Hydroplaned and bumped a guardrail :(

[vibe5264]

I was going around a wet corner yesterday (the speed limit is 25, and I was going 15!) and all of a sudden there was a complete loss of traction. My car turns completely sideways and I'm going towards the guardrail, but I counter steer as fast as I can and straighten it out. I get it perfectly straight again but as soon as the tires find dry pavement and they catch again, the whole car kinda shudders a tiny bit to the right and the rear bumper/body catches the guardrail. Damage isn't too bad, getting an estimate on getting it fixed tomorrow.PIC: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/99882/...M.jpg

[jake75]

I never heard of hydroplaning at 15 mph but what do I know. I wonder if stability control would have handled that.

[09vGT]

Sorry to see that! Glad it wasn't something more serious! A new front bumper for me cost $800.00. Hopefully yours won't cost as much!I assume stability control would've HELPED. I know on gravel when I play around and try to fish tail it'll whip me back into spot.

[Persephone]

Oh my gosh, that's terrible! I'm sorry this happened to you.

[star_deceiver]

Well that sucks!And I guess that after your estimate, you're going tire shopping!

[keithvibe]

sounds more like black ice than hydroplaning.

[orange_crush]

ouch! bummer but glad it wasn't more serious.

[vibe5264]

I suspect it was oil coming out of the road after a good rain. :But, it's gonna be $400. Not too bad, but not amazing either.

[06pvibe]

Sorry to hear about this. It's always a white-knuckle, heart-stopping feeling when the car slidesuncontrollably.Quote, originally posted by jake75 »I never heard of hydroplaning at 15 mph but what do I know. I wonder if stability control would have handled that.Oh yeah. I once did a 270 @ 10-15mph while turning once in a rain storm. Luckily I didn't hit anything but man was that scary. Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Well that sucks!And I guess that after your estimate, you're going tire shopping!I would suspect tires too. Good quality tires by todays standards would not let you do this on wet roads... now icy roads is a different story.Look into a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS's for replacements. Not performance tires, really, but great DD's. I know mine would have handled that situation differently. They stick like glue!!

[Kincaid]

Sorry to hear this! Good thing no injuries and damage is minor. Double check the air pressure - I once was driving a Ford Escort wagon and didn't realize I had a low tire (like 15 lbs of air) and came around a pretty low speed corner and the rear end broke loose.

[ehoff121]

...and the tail light is still intact!Wow.

[TONY TAT2]

The rain will lay on top of the acumalated oil,grease etc on the road causen loss of traction. I drive by a asphalt plant twice a day,thay usually spray kerosean/diesel fuel in the beds of the dump trucks to keep the asphalt from sticking,driven on that is kinda hairy at times.So it could of been somethen on the road.

[vibenvy]

Ouch ! Sorry to hear about the damage, but at least it wasn't any worse and you, or anyone else, were not hurt.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »sounds more like black ice than hydroplaning.I agree. Glad you weren't hurt.

[ramenboy...]

Ouch! But $400 is not bad at all. Hope the vibe heals up quick

[vibe5264]

Dropping it off thursday, I'll have it back saturday! good as new.

[lowincash]

Glad you're getting it fixed so quickly. Is insurance covering it?Like 10 years ago, my friend was driving in the school underground parking lot and he was going no more than 10 miles an hour, he went over a puddle of water as he was making a turn and he slid and hit the concrete pole. So yeah, even driving slowly can still spin out =/

[vibe5264]

Yeah, everything's taken care of. No biggie.I never thought it was possible to slide going so slowly. I avoided the worst of the damage by counter-steering, though.I got lucky it was just that tiny spot.