Crash
I don't know who actually reads this, but for those who do...
I was driving the FSAE car today and went a little too fast. As I got near the end of the road I got on the brakes and then grabbed the clutch to downshift. But the clutch is by the steering wheel so grabbing it causes the wheel to turn (at least for me, because I'm not very good at it). So I was turning really fast to the right. So I did two things which might have been ok individually, but which were really stupid together. I got harder on the brakes and attempted to turn the wheel back to the left. This only caused the rear wheels to break loose and I spun out. I ended up hitting a huge orange sign (you know the kind they have by the side of the freeway with flashing messages) with the rear of the car. Every single suspension link in the rear broke (A-arms, push rods, tie rods), as well as one of the tripod joints in the axles, as well as a lot of random bolts and rod-ends.
I still feel really dumb and a little bit guilty, even though everyone was really encouraging and told me that it wasn't my fault. Luckily I got away with only a few bruises. But the lesson learned here is that I should never drive anything fast if I don't have a huge expanse of open area, because I just might kill myself.
I was driving the FSAE car today and went a little too fast. As I got near the end of the road I got on the brakes and then grabbed the clutch to downshift. But the clutch is by the steering wheel so grabbing it causes the wheel to turn (at least for me, because I'm not very good at it). So I was turning really fast to the right. So I did two things which might have been ok individually, but which were really stupid together. I got harder on the brakes and attempted to turn the wheel back to the left. This only caused the rear wheels to break loose and I spun out. I ended up hitting a huge orange sign (you know the kind they have by the side of the freeway with flashing messages) with the rear of the car. Every single suspension link in the rear broke (A-arms, push rods, tie rods), as well as one of the tripod joints in the axles, as well as a lot of random bolts and rod-ends.
I still feel really dumb and a little bit guilty, even though everyone was really encouraging and told me that it wasn't my fault. Luckily I got away with only a few bruises. But the lesson learned here is that I should never drive anything fast if I don't have a huge expanse of open area, because I just might kill myself.