Reminisce

Ok so, I'm madly in love with my GT, and everytime i hop in it, i learn more about how she behaves under calmness and pressure. This weekend was a test in the latter.

Now let me mind you, I've never had a car that had very many safety features (aside from airbags and a steel cage), plus so much power so driving this car in Miami traffic is always an experience in itself. This weekend, I had to head out to get some stuff from Best Buy, and it was raining on and off pretty hard. I left when it was a light drizzle and was taking it easy for the most part.

Im driving in the far right lane on a 3-lane street because my turn is about 3 blocks ahead when suddenly traffic ahead of me comes to a screeching halt. Well good thing is I drive several hundred feet ahead of me and not right off my hood, so i braked fine in time. Someone's car got stopped by a puddle or something, so i decided to try and get into the left lane and keep going. Well, being used to my old 99 Cougar (FWD, V6), I turned the wheel sharply to my left soon as I was clear, hit the gas, and span the wheel to the right to even up. This is the fun part... not being used to RWD, the rear of my car wanted to buckle out and tailspin widely... i nearly panicked because I'd NEVER driven a RWD drive in the rain before, nor had I experienced a tailspin before... needless to say, the TCS system light turned on in my dash... and the car violently but carefully went through a sequence of braking, gas, and what felt like slight steering in a matter of a second and straightened me right up.
In my head I was like
on my face I was like



ok so thats one incident. Remember those 3 blocks further down? Yeah.. so i finally get to my turn, theres 2 cars in front of me.. car in front of me, a Nissan Sentra and what looks like a lady on her phone decides instead of actually taking the turn, to brake hard and wait for the light. Now Im easing into the stop preparing to actually just slow down behind her as she goes, but she doesnt and the sudden rain skid marks behind her sent my right foot in a panic. So I hit the brakes and release really quickly (not used to ABS anyone?) and tap again but notice im not losing enough speed.. and like the idiot I am, I SLAM the brakes thinking im NOT going to stop in time. I knew a car was on my left so i couldnt turn left to avoid her, and the curb was on my right... so i just clutched the steering wheel and prayed for rain (no pun intended)... the ABS system shook the HELL out of my footand brought me within I would guess about 3-4 inches of her bumper. The actual sudden in the stop made me think I DID hit her, but she was just yapping on her phone like nothing happened.

When i got to the best buy, i checked the front of my car to make sure I didnt hit her and she just didnt know it? Nope, not a scratch. I then proceeded to lean over and hug the hood of my car, thanking it for making up for my lack of experience in her so far. She treats me so well, I LOVE THIS FRIGGIN CAR! I promise to treat it better, honest... Mobil 1 Synthetic this weekend, I swear.

94tbird

oh man thank god the car is ok.............oh and you too lol

Donna

I think when I got home and parked it, I would have been done for the day. Glad all turned out well.

Legion681

Good for you, glad you and your car are ok.

However, you seem to have been very surprised by what happened when you stepped hard on the gas pedal in rain, how the TC helped you in maintaining control and how the ABS prevented you from smashing against the other car.
Now, from what you write, you seem to be a person that can think ahead before acting. If this is the case, and I believe so, you ought to invest at least a little bit of time into researching how various road conditions, your input (accelerating, breaking, turning the steering wheel) and in what conditions (in a straight line, curve, on dry or wet pavement, etc. etc.) can affect in a negative or positive way your car (and therefore you, seen you are sitting in it, of course). This will make you aware of many situations you might encounter in particular driving moments. Believe me, a little bit of time spent will pay off in the future, because you are bound, like everyone else, to be sooner or later in some emergency situation.
Ideally, after you are done with this, I would suggest you to take some driving course at a racing school, because what you might read and understand will be even clearer when a professional helps you practice it.

I am trying to give you good advice, as passing from a fwd car with a V6 to a more powerful rwd car, it's quite a leap if you are not very much versed into the more technical details of how to drive powerful cars, trust me.

Good luck with your car !

Reminisce

Yep you are right and I agree wholeheartedly. Truth be told, I told the story in jest to bring light to the fact that i almost got into 2 accidents that would have been my fault, but in actuality, I've been thinking about it a lot. I was a superb driver in my old car, I knew what would happen whenever I did anything in it, if I ever lost control of the car, and so on. I was taught to drive as if i didnt have any ABS, no power steering, no traction control.. but as you said it, in a FWD and a V6 and an I4. I knew the vehicles reacted differently, but you're rarely faced with such a reality until you reach beyond the limit of what you're used to. I appreciate your advice and will take it kindly... as much as I love my car, I'd like to drive it for as long as I could without injuring the car or myself out of lack of knowledge.

I still have to laugh and smile at myself though

scramblr

LOL, would've loved to see a pic of you at the Best Buy parkin lot hugging the hood of your car!!!

Glad everything worked out. As said above, take your car our and carefully get used to her.

06GT

Slow down in the rain. End of thread.

scramblr

LOL...Well put!!!

official_style

this is why they put an instruction manual in the car. i cannot belive you didnt know what would happen if you floored it in the rain? are u kidding? and the freakin window sticker says the car has ABS, so how could you not know? go read your instruction manual and learn how to drive!

WERKED 66

sorry pal but i think you are very wrong to come off that way........not everyone here has driven a car with abs before....heck none of my past cars did . my most recent my 1992 gt...people are not going read a manual and understand everything....sometimes it takes a sitiuation to come up for them to learn or understand something better... and i am far from the best driver or most experianced but i think you where alittle hard on the person......grow up and act your age not your shoe size....

DUD121

Not to Hi-Jack the thread, but I was very pleased with my 06 GT in the rain last week. Not nearly as squirrely as the '88 and 94 GT's I had. Don't know if it's the wheel base or the TC (both?) but I like it.

NYtoDCStang

real helpful official_style, you sound like a great guy!!!

KR3259

just leave the TCS on until you are good and comfy with the car, it has worked wonders up here in the wet NW I tell ya!

official_style

ever have a car hit by someone screwing around who doesnt know how to drive? thats why this pisses me off so much

Reminisce

Not once did I say I floored it, not once did I say I was screwing around, nor did I ever say I did not know the car had ABS or anything of that sort. I admitted my faults, explained my story and my surprise of how different a car like the Mustang reacts to the previous two cars I've owned for the last 11 years of my life.

Not everyone has been driving a V8 RWD vehicle all their life. Not everyone has had an experience with the "safety" features in a car correcting their mistakes, coming out with no harm, and reviving to tell the story with the enlightment that they need to learn their vehicles more. Tapping the pedal on a 2.5L DOHC V6 that only makes 165ft-lbs of torque at the front wheels when you switch directions is a mile of a world of difference between one that has over 320ft-lbs of torque available anywhere in the powerband at the rear wheels.

I laugh at myself because I dont lack humility, but I came here telling that story as if I was meeting my friends at a bar/restaurant after work for drinks like "can you believe I almost got myself into two accidents this weekend for not knowing s--t that I should've known already?". I was expecting a couple "yeah just take it easy" or "you know theres an instruction manual right?" comments said in truth and jest disolved in laughter and loud ambient sound. I wasn't asking for a lecture, I received one from my father when I told him. I was an idiot and I know my car prevented me from being plastered all over the road. I've slandered myself since this weekend for not acting like I knew better, for not taking my mind out of that faithful Cougar and soldering it into the cockpit of my Mustang. So I dont need to hear it from you. But I appreciate your concern anyway.

conv_stang

knowing a car has ABS and how the ABS is going to work and having that faith that it will stop you are completely different if you have never done a panic stop in a vehicle.

65205

All cars act and react differently. Give yourself a "break". I enjoyed your story and honesty, and even saw flashes of humor. I'm glad you love your car. I drove our F150 for 9 years before getting this Stang, and now I get back in the truck and it's like Whoa! You don't stop as well, you don't accellerate as quickly. It just takes a bit to get "back in the saddle". You'll have your Mustang mastered in no time, under all driving conditions, you just have to experience them first. (just not on my street! KIDDING!)
You know-humor does not translate well over the net. Rereading my post, it appears my attempt failed. I did enjoy your story though,and I love my car too!

Shea

No offense, but it is drivers like you that make me glad to get back to Michigan after driving around in Orlando near my parent's timeshare.

It seems like if there is ANY rain people can't control their cars. Try driving on black ice!!!

lodom

Driving is a learning experience. Sometimes we get lucky and learn from our mistakes without consequences, and sometimes we pay a high price. I've been on both sides more than once. I just wish the car had a stability control system to supplement the ABS. Rear wheel drive cars are a unique beast in adverse weather.

Cowtown

My very first day driving my first mustang I got about 3-4kms from home turned left (in the rain) and promptly spun the car around into the oposite lane of traffic with a moving van bearing down on me. A quick dump of the clutch and I was back in my own lane and safe but I'll tell you I never did it again.

Keeping in mind my 89GT had no traction control or ABS and I just came from a 87 Hyundai Excel.

Just take it easy man, sounds like you still have some stuff to learn but at least the Stang kept you safe which is what it's supposed to do.