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Crashing...
coozer - 18/8/08 at 03:26 PM

As I'm still fairly gutted after stuffing my MNR I was wondering on the experiences of others.
I'm blunted (ego) by the fact this is the first 'car' crash i've had since 1982 although I've chucked a fair few bikes down the road in that time.

Steve


worX - 18/8/08 at 03:29 PM

Crashed a tintop a long long time ago...

There isn't an option for people that haven't crashed - I take it you don't wanna hear from them people at the moment!

There also isn't an option for a certain friend of mine (member on here also) he crashes at least once a week... (never his fault )

Steve


BenB - 18/8/08 at 03:32 PM

I think most people who build a Seven have a pretty hairy moment soon after getting on the roads. Sometimes it just avoids being a crash, sometimes it doesn't.

If I was racing I'd work on the principal that if I wasn't having offs every now and again I probably wasn't pushing hard enough.....

Being so near the edge on the road perhaps isn't the best option but then with a new car it's finding where that edge is!!! Learn from it, mend the car and get out there again and put a smile on your face


melly-g - 18/8/08 at 03:36 PM

Crashed a Robin Hood S7 ( Dolomite based ) about 16 years ago!. Rolled it over a hedge after avoiding numpty pulling out of a side road in front of me!! I had no roll bar either! Lukily landed on side then slowly(ish) rolled over on top of me and mate, luckily I was hanging out the side, dont know where mate had his head!!!
Very lucky to get away with it.


macspeedy - 18/8/08 at 03:40 PM

there isn't an option for crashed a car and crashed a 7

gutted for you mate


Gezza - 18/8/08 at 03:45 PM

Sorry to here you crashed, ive done it just mend it and tell yourself not to do it again!!!

worx, you never told me you crashed before i lent you my car..

gerry


adithorp - 18/8/08 at 03:57 PM

"There isn't an option for people that haven't crashed - I take it you don't wanna hear from them people at the moment! "

If there was, I wouldn't tempt fate by ticking it!

adrian


zilspeed - 18/8/08 at 04:03 PM

I spun the locost into the gravel at Knockhill. This was at probably the fastest corner on the circuit.
The speed would have been much higher than your accident. ( Not showing off here, just being honest, that's all).
The difference was that there were no kerbs, skips or parked cars to hit.

Other than damaged pride, I just restarted the engine and drove it back to the pits.

Also crashed the GTM. Rear geometry was all to pot at the time and I chucked it off the road coming out of a roundabout and slithered backwards narrowly missing the standards of a signpost. This accident happened at maybe 30mph. The one on track happened at I suppose 70-80mph, but wasn't anything like as scary. All because of the circumstances.

I honestly find it difficult to justify any seven type car for road use.


TimC - 18/8/08 at 04:08 PM

I smashed a mate's Elise into a tyre wall a few years ago. That was an expensive incident.

More recently, I nearly had some guy crash into Worx's old car with me at the wheel. Thankfully, he steered himself into a tyrewall instead.

As my Elise owning mate said at the time (it's his mantra) "Sh1t Happens!"


worX - 18/8/08 at 04:11 PM

I didn't think it was relevant!!!
Especially considering...............

quote:
Originally posted by Gezza
Sorry to here you crashed, ive done it just mend it and tell yourself not to do it again!!!

worx, you never told me you crashed before i lent you my car..

gerry



gezza
gezza


McLannahan - 18/8/08 at 04:11 PM

quote:
Originally posted by worX
Crashed a tintop a long long time ago...

There isn't an option for people that haven't crashed - I take it you don't wanna hear from them people at the moment!

There also isn't an option for a certain friend of mine (member on here also) he crashes at least once a week... (never his fault )

Steve


What balls!

I think you find YOU had the last accident!

How very dare you...




And it's NEVER my fault!!


Ivan - 18/8/08 at 04:11 PM

In early 70's hit mountain head on, flipped A over K twice then rolled back down - Mk1 Escort GT a write off - passenger with minor grass burn on elbow - otherwise no injuries.
Thank goodness for Britax full harness.

Good excuse to get off work for the day.


splitrivet - 18/8/08 at 04:12 PM

Not had the same experience with a car but managed to crash my new (secondhand) Microlight aircraft which totally gutted me, I know what its like you feel more a fool, than anything else.

On hindsight I thought of it this way, there were and will be better pilots than me who had the same experience and did'nt get up and walk away from it, leaving thier kids and family totally heartbroken.

So just think how lucky you are.

Cheers,
Bob

[Edited on 18/8/08 by splitrivet]


McLannahan - 18/8/08 at 04:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Gezza
Sorry to here you crashed, ive done it just mend it and tell yourself not to do it again!!!

worx, you never told me you crashed before i lent you my car..

gerry



Gerry - You wouldn't believe how many times he's crashed! Hooof....


NeilP - 18/8/08 at 04:17 PM

Steve,

You need an option d (all of the above) and then an option e (option d several times)...

Smack2
Smack2


mookaloid - 18/8/08 at 04:21 PM

Not as serious as yours but I went airborne whilst competing at Harewood and did this on landing.

was more gutted when this happened to my Alfa

Yours will rebuild Steve - you can build it even better next time

Cheers

Mark


JoelP - 18/8/08 at 05:17 PM

in my youth i crash 7 times in a minor fashion, havent crashed in about 3 years now, and i cant remember when any have been my fault!

Once pulled out in front of a moped who hadnt cancelled his indicator, which was unfortunate. He admitted his indicator had been on and then sued me anyway!

Did the old classic of setting off at a roundabout into a car that really shouldve set off too


DIY Si - 18/8/08 at 05:28 PM

I've not crashed my 7, or come close to it yet thank god. I have had a few little sideways moments, but nothing worthy of note. I did once crash my wife's new Fabia VRS about 8 weeks after we got it. I still don't know why I crashed though, and the police didn't tell me either, just said I wasn't speeding. The most recent one (out of three ever) was in the works van into the back of someone who I thought had started to move off onto a round about, only to then stop mid manoeuvre. Cue me putting a 6" dent in the back of a clio. Shame really, as all I did was crack my number plate! Could've been worse, as she was really cute!


athoirs - 18/8/08 at 06:26 PM

Crash! thats not a crash!

This is a crash!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkO3KI7PR0w

Thats me in 277 going into the wall again for the nth time at the Racewall in fife.

Went through 4 sierras one year...

Got to learn to crash with style!

and yes I have managed to plant my Indy into the tyre wall at knockhill as well...

Andy


jimmyjoebob - 18/8/08 at 06:27 PM

I shortened my e30 bmw on a nearly new passat.




I replaced the entire front of my car for £200 whilst the light scratches on the passat bumper and flattened exhaust tail pipe tips cost £1550 to repair!

As others have already said, at least you weren't injured.


RoadkillUK - 18/8/08 at 07:05 PM

I've crashed my '7' into a wall, had to replace sections of chassis and one of the wishbones.

My brother took a Polo in the side of the '7', had to replace the opposite section of chassis and replace rear wings and 2 new tyres. (Uninsured Driver)

Latest is 20th June my brother got the '7' rearended at a zebra crossing, the car behind stopped but the car behind him didn't. This claim is still ongoing but the 3rd driver was not insured to drive the car.

So it's not only the crash that gets you down a bit, it's the number of uninsured drivers on the road too. Really makes me wish I'd got Full Comp (which I will be next time)


DIY Si - 18/8/08 at 07:52 PM

What? You didn't go fully comp? You crazy man! I would never insure my toys in any other way, it's just not worth all the faffing about that can happen.


flak monkey - 18/8/08 at 07:58 PM

Spun my GTS once in the damp (heavy right foot problem after 3 months without driving it) and mounted a curb pretty hard and ended up on the verge. Luckily no one hurt, nothing bent or damaged, just a light scuff to the underside of the nosecone...and no-ones ever noticed...til now

David


mark chandler - 18/8/08 at 08:31 PM

I stuffed a few cars now, better to have a count of how many times !


dhutch - 18/8/08 at 09:09 PM

Stuffed the previous 306 into a fence.
- On the face of it, minor damage only, but a fence rail came thought the windscreen and only just missed me, and the car was a write off and only insured TPFT.

So i went out and bought one exactly the same, but with the large engine.

Daniel


:{THC}:YosamiteSam - 19/8/08 at 08:12 AM

i have posted this in other forums -

went round the alps in the dax last few weeks ago on my honeymoon - 3 days before the end i was just cruisin along a backroad near munich when

BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 seconds later we were barrell rolling the Dax down a 50 foot embankment flipped twice landed on its wheels.
VERY VERY luckily it didnt land on our heads or we would be dead now

turns out a young deer ran across the front of the car from left to right - got jammed in the steering which pulled us off the road.. wheels dug in whilst sideways on the slope down..

car is still in a pokey village garage waiting the RAC to get it act together and get it back to the UK for assessment at Dax Cars - rang them few days ago - said it wont get back to the uk till at least the 5th september!!!!!!!!! taking the pi$$ - the garage is charging 10 euro's / day so the 5th would be 290 euro's plus 19% vat - all that will be marking against whether its a write off or not..

PICCIES

i'm not impressed by the RAC's european breakdown service one bit - the are a bunch of unco-ordinated cretins..


DarrenW - 19/8/08 at 11:26 AM

OMG!! That looks like a serious off. Im so pleased you are both OK. Hope you get car back soon and its all resolved through the insurance. What is the prognosis so far? Are you expecting it to be written off? Ill hold off on the shameless plug for my car at this stage



quote:
Originally posted by :{THC}:YosamiteSam
i have posted this in other forums -

went round the alps in the dax last few weeks ago on my honeymoon - 3 days before the end i was just cruisin along a backroad near munich when

BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 seconds later we were barrell rolling the Dax down a 50 foot embankment flipped twice landed on its wheels.
VERY VERY luckily it didnt land on our heads or we would be dead now

turns out a young deer ran across the front of the car from left to right - got jammed in the steering which pulled us off the road.. wheels dug in whilst sideways on the slope down..

car is still in a pokey village garage waiting the RAC to get it act together and get it back to the UK for assessment at Dax Cars - rang them few days ago - said it wont get back to the uk till at least the 5th september!!!!!!!!! taking the pi$$ - the garage is charging 10 euro's / day so the 5th would be 290 euro's plus 19% vat - all that will be marking against whether its a write off or not..

PICCIES

i'm not impressed by the RAC's european breakdown service one bit - the are a bunch of unco-ordinated cretins..


David Jenkins - 19/8/08 at 12:03 PM

One thing these pictures all show - these are TOUGH little cars!

If the passengers are well strapped in, and there's a respectable roll-bar or cage, then the driver and passenger have a reasonable chance of surviving.

Obviously there are limits - being run over by a big truck, or going sideways into a tree at speed, are likely to cause great harm, but people seem to have walked away from quite a number of very nasty accidents.

Long may this continue...


C10CoryM - 20/8/08 at 02:26 AM

Not sure if it counts as a tintop as the steel is very thick, but I landed my classic truck roof first in a ditch. Goofing around in the corners and lost the back end. 50mph+ to zero in about 2ft backwards and upside down is not recommended.




And yes, the roof is touching the seat.


:{THC}:YosamiteSam - 20/8/08 at 07:32 AM

crikey that roof collapse is scarey stuff.. no strength in there at all

when and IF i get the car rebuilt the first thing before i get the body work back on is a roll cage.. you all gotta have seen the dax diagonal roll bar - yea - i know - you never think it will ever be needed unless i was gonna be racing..

theres a lot of thoughts going round my head right now and the other big safety issue i now see is this

we hit that small deer at 50 mph - it hit the rhf headlight / suspension / inner rim area..

if that had come over the engine cover and into the screen - do you think the screen would just break or flatten?

i know for a fact it would of flattened instantly sending the deer right into our faces along with the screen / frame and possibly either breaking both our necks, or if we were really lucky double decapitation...

that is fact... the deer hit with such force that there is deer hair jammed between the tyre and the rim.. lots of intestinal parts from it came over the car and were spread over the road.. so if it could do that to flesh - scarey thought..

i have been thinking of ways to improve that issue..

when the cage is built i want a small tube going across from the 2 front verticals following the top bar of the screen frame... painted black it should keep it inconspicuous.. it either that or use the cage to mount a laminated glass in a one off frame...


C10CoryM - 22/8/08 at 02:07 AM

quote:
Originally posted by :{THC}:YosamiteSam
crikey that roof collapse is scarey stuff.. no strength in there at all


You can't really see it in the picture, but the truck landed with the peak of the ditch in the center of the roof. 6ft deep ditch on one side, maybe 3ft on the other. Can't really blame it for collapsing

Basically, I slid off the road sideways/backwards at about 50mph. Tires bit into the shoulder and the high coG snap rolled the truck and it landed on its roof and stopped...... instantly. Pretty hard on things.


:{THC}:YosamiteSam - 22/8/08 at 10:24 PM

quote:
Basically, I slid off the road sideways/backwards at about 50mph. Tires bit into the shoulder and the high coG snap rolled the truck and it landed on its roof and stopped...... instantly. Pretty hard on things.


shit!!!!!! now that is scary...

exactly the same happened to my car..

there is a thread on the owners forum here with pictures - i'm still waiting for the car to be brought back from Germany to be assessed at dax..


iank - 23/8/08 at 08:06 AM

Very glad to hear all were ok.
For the seriousness of the crash the car's maintained structural integrity very well from the pictures. Lots of expensive damage obviously, but I'd expect a tintop to look a lot worse. Thank goodness for proper harnesses.


C10CoryM - 23/8/08 at 04:31 PM

quote:
Originally posted by :{THC}:YosamiteSam
i'm still waiting for the car to be brought back from Germany to be assessed at dax..


May not apply in your case, but it is often best to sell/scrap a crashed car. I have seen more than once where someone has crashed their favourite car, rebuilt it, and then been upset because their baby never drives/looks as good as it used to. Part of it is that yes, crashed cars never drive as well as they used to but part of it is just falling out of love. Eventually they end up never driving it and selling it anyways.
I would recommend avoiding all that money spent, and heartbreak and just selling it now.

Best of luck.
Cory


:{THC}:YosamiteSam - 23/8/08 at 11:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by C10CoryM
quote:
Originally posted by :{THC}:YosamiteSam
i'm still waiting for the car to be brought back from Germany to be assessed at dax..


May not apply in your case, but it is often best to sell/scrap a crashed car. I have seen more than once where someone has crashed their favourite car, rebuilt it, and then been upset because their baby never drives/looks as good as it used to. Part of it is that yes, crashed cars never drive as well as they used to but part of it is just falling out of love. Eventually they end up never driving it and selling it anyways.
I would recommend avoiding all that money spent, and heartbreak and just selling it now.

Best of luck.
Cory


yea - i hear what your saying - but after just rebuilding the WHOLE car theres no way i'm forking out anymore on the car - which is why i want the insurance to do it..


Custardtart - 26/8/08 at 09:57 AM

This was my biggest 7 crash, taken from a kit car race at Mallory in 2001 I think. Must've been doing about 90mph at the time. Poor chap with his hands up must've been sh*ting himself!





[Edited on 26/8/08 by Custardtart]


Guinness - 26/8/08 at 03:09 PM

Terry, I'm really sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you are OK! Hope the insurance get you sorted.

I've just come back from nearly 2,700 miles of touring round Europe and there were times when I've wished I'd been in the Indy. Some fantastic roads, billiard table smooth tarmac and sweeping curves / mountain passes. Oh and sunshine!!!!

Steve, I had a very minor off on the last run out with the NE7ER's. My first in the 7 (if you don't count spins on trackdays).

Just as we came out of Blanchland, I came over the crest of a hill to find the road wet / greasy and very smooth, a right / left bend
and a couple of cars coming the other way. I braked, locked up and slid the nearside wheel onto the verge. Once I had a wheel on the grass it didn't seem to want to slow down any more Collected a good amount
of grass and weeds, found the kerb, stopped.

Must have only been doing about 10-15 when we found the kerb. Luckily
there was a lay-by right next to us, so I pulled in, checked for damage
and got going again. Andre was behind us at the time, so he probably got a
better view of it!

A check of the car when I got home that night revealed no damage at
all. All wishbones straight, all brackets present and correct. Steering
column, rack etc all still there.


Cheers


Mike


tcr - 28/8/08 at 03:50 PM

anyone else seen this caterham crash ,try and watch it without swearing
caterham crash


eddie99 - 30/8/08 at 04:58 PM

Sorry im a bit behind time on this post, but an interesting read.

quote:
Originally posted by :{THC}:YosamiteSam
i have posted this in other forums -

went round the alps in the dax last few weeks ago on my honeymoon - 3 days before the end i was just cruisin along a backroad near munich when

BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 seconds later we were barrell rolling the Dax down a 50 foot embankment flipped twice landed on its wheels.
VERY VERY luckily it didnt land on our heads or we would be dead now

turns out a young deer ran across the front of the car from left to right - got jammed in the steering which pulled us off the road.. wheels dug in whilst sideways on the slope down..


Ouch, looks terrible, glad you were both ok but most of all, How was the deer? :p hehehe, only joking...

But to all of you, think yourself luckly that your still alive to tell the tale!

Eddie


:{THC}:YosamiteSam - 10/9/08 at 10:41 AM

well today is a sad day...

today - my car has officially died
had long talk with dax.. chassis is badly bent.. twisted..
bent rhf wishbone mountings from impact with deer
ALL the wishbones gone
all uprights gone
snapped rhr upright
broken side can
all wheels no good including tyres
most of the body work no good
left side panel holed
steering rack gone
ALL ball joints gone

it would be too much work to repair realistically, so what am i gonna do now...

i know wait for insurance money and get another rolling chassis.. buy back the old one and swap over the good bits..

suppose winter is just around the corner and it will keep me busy..

AGAIN...


iank - 10/9/08 at 11:03 AM

quote:
Originally posted by :{THC}:YosamiteSam
well today is a sad day...

today - my car has officially died
had long talk with dax.. chassis is badly bent.. twisted..
bent rhf wishbone mountings from impact with deer
ALL the wishbones gone
all uprights gone
snapped rhr upright
broken side can
all wheels no good including tyres
most of the body work no good
left side panel holed
steering rack gone
ALL ball joints gone

it would be too much work to repair realistically, so what am i gonna do now...

i know wait for insurance money and get another rolling chassis.. buy back the old one and swap over the good bits..

suppose winter is just around the corner and it will keep me busy..

AGAIN...


Bad luck.

If you buy back the written off one and 'rebuild' with a new Dax chassis etc. you don't need an IVA (or SVA if you are very quick) but will require a VIC. On the down side an HPI will then come up with the write off - don't know if that is an issue for you.


C10CoryM - 10/9/08 at 05:31 PM

Sorry to hear. I am sure it is for the best though. This way you aren't stuck with a rebuilt car, and now you can build this one exactly how you want it. Don't forget the deer whistles this time
Best of luck.
Cory


:{THC}:YosamiteSam - 13/9/08 at 10:32 AM

i'm going to buy back the car - FFS - £600 is all they said its worth as scrap...

anyways - my intentions are to find something new - prices are next to nothing right now so theres some lovely motas out there right now..

i will be stripping out the car for bits when its home

if anyones interested theres some good bits left..here