RIP Slvrsleeper

[Omar MSP]

thats such a shame, goodluck!

 

[dbthompson]

As an aside I have to say that the accident occured because I should have replaced the rear tires when I replaced the fronts, money issues prevented me from doing so and I deeply regret that. Driving on two different brands of tire in different states of wear is unsafe and stupid and I am ashamed to admit that I did it. I don't really know that ESC would have saved me in this instance as it isn't really intended to compensate for that type of traction condition

Really glad you made it ok after these additional details - sounds like a net 75 mph impact to the rear quarter panel. Scary!


Everybody out there who is replacing tires: the new recommendation is to put the tire with better traction on the REAR. If you do not, then you will induce oversteer into the handling of the car, possibly leading to an accident such as this.

Most cars are currently designed to understeer at the limits. You can be trained to properly correct oversteer, but it takes a while and access to skidpads. If untrained, understeer is safer.

The idea of ESC is to utilize whatever traction you have to keep the car in line. If you had sufficient grip on the front tires, then ESC could have kept you going straight. Now, whether that prevents you from hitting someone is another matter, but combined with ABS, ESC should have allowed you to maintain some control on your direction. I'm guessing you'd rather have hit a stopped barrier (car in front of you slowing down) than someone going 50 MPH in the opposite direction, so, while it might not have prevented any accident, it should have reduced the severity, and certainly let your impact be one more in-line with the structural protection the Mazda5 is designed for (compare the impacts between a frontal 35 MPH (or less if the other car is moving forward in the same direction) with a rear-quarterpanel at 75MPH: that's the difference ESC could have made!).

Nonetheless, if nothing else, put the tires with better traction on the REAR!

Slvr, definitely see a doctor - that's a major impact!

 

[bulwnkl]

Most cars are currently designed to understeer at the limits. You can be trained to properly correct oversteer, but it takes a while and access to skidpads. If untrained, understeer is safer.

This is a very sadly perpetuated myth. Correcting oversteer is a nearly natural reaction: steer into the skid. Correcting understeer is... essentially impossible. In a corner, uncorrected oversteer leads to spinning off the inside of the corner. Sounds counterintuitive, but it's absolutely true if you're at all near adhesion limits.

Do you really intend to suggest that this 85-90 mph impact would have resulted in nothing but a stiff neck had it been head-on? Or if he'd simply skidded straight into an oak tree at 50mph? Those two alternatives are the consequence of understeer.

 

[mrbwa1]

slvrsleeper: A very nasty collision indeed! This is one of the reasons I went with studless snows for both cars ('07 Sport, '01 Toyota Echo). My Echo summer tires aren't to the wear indicators yet, but even close, they are hard and nasty. I ended up with the snows on until 2 weeks ago. I should be able to make this summer season at least.

I guess that extra outlay for wheels and tires might pay off. For those not in the snow bet, all I can say is perhaps a set of 4 Hankooks or even off-brand tires may be safer than 2 brand-name tires.

Here is an article I read a while back that really drive the point about tire pressure and placement:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/laurens.htm

 

[$chocker]

This is a very sadly perpetuated myth. Correcting oversteer is a nearly natural reaction: steer into the skid. Correcting understeer is... essentially impossible. In a corner, uncorrected oversteer leads to spinning off the inside of the corner. Sounds counterintuitive, but it's absolutely true if you're at all near adhesion limits.

Do you really intend to suggest that this 85-90 mph impact would have resulted in nothing but a stiff neck had it been head-on? Or if he'd simply skidded straight into an oak tree at 50mph? Those two alternatives are the consequence of understeer.

Generally speaking, for most drivers, understeer is the safer norm compared to oversteer. Natural instinct for most drivers when they begin to lose control is to let off the gas immediately. That reaction typically exacerbates oversteer. That same reaction typically lessens understeer. Also, if you are going to hit anything, better to hit with the front end than any other area of the car. Personally, I would typically never replace two tires at a time; I always monitor what's going on with the treadwear and rotate the tires so they are all ready for replacement, or close to it, at the same time. Just my 2cents.

 

[bulwnkl]

EDIT: Nevermind.

I'm still glad you're OK, slvrsleeper, and am thankful you didn't understeer into the other car so that you were dead.

 

[coolmazda5]

My 2 pesos: drive consciously and make sure you have tires in a good state. All the technologies available on any car (ABS, ESC, TPMS, ABC, CBS, NBC (blah)) are great but do not substitute conscious driving...

Oh, and $h!t happens too ...

 

[$chocker]

glad you're OK, slvrsleeper

No doubt. Glad you're here to tell the story.