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What not to do

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:48 am
by elancoupe

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:49 am
by pharriso
Good job the barrier was there...

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:51 am
by nigelrbfurness
I'll say. On a positive note, just shows how good our cars are at absorbing impacts in a crash. They are a ready-made crumple zone. Other wise, a sad end to what looks like a really nice car. Hard to see from the angle of filming but I guess he hit a patch of bad road surface and it just ploughed straight on with no grip, rather than turning in. Anyone else got any thoughts on that?

Nigel F.

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:15 am
by rgh0
Hi Nigel
In watching the video I also wondered why it happened as severe plough understeer like that is not normally an Elan problem. Its normally keeping the rear under control that's the problem. Unfortunately the car disappears behind a group of people and then a tree so hard to see exactly what goes wrong.

If the driver had lifted off the front should have regained grip and the back come around. He still may have hit the barrier but with a side on glancing blow rather than nose in. it looks like he kept his foot on the accelerator to long when it started to under steer and then he jumped on the brakes to quick so never regained any steering.

The road surface looks shiny in the video at the point where he lost it so it was maybe a low grip area for some reason

cheers
Rohan

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 3:58 pm
by Howie97630
Back in '76, my wife had a brake lock on a curve at 55 mph, pulled her into a rock, she went over a cliff in Yosemite, 60 feet down vertical, destroying my 67 S3's original body, yet she had only two black eyes from trying to break the stearing wheel with her face (apparently) as the car rolled. She adequately demonstrated the Elan's capacity at self sacrifice to protect the driver. I rebuilt the car with an S2 body, sold it to a friend who had the car until last January, when he passed away and willed the car back to me, and it's now in my garage. Hmm, after 45 years, still have the same car, and same spouse!

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:14 pm
by CBUEB1771
Wow, that was abrupt. I have visions of the front stub axle breaking on the left side.

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:11 pm
by alexblack13
I am sure he had the wheels locked up! Hence the understeer. If he had just driven the car round foot off the brakes he would have got it round the corner IMHO.

Watch the vid again.. The wheels are def' not turning.

Real shame. But it could have been a lot worse. :?

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 5:03 pm
by elansprint
Howie glad you explained how she got the black eyes ?
Ian

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:03 pm
by elansprint71
Am I the only one to notice a person waiving a red flag as the car approaches? My guess is there was something serious going on further round the corner, which caused Elan driver to brake heavily.

Start and stop the movie and you can almost watch in slo-mo.

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:17 pm
by CBUEB1771
elansprint71 wrote:Am I the only one to notice a person waiving a red flag as the car approaches?


Aha, good observation. If that was the first flag for a hazard then it was a recipe for more trouble.

Re: What not to do

PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:30 pm
by Pistacchio sprint 72
"better hitting the rail than a crane...."
F1 proverb