get it done in a weekend.
There were plenty of photos taken, if those who have them would like to put them up please feel free.
Thanks agian to everyone who helped me out!
Cheers,
Owen.
:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:
. I'm just really really glad I wasn't hooning or speeding, I think the low speed and the learning to drive (drift) in a paddock as a kid is what helped me walk away from it. I'll be pinning a photo of scoobs flipped in the new car as a reminder to drive carefully.
