My first STUPID thing i did in my Cobra!

[SVT_SNK]

I drove it in the rain with nitto's on the rear!!!!! DOH!!!

I managed to keep my Cobra out of the rain since the day I bought it until last Friday. My other car was in the shop and I needed to pick my girl up at school, she was sick.....and after I wrecked I am so glad she was not faking it!!!

Anyway, I am driving in lane 3 of 5 lane I-75. A DOT truck had fast lane closed and I was doing about 40 mph on the interstate, during a rain. Just as I approach the area of the DOT truck (1/4) mile away, he turns off his arrow bar and proceeds to move over to Emergency lane. As he does traffic begins to fill the now open fast lane, and I proceed to pass alongside an 18 wheeler in lane 2. Car cuts over three lanes into my rear end, breaks it loose, spinning me into the ditch. We took about a 200 feet ride in the ditch. Hit a massive rock or something, cracking the passenger front wheel off, sending the strut on that side up thru the camber plate, pulled the front bumper cover off that side, broke the front header assembly that the bumber cover attaches to, which is what holds the headlamps in place also. Car so far down in ditch, the Wrecker tore the rear bumber cover getting it out. Worst part is the SOB that hit my rear end, kept on going in his brown buick POS. cops are working on one witnesses partial tag number, at least they know where the tag was issued by the letters, but no match yet!!!

ARGH!!! very bad day, only took one trip in rain. But was thankful My daughter wasn't hurt at all. Just a wild ride.

NEVER will I drive it in the rain again, especially with those tires.

I would like to say thanks to the two unknown fellow Cobra (that's what they said) owners who stopped in the span of the hour it took to get me out, to offer assistance and let me blow off some steam.....

Good news is I have a private individual fixing the car, ended up buying the STEEDA 4-way castor camber plates, bump steer kit, and the new ball joints. Suspension was major screwed but now back in allignment and There was absolutlely no metallic body damage to the car. I will post pic's of the repairs.

Hat's off to my local ford dealership selling me the bumber covers and header and mud guard and chin spoiler for just under 700.00 bucks. If anyone needs parts and your local to Alan Vigil Ford, see Sal in parts, he is the manager, he will cut you a deal..


I was torn with reporting it without for sure knowing if the SOB will ever be found and the damage is about about $1000 for parts and paint. Deductible is 500.00 and rates are very low for my Cobra, so I am bighting the bullet on this one...

Sorry for the long post, but had to vent somewhere and say thanks at the same time to those who helped.

later

SVT_SNK

 

[rust0r]

i assume you filed a police report for the hit and run then, alot of insurance companies wave the deductable because it was hit and run(crime), worth checking out if it will save you some money, good luck

glad to hear you and your daughter are ok, good to know theres still some decent people out there who will stop to help someone in need

 

[vector]

So it sounds to me like you had a hit and run?

How do the tires play a role in this?

Any car hitting you on wet pavement like you talked about above would have put you side ways. No matter what tire you had on

The fact that you had Nittos on seems irrelevant

Other then that sorry to here what had happened

And its good to know your OK and not hurt

 

[SVT_SNK]

Originally posted by vector
So it sounds to me like you had a hit and run?

How do the tires play a role in this?

Any car hitting you on wet pavement like you talked about above would have put you side ways. No matter what tire you had on

The fact that you had Nittos on seems irrelevant

Actually that is a good question, but I have been able to drive my Cobra on a Skid Pan with the stock rubber and also with my Nittos, and w/o a doubt in my mind, I should have been able to avoid this on two fronts. I should have been able to accelerate past his glancing blow (scuffs on the rear bumber only are on the last 2-3 inches on the side and 4-6 inches across the back) from his car, but I felt the nittos breaking loose so I had to get out of the gas, and secondly, I counter steered into the skid, once I got the rear coming back around, I was already inches from the grass.

I am not a "professional driver" by any means but being a cop for a long while and attending many performance driving schools, this is something I think I should have been able to avoid, based solely on my skills, but I didn't. It could have been me, but I think my bad decision to be out in the rain on those tires was definetly an error on my part. The obvious is that it was a hit and run and that is why it happened, but we still need to drive beyond that point.

SVT_SNK

 

[03InThe11s]

sorry to hear about that man. im with ya on the drag radials. i never drive my car in the rain, so i went with BFG drag radials. well, the one time i get caught in the rain, i had an accedent. so off with the drags. hope they find that POS that hit ya.

 

[jimwood]

Originally posted by SVT_SNK


I was torn with reporting it without for sure knowing if the SOB will ever be found and the damage is about about $1000 for parts and paint. Deductible is 500.00 and rates are very low for my Cobra, so I am bighting the bullet on this one...


SVT_SNK

Damn I cant believe its only 1k in damage. Sounded like the car was a casualty. Glad everyone is okay.

 

[freakshow12]

sorry to hear dude! hope you make out alright,as for tires I dont drive in rain either. my BFG drags are crappy in wet. even getting out of the car wash is a chore.LOL

 

[CobraBob]

That's really horrible, but thank God you and your daughter are okay. It could have been a lot worse. Your car can be repaired. I hope they catch the guy who did it. Reminds me of last summer when my wife and I were driving in her Mazda Millenia when a drunk driver slammed into our rear. We have our two grandchildren in the back and they were shaken up but not hurt. Then this clown proceeds to take off. To my wife's shock (she got over it quickly) I chased him. Got the license number. Called it in on my cell phone while chasing him. The state police caught the guy one town over. He denied he ever hit me, after which the cops nicely showed him the paint on his damaged front bumper than matched my wife's car. It was a good feeling seeing him sitting there in the police car. I'm so thankful the kids weren't hurt. What really ticked me off was that this jerk could have cared less. He only thought about getting away, not about whether he caused any injuries. Such is the world we live in today.
:nonono:

 

[Uncle Meat]

Originally posted by vector
How do the tires play a role in this?

Any car hitting you on wet pavement like you talked about above would have put you side ways. No matter what tire you had on

The fact that you had Nittos on seems irrelevant

When a Nitto DR breaks loose it is pretty much un-recoverable! Nitto's work great right up to that "breaking loose" edge, after that they kick out fast!

U.M.

 

[YELL03]

Glad everyone is OK, that is always the most important thing.

Even on my stock rubber, in the rain I feel like I have to be on guard at all times in my Cobra, it just doesn't give me a sure-footed sense of security. It always feels like it is about to kick the rear end out at the slightest provocation and I'm sure the Nittos just make it that much worse.

A buddy of mine did $11000 damage to his 01 GT on Nittos DRs, he was just slowing down in a bad rain at 35 mph and the car just went out from under him.

I have driven my 92 LX on Nittos DRs in the rain, to say the least I would not want to be on an interstate.

Again, glad both of you are OK, and VERY glad your daughter wasn't faking it.

Howard

 

[time2train]

Glad to hear you and your daughter are okay.

I've always heard that Nittos were good in the rain. This story is going to make me re-evaluate my next tire purchase.

 

[term]

Sorry to hear that, I put my Z28 into a spin the first week I got it (No damage done). I don't think I'll be driving the Cobra in the rain once I get DRs