Autocross wreckage

"LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com" (limitedtimeonly) 11/16/2019 at 18:33 • Filed to: Autocross, Mustang

0

18

I thought that I might retire from autocross after this weekend’s two day event. However, seeing my race buddies was nice and I didn’t get overwhelmed with competitive drive like in July. Plus, there was an exciting wreck!

[Photos deleted per request]

Yes, it was a Mustang GT. Not to feed the stereotype, but it’s a fact. Unfortunate novice driver who lost control and just didn’t brake and stop.

Poor guy. Not the kind of day he was looking for, i’m sure.

I, however, had the day that I was looking for. Competition that was fun, not frustrating. I now plan to do a couple of events next year. That way i’m not focused on season points, just fun for the day.

Also, crazy guy in a [not-an-exocet] in the cold :

McMike > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/16/2019 at 19:07

0

Yes, it was a Mustang GT. Not to feed the stereotype, but it’s a fact. Unfortunate novice driver who lost control and just didn’t brake and stop.

He gets a pass from me.    0/5 Mustangs. 

Jayvincent > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/16/2019 at 19:10

2

I kind of like that look on the mustang - I’d clear it and leave the sc ratches and dents where they are

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Jayvincent 11/16/2019 at 19:19

1

My thoughts exactly. I just hope that he comes back and works to learn the car’ s limits.

Cash Rewards > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/16/2019 at 19:30

2

I’ve seen three wrecks autocrossing. Two of them were 100% avoidable if the driver just let go of the wheel and got on the brake. The other one was venue related, and I won't go back there again.

Nick Has an Exocet > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/16/2019 at 22:24

4

I feel the need to clear something up.

^ This is an Exocet. It’s a CAD designed, strength tested, rigid kit car.

^ This is a “death kart”. Will the welds hold in a crash? Maybe. Was the right thickness of bar used? Maybe. Are there enough triangles to add strength? I count like... 2, so no. Is the gas tank exposed? Yes.

One of these is an engineered kit car. The other is a backyard project to remove every bit of safety and rigidity from a Miata while keeping it “street legal”. There have been incidents where these went off the road and people died. Welds separated, tubes bent into drivers, etc. I really wish people would stop ruining Miatas to do this.

Nick Has an Exocet > Nick Has an Exocet 11/16/2019 at 22:27

1

This is what happens to that in a crash.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Nick Has an Exocet 11/16/2019 at 22:34

1

Came here to say the same thing...

Now if the cage was professionally done and to standards id be ok with it.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > Nick Has an Exocet 11/17/2019 at 00:21

0

I’m not disagreeing by any means and I’m glad someone explained the difference, but I am confused as to how this is any less structurally sound than a regular NA Miata. I understand the danger of the exposed gas tank and the non-roll-cage roll cage, I just don’t understand how the above Miata sans body panels is less rigid than with them (unless they’ve cut out parts of the car that I’m missing). Regardless I think ‘death karts’ should be go karts at best and are super sketchy, I’m just curious. 

Nick Has an Exocet > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 11/17/2019 at 00:47

1

The doors in a Miata are a pretty major structural component. Even the fenders are part of the car’s rigidity. Being a convertible in the first place means that it’s not all that rigid to start with so removing those components from the unibody is dumb. The non-roll-cage roll cage doesn’t seem properly set up to carry the twisting forces that those areas get.

Think about the twisting forces that come from hitting bump. I get wanting your car to be light, but it also has to be rigid.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > Nick Has an Exocet 11/17/2019 at 01:21

1

Interesting, who would have thought. Thank you

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Nick Has an Exocet 11/17/2019 at 07:03

1

Post has been edited, thank you for the clarification. 

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Cash Rewards 11/17/2019 at 07:05

0

The more I think about that par t of the course, I think that I might have had difficulty saving the car in time given where the slide started. B ut he must have been way past his limits for it to have gone that way.

Cash Rewards > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/17/2019 at 08:14

2

Probably lost control a few cones earlier, and tried to save it, and each time got a little more out of control, until it was gone.

Rainbow > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/17/2019 at 09:12

0

I’ve gone rallycrossing twice, and both times I watched someone lose a piece of their car. The first was a Nissan Maxima that hit a cone and knocked the inner fender loose, and the second was a WRX that managed to knock its rear bumper halfway off by slinging too much dirt into it.

Milky > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/17/2019 at 09:18

0

Looks like a performance pack 2 car too.  So its fast and has a lot of tire, too much car apparently.  

BmacIL > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com 11/17/2019 at 13:31

0

I’ve seen two crashes autocrossing. Both were 100% avoidable, but one was made more complicated by course layout. In both, the d rivers were trying to be a hero and ‘save’ a corner rather than just hitting the brake & clutch and getting it under control. It’s over dude, the time is lost if you make a mistake.

I'll maintain that you have to be a moron to crash your car at an autocross. The risks are very low, and one person's idiocy should not make you want to stop doing it. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Cash Rewards 11/18/2019 at 11:15

1

The venue related ones just piss me off so much. Ive seen a GTI spin in a slalom and slide backwards into a curb. And then another car do exactly the same thing later in the day. Meaning that was totally just poor course design. I have also seen regions where they just do not red flag the course ever. Or at least dont take it very seriously. Safety needs to be the number one concern and its unfortunate that not 100% of regions take it that way.

Cash Rewards > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 11/18/2019 at 11:36

0

It was my first time with a non scca group, doing a very small parking lot where you go figure 8 just to make a run worthwhile in the small space. M3 came out of the last slalom hot because the finish was immediately after. Rear end came around, as happens, and he went over the parking bumpers, through a fence, and hit a light pole. People were saying “of all the places for him to end up” while I’m screaming in my head “of course he ended up there! Look at the fucking layout! There was nowhere for him to go!”.

Local scca group runs in the Washington Redskins parking lot. There is a ton of room. Its on a hill so there's elevation changes, on and off camber. Its great. Just the normal issues of 4 runs for half a day of time. Maybe trackcross at summit point with NASA if I get a rollbar...