Got a proper fright today

[Scylla]

On a B-road of crests and dips, I suddenly found myself in a situation of driving too fast, too far outside my ability and with a previously unseen car coming the other way.

I felt momentarily out of control and my car seemed to pitch and yaw, and I had a deep, primal sense that I was on the edge and it could have gone horribly, horrifically wrong. My passenger felt it too.

When the moment had passed I had to slow down to compose myself, and it is making me feel queasy to recollect the experience. I decided very quickly that I didn’t want to drive a Mustang any more because I’m not up to it, and that I’d be better off with a diesel Golf or maybe a bus pass.

But it’s not the car’s fault, it’s what comes from driving like a twat. I’m actually glad it happened because what doesn’t kill you makes you much more careful and respectful of what is a very powerful machine. I love the Mustang so much, and today I learned a lesson. Take care.

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[Damo66]

Agree with you, RWD very powerful you have to treat it with respect. I used to own a Jaguar XFR-S and didn't treat it with respect and ended up spinning round 10 times on the M6 and totalling the car, luckily i walked away and no one else was hurt but it made me change the way i drive RWD car.

 

[rebellovw]

On a B-road of crests and dips, I suddenly found myself in a situation of driving too fast, too far outside my ability and with a previously unseen car coming the other way.

I felt momentarily out of control and my car seemed to pitch and yaw, and I had a deep, primal sense that I was on the edge and it could have gone horribly, horrifically wrong. My passenger felt it too.

When the moment had passed I had to slow down to compose myself, and it is making me feel queasy to recollect the experience. I decided very quickly that I didn’t want to drive a Mustang any more because I’m not up to it, and that I’d be better off with a diesel Golf or maybe a bus pass.

But it’s not the car’s fault, it’s what comes from driving like a twat. I’m actually glad it happened because what doesn’t kill you makes you much more careful and respectful of what is a very powerful machine. I love the Mustang so much, and today I learned a lesson. Take care.

Agreed. These cars are not like say GTIs where you can stand on the accelerator all day long - these things are powerful. No joke. Glad you came out well. You will do better next time.

 

[hinch]

just make sure you stay within your capability at all times the fact you drifted to excessive speed isn't really the cars fault is it its just you getting lost in the moment and not paying attention.
I'm known to drive like its stolen pretty much all the time but when i'm faced with a road I'm not familiar with or I don't feel comfortable with the conditions even I slow down! whether its 100 hp or 1000hp all of them are capable of killing you if you don't pay attention at all times.

 

[SteveS]

Firstly and most importantly you and everyone else are still here to tell the tale
But additionally you appreciate what happened and what could have happened in slightly different circumstances and as you say this will make you more careful in future.

Unfortunately due to its image and affordability the Mustang attracts a lot of egos who by now would have had a laugh about it, convinced themselves it was the tyres and moved on to their next near miss.

 

[GW65]

I never turn off traction control any more after a fright in my Vette - cold tyres, damp road, etc... These days I just potter and enjoy the sunshine and the V8 noise - making progress, but relatively pottering... I think the Mustang is just so good/refined that you do find yourself going very fast without trying - unless I'm really concentrating I often look at the speedo to realise I'm going 10+mph faster even on familiar roads than I used to in the Vette.

 

[Kristian87]

If the stang has taught me anything, it’s that there is a time & a place to drive it like ya stole it, and those chances are rare for me - this is my daily now the Fiesta has gone.

That said, the best moments for me haven’t been when i’ve been hooning around, so much more to enjoy than the high speeds, which incidentally seems to be most folks first question when they ask about the stang. Always a look of dissapointment when I don’t say “ah yea, i got it up to 145 once” lol

That’s not what the Mustang is about!

 

[Garvin]

I have attended a few high performance driving courses, not to be confused with hyper/super car experience days which I have also had the pleasure of experiencing. This is the best way of mastering how to drive powerful cars.

The best driving course, IMO, is the Driver Encoded Knowledge course run by Rob Gravett and the Ultimate Car Control company. A day spent here is well worth the money where you are encouraged to absolutely rag high performance rear wheel drive cars for literally hours on end and taught by highly competent instructors, including Gravett himself, how to drive such cars very quickly and safely. Brilliant fun whilst learning.

Such courses aren’t cheap but what cost safety?

 

[Manders Mustang]

Having recently done a solid skid up the a38, can confirm that if you're doing driver training, ask if they train you with TC ON (usually they whip it off/have locked diffs etc), and in wet conditions, because likely you'll get stung in a singularity of these, or both, and neither are any benefit to helping you control a skid....

 

[CaptainSensible]

The best driving course, IMO, is the Driver Encoded Knowledge course run by Rob Gravett and the Ultimate Car Control company. A day spent here is well worth the money where you are encouraged to absolutely rag high performance rear wheel drive cars for literally hours on end and taught by highly competent instructors, including Gravett himself, how to drive such cars very quickly and safely. Brilliant fun whilst learning.

Such courses aren’t cheap but what cost safety?

How much did this cost? Can't see prices on their website.

 

[couragebest88]

If the stang has taught me anything, it’s that there is a time & a place to drive it like ya stole it

I agree. My previous car was an S5 which was point and shoot. Ultimately it was a bit boring and I didn’t feel like I was improving as a driver at all during my ownership of it - everything was too easy. With the GT I feel I have to choose my moments and pay full attention, it certainly commands respect.

Fair play OP, experiences like this are always a good lesson.

 

[Garvin]

How much did this cost? Can't see prices on their website.

It was some years ago now and I can’t remember precisely but it was, IIRC, around a grand or so for the day. Might have changed - best to ring them and ask. The great thing is you get to rag the rear end off all their cars, not your own.

They also told me that the car tyres last for a week or two only before becoming slicks and having to be changed. I can well believe it and is a good indicator of a) how hard you get to drive the cars (getting sideways is not a problem); and b) the fun to be had (again, getting sideways is not a problem).

 

[hinch]

It was some years ago now and I can’t remember precisely but it was, IIRC, around a grand or so for the day. Might have changed - best to ring them and ask. The great thing is you get to rag the rear end off all their cars, not your own.

They also told me that the car tyres last for a week or two only before becoming slicks and having to be changed. I can well believe it and is a good indicator of a) how hard you get to drive the cars (getting sideways is not a problem); and b) the fun to be had (again, getting sideways is not a problem).

tbh i can't recommend driving courses like this enough to people when they jump into big powerful rear wheelers with somewhat questionable tc. while i've never been on one myself i did have as many fields + and old airfield to mess around on so i made my mistakes in private on safe space not public road if i hadn't I'd probably be a lot more cautious of pretty much every car i've ever owned.
If you've never had the opportunity to push a car to its limits or drive a stupid powerful car in shitty conditions then I'd seriously recommend you be trying to arrange something even if its just a simple skid pan.

 

[Garvin]

tbh i can't recommend driving courses like this enough to people when they jump into big powerful rear wheelers with somewhat questionable tc. while i've never been on one myself i did have as many fields + and old airfield to mess around on so i made my mistakes in private on safe space not public road if i hadn't I'd probably be a lot more cautious of pretty much every car i've ever owned.
If you've never had the opportunity to push a car to its limits or drive a stupid powerful car in shitty conditions then I'd seriously recommend you be trying to arrange something even if its just a simple skid pan.

I, too, had plenty of opportunity in my early driving career to make mistakes in a safe environment and was quite adept at applying a bit of ‘oppo’ - I had a couple of HB Vivas back then which were extremely tail happy even though they were low powered (until I highly modified the second one!).

Once I had access to powerful rear wheel drive cars I decided to undergo some proper training by people who really could drive. It opened my eyes and taught me a huge amount more about driving technique and car control and I would recommend anyone to do it. Skid pans can help your ability to correct/control skids but good driver training gives you the skills to drive very quickly without getting into a skid in the first place.

Yes, you can hang the back end out on these courses and have a lot of fun doing so but you ultimately end up being able to drive faster but safer and avoiding the need for any ‘oppo’. Let’s face it, oversteer may be exciting but it really isn’t safe on public roads!

 

[GR11M]

I luckily had that realisation early on as I picked mine up in March, I then took a roundabout sideways on a dual carriageway at 20mph in standard mode. I learnt that day the A. The Pirelli's are absolutely useless in the cold and wet and B. I'd have to learn how and when to drive more spiritedly.

We're lucky we discovered this with our cars and health still intact, many haven't.

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