Got a gentle (!) reminder to take it easy in the wet when driving a bug on the way home tonight. Accelerated away from a set of traffic lights turning right, got too fast and as i was finishing the turn the back end decided to break loose. managed to not have it get out of hand much and keep myself facing the right direction, but it was scary stuff. The thought of smashing my first bug after two weeks of driving it sent a chill through my spine.
Anyways, I know there are people out there with better stories than that so lets share them.
try driving a jacked up swinger baja around roundabouts in the wet.......thats fun:kiss
when i had only recently got my baja i was drving along the bruce highway and a van merged beside me and cut me off so to avoid the van i swerved and sideswiped a semi trailer.
that was pretty scary.
van drove off, truckie parked at the truck stop a little way up and came running back thinking i was going to be dead in the ditch.
bent my beam and drivers side steering knuckle and mangled my wheel.
surprisingly only body damage was a small chunk out of my drivers side front guard and it ripped my mirror off.
62/60 model bug eye baja bug, (Full Build in Progress)
1974 Chevrolet Luv
1970 MK2 Ford Cortina GT
1979 Yamaha RX125 Two Stroke tracker project.
2004 Harley Davidson Sportster XL Custom
Went around a corner and my wheel and hub fell off!!! The mechanic who did the RWC stripped the nut when he checked the brakes. Cracked my fibreglass guard and bent the backing plate but it's all good.
-Staggers.
STAGGERS AUTOMOTIVE - Heavy Vehicle Diesel Specialist
hmmmmm, where do I start... First time I spun out was the day I got my P's - spun out doing a U-turn on a rainy day... and the traffic was bearing down on me on the highway!. Ok, that was wasn't too intense.
Another time was taking a left hand 90 degree turn at a set of lights (not a slip lane affair) I went in too fast but I knew that if I tried to brake, it would definately swing the rear out, so I gently accelerated into it.... oooout comes the rear and I grab two big handfuls of opposite lock - and I do mean lock! I thought I was going to end up in the grass, but thankfully I caught it. (mind you, I had 186/60's on the front and 215/60's on the rear) All those hours playing Porsche Unleashed paid dividends!
The most memorable time was around the bends of Lysterfield. I was giving my beetle some pace, going around a right hand bend, taking the apex, thought i'd reached the apex when it tightened even more, pushed the bug past 10/10ths, rear stepped out, realised I couldn't catch it, spun it out on purpose and pretty much caught the car coming out of a 270 degree-ish spin. I could've kept driving but the engine stalled from the G-forces on the carby float i think. Awesome fun at the time (my mate was with me too but knew I was actually in control) but looking back now, pretty dangerous.
I don't do any of this driving anymore.. in my bug at least..
yeah the old round a bouts.. you gotta watch em in da wet i have found out anyway..
no tragic accidents but lotsa mear misses.. :o
ps it is fun really.. 🤪
fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse
well no rain and not a bug, but a kombi, and pretty sketchy... in fact happened about a week ago.
Turned off the Princes highway into I think Mckay street in nowra....highway going uphill...then the sidestreet goes up even steeper....anyway... turn off, up the hil, but 2nd doesnt engage... by now im almost stopped.. 2 d still dont engage... so i chuck it in 3rd and hope for the best.... needless to say it stalls...
at that moment a Patrol comes round the corner, with a Hiace behind it... and ime here blocking the road with the kombi, which decides it doesnt wanna start again... bastard! 🙁 meanwhile the hiace has its ass out almost on the highway and the patrol blokes rolling back
there for aboout a minute trying to start it then it kicks over finally... i go to take off and it conks out again...gets flooded so i hve to wait another 20 seconds or so... then give it abother kick...splutters to life again, so I plant it and scuttle outta there in a cloud of what i assume was clutch smoke...hehehe
not as scary as sliding out in the wet...buta fairly sketchy feeling all the same hehe!
when i had only recently got my baja i was drving along the bruce highway and a van merged beside me and cut me off so to avoid the van i swerved and sideswiped a semi trailer.
that was pretty scary.
van drove off, truckie parked at the truck stop a little way up and came running back thinking i was going to be dead in the ditch.
bent my beam and drivers side steering knuckle and mangled my wheel.
surprisingly only body damage was a small chunk out of my drivers side front guard and it ripped my mirror off. [/quote]
Damn... fresh undies in the glove box?
I've spun out a couple of times.... after lowering my beetle so she's mean and sexy lookin, I'm driving up the coast through one of those half roundabouts.... wet of course... two passengers.... speed out of the roundabout.... and spin very quickly.... facing the other way on the median guard... my passengers drew straws to see who would wear the undies... I had to wear the chamois as punishment.....
I've spun out a couple of times.... after lowering my beetle so she's mean and sexy lookin, I'm driving up the coast through one of those half roundabouts.... wet of course... two passengers.... speed out of the roundabout.... and spin very quickly.... facing the other way on the median guard... my passengers drew straws to see who would wear the undies... I had to wear the chamois as punishment.....
he he
Hehe!...that's why it's a good idea to keep a spare pack of four in the glovebox... 😂
urban_myth wrote:Got a gentle (!) reminder to take it easy in the wet when driving a bug on the way home tonight. Accelerated away from a set of traffic lights turning right, got too fast and as i was finishing the turn the back end decided to break loose. managed to not have it get out of hand much and keep myself facing the right direction, but it was scary stuff. The thought of smashing my first bug after two weeks of driving it sent a chill through my spine.
Anyways, I know there are people out there with better stories than that so lets share them.
Gee.......... lucky you weren’t driving a powerful Car.
urban_myth wrote:Got a gentle (!) reminder to take it easy in the wet when driving a bug on the way home tonight. Accelerated away from a set of traffic lights turning right, got too fast and as i was finishing the turn the back end decided to break loose. managed to not have it get out of hand much and keep myself facing the right direction, but it was scary stuff. The thought of smashing my first bug after two weeks of driving it sent a chill through my spine.
Anyways, I know there are people out there with better stories than that so lets share them.
Gee.......... lucky you weren’t driving a powerful Car.
well, its a 1200, but i'm running 14 inch rims with 195/65 tyres. I've noticed its got some positive camber on the back so thats probably the main issue. I didnt think i was going that fast either. It should be better once I get the back sitting a bit lower.
had brake failure in annandale late one night after a work function, sat on the side of hte road thinking what to do, and thought stuff so i drove it home... all the way to north gosford. that was some and provided many a heart beat. especially heading down kariong hill and all i could think was *please let the lights be green!*
having a heavy ass fwd rice mobile, i'm use to slip on corners and everything with turning and what not, it's basically apart of driving in the wet.
however i'm not so used to rwds again yet, and having a rear everything vw is gonna be a fun experience. the 4x4 is well balanced so its not a challenge. but the bug is gonna be interesting. glad i bought those wide wheels.
Yeah, I used to drive a fwd corolla. It was so easy to get understeer in it at basically any speed. I would hate to think what it would be like driving a bug with stock width tyres in the wet.
In a 74 white kombi, Light truck tyres on the back, pissing down with rain as only QLD can do.
West End, outside the roundabout cafe, the roundabout was polished and greasy, I went in slow, accelerated and the rear broke loose at about 30km/h
It looped around real slow, whipped the front around after it. I let go of the wheel, feet off the pedals and gracefully looped all the way against the cafe gutter like a handbrake park.
My freckle was cutting fibre washers out of my undies!
Once they go, there aint no catchin them!
This disclaimer does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either myself, my company, my friends, or my dog: don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything; this disclaimer is subject to change without notice; text is slightly enlarged to show detail; resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental; dry clean only; do not bend, fold, or mutilate; anchovies or jalapenos added to this disclaimer upon request; your mileage may vary; no substitutions are allowed; for a limited time only while supplies last; offer void where prohibited; this disclaimer is provided "as is" without any warranties expressed or implied
53racer wrote:but the bug is gonna be interesting. glad i bought those wide wheels.
I think you'll find wide tyres will make it worse rather than better. The more footprint you have, the less force there is on it, and therefore the less grip. If you stick with a standardish rim, say 4.5-5.5, and get some sticky tyres it will work better. Fat tyres act like surfboards in the wet.
Besides the Kombi and the baja, I don't know what you're all whinging about. I used to throw my swingaxle beetle around in the wet all the time. I found it quite predictable and fun on roundabouts. You've just got to get the hang of it. Lot's throttle control. 😉
If you want interesting, try driving a top heavy and extremely tail heavy buggy around. There's not much time between plough understeer and total leanover power oversteer. :puke
I was also in a mates Fasty when we rolled it off the road into some bushes. We weren't going very quick so luckily no one was hurt. One of the passengers did play dead though, not funny at the time, but looking back ........ crack up!
Not that long ago I spun mine around turning off the highway. It was raining, and I gently eased the throttle on, SNAP, around it went. As I got things going the right way again I noticed other tyre marks in the grass as well as a sign bent over.
There is some oil or something on that corner because it is heaps more slippery than just about anywhere else.
I gotta be real careful in the wet.
[ Edited on 25-3-2006 by 56astro ]
[ Edited on 25-3-2006 by 56astro ]
VW car, VW engine ...... keepin it "real"
35MPG on 101.3kPa
I was also in a mates Fasty when we rolled it off the road into some bushes. We weren't going very quick so luckily no one was hurt. One of the passengers did play dead though, not funny at the time, but looking back ........ crack up!
Not that long ago I spun mine around turning off the highway. It was raining, and I gently eased the throttle on, SNAP, around it went. As I got things going the right way again I noticed other tyre marks in the grass as well as a sign bent over.
There is some oil or something on that corner because it is heaps more slippery than just about anywhere else.
I gotta be real careful in the wet.
sounds like you gotta be careful in general, your accident prone in the bugs it seems :o
This was while i was still on my P's...I was driving to a friends place late at night in harriett my convertible beetle. It was pooring down with rain, almost coming in sideways. I was 2 minutes away from their house when i turned onto the road which has a bit of a climb and bend. As i started turning around the bend, i think harriett decided she had had enough and wanted to turn completely around and go home. I felt the her back end slip out, but couldnt fix it, and b4 i knew it i was aqua-plaining up the road.
I did about three 360's before i ended up on the other side of the road backwards against a tree facing the wrong way. If it wasnt for the tree i actually would ended up down the gulley and then into someones pool in their backyard. I managed to get out alright, although i couldnt get out of my drivers door and had to cllimb across. People came out to see if i was alright, and all i could worry about was if Harriett was alright, because as i looked across the leaf litter under her engine had caught fire! Thanks for the rainy night, that problem got solved pretty quickly.
As Harriett got pulled out of the embankment, i realised i had eggs in the car for my friends mum... but the funny thing was they were still intact, unlike my dignity at the time! 🥲
1963 Single Cab Ute: "El Concreto"
1962 Baja Beetle: "Peanut"
1968 Porsche 912 SWB: "Pip"
1972 Kombi Snail: "The Snail"
2012 Skoda Octavia Scout: "Scout"
2016 Scirocco R: "Rocco"
yep, standard tip toe through wet roundabouts. haha
and there was this..
Quote:
Originally posted by helterskelter400
lost my left front wheel just before xmas. lucky it was slowish on a track. stole a few bolts off other wheels, lifted front of buggy onto an obliging mallee root (by myself!!) and refitted wheel.
got some pics & will post when i find them.
funny thing was, on the way out to the tracks i was accell up & down to 90mph to see how she'd go. (was v twitchy at that speed)
lucky i didnt loose the front wheel then !!
i am very sure to torque the wheels up as soon as i let the jack down now.
well i've only ever lost it once but this was the result
it was back when i just got my Ps in my first bug coming home from work in rush when it was pissing down big time
drilled it abit to hard coming out of a corner and hit some loose gravel that had washed onto the road went sideways into a tree
killed me to loose my first bug but i had that many since i forget about it
i think everyone knows to be cautious of vws in the wet
i've never really had any BIG scary moments... but then i tend to not be as shocked behind the wheel as my friends. I've lost the back of the van many times in the wet, but its usually a simple case of catching the slide and slowly backing off the power. It's the sudden "shit im sliding... better stop accelerating" that causes problems.
Once while driving a beetle, a van sped to get in front of me, then slowed down. In a moment of anger i swerved into the left lane and gunned it past him, but for some reason the back stepped out, and i ended up powersliding past him instead of simply overtaking... The look on his face was a bit like this --->:o ... but i make a point of overtaking nicely now hehe 🙂
[ Edited on 25-3-2006 by fekkinell ]
"Mr Writer, why don't you tell it like it is? Why don't you tell it like it REALLY is?" - stereophonics
fekkinell wrote:Once while driving a beetle, a van sped to get in front of me, then slowed down. In a moment of anger i swerved into the left lane and gunned it past him, but for some reason the back stepped out, and i ended up powersliding past him instead of simply overtaking... The look on his face was a bit like this --->:o ... but i make a point of overtaking nicely now hehe 🙂
[ Edited on 25-3-2006 by fekkinell ]
LOL 😂
You know all those urban myths about all Beetles being like Herbie? That's where they start. I can just hear him telling his friends...
"I cut in on him and he went nuts, then he went past me sideways...just like herbie!" 👍
Old Highway, "up it" in third gear (maybe 120kays?) through a fast but bumpy uphill left-hander and had the front swaybar strap on my hottie Oval break loose - whooshka; I'm facing the wrong way looking back through my own tyre smoke at the 3-series BMW I'd just passed... when I stopped sliding/rolling backwards, I was too close to the armco to open my door...
Had a rear stub axle break at 50km/h just near a mate's house... It's kinda scary seeing your left rear wheel and brake drum overtake you on the left, cross in front of you and try jump a paling fence! And this happened about 10 mins after pulling 180km/h over Mooney Mooney bridge.. :jesus
And I'm sure I'll remember more later!
[ Edited on 25-3-2006 by VWCOOL ]
Oh yeah! Overtaking a couple of slower cars near Cooma on the way to the snow... and the first car in the line turns right, in front of me, into a farm driveway.. OOOPS
Similar; a house being moved at about 45km/h on the back of a truck up near Qld somewhere - the driver puts his arm out the window and waves me past so I pull out and pass him... no, no he wasn't waving me past (as I realised as I was accelerating hard at about half-way past the truck), he was turning right. OOOPS again
Amaroo Park... BMW 3-series (another one) spins in front of me (lift-off oversteer) just over the crest of the hill. Missed him by THAT much... like, about half a meter...
there are others, but this was one of the scariest....
country road in the beetle, know the car, its braking capacity (all drums), acceleration (full house 2180) and the road....
last overtaking chance for 6km, two cars and a caravan to "do over", round the bend and nothing coming on the long straight, ol school overtaking in which you use the opposite lane for overtaking, happy days.....
pull out in third, hit 60mph and into fourth beside the second car......whats that car doing putting along the driveway on the side of the road?........yep hes gonna come out, without looking....
so out he comes, and turns TOWARDS me. two choices-accelerate past the caravan, or brake into the non existant hole between it and the following car. hit the brakes and guess what, the car beside me is also braking at the same rate, worst thing, so is the caravan! still no gap, and they are out doing my 1966 drums....
250m to impact.......
ol' mate that has come out of the driveway is flashing the lights- he has room to get off the raod, but ohh no no no, he is accelerating towards us!....back to plan b, use the power on tap to go round the 'van.....foot down....
POP! jumps out of fourth gear......foot down, POP out of forth gear... i'm still beside the second car with 100m to impact.... head on at about 50mph.....
choices...push the dude off to the left.... or go accross the lane and hopefully off the opposite shoulder without hitting MR" I'm flashing my lights and that means you should get out of the road"....
i can now see the oncoming dudes face!...
pull the wheel left expecting to have to push my braking partner into the ditch.........nothing?..he has had a really good jab on the brakes at the last possible moment...pheww.
rather embarrased, back on the go peddle while holding it in top gear this time......outta there!
does anyone else get that shaking in your legs after such a rush? i have had that a few times, after both scares and excitment, i was shuddering for the best part of 15mins after that one.
then there was the time i actually hit a conformadore head on with both of us doing 55km/h... my roof rack came off with the boards still attached and landed behind his car, i saw the expression on both his and his passengers faces as we collided- very surreal.blind corner, my bro couldn't get his door open 'cause of the bank so close to the left, there was room for two cars to pass, lazy prick was cutting the corner.
twoguns wrote:had brake failure in annandale late one night after a work function, sat on the side of hte road thinking what to do, and thought stuff so i drove it home... all the way to north gosford. that was some and provided many a heart beat. especially heading down kariong hill and all i could think was *please let the lights be green!*
Wes you nut! LOL :P
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
#1 Tyre blow out at about 190kms #2 Rear wheel and brake drum coming off at about 80kms on a dirt road #3 360 spin at about 150kms at Amaroo park #4 crashing at about 140kms on the Pacific Hwy Bullahdelah #5 racing at over 195km on Mona Vale rd and nearly running up the back of a car and boat doing 60Km..........................the list goes on !!!
Craig Torrens wrote:#1 Tyre blow out at about 190kms #2 Rear wheel and brake drum coming off at about 80kms on a dirt road #3 360 spin at about 150kms at Amaroo park #4 crashing at about 140kms on the Pacific Hwy Bullahdelah #5 racing at over 195km on Mona Vale rd and nearly running up the back of a car and boat doing 60Km..........................the list goes on !!!
you win again craig!
interesting signature you got there
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
