This is topic GT 500 at the track...oops! PICS in forum General Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by Hozr (Member # 6196) on :
 
GT500 at T-hill, reverse course, turn 9.


















 

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Posted by asskickn88 (Member # 4957) on :
 



I think this pic explains it all. I'll bet his walker got stuck under the brake pedal and he lost it.

[ October 14, 2007, 06:45 PM: Message edited by: asskickn88 ]
 

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Posted by bottled95GT?? (Member # 1772) on :
 
Well heres your problem....



*edit* damn u azzkickin, beat me too b4 i could save and upload my picture

[ October 14, 2007, 06:52 PM: Message edited by: bottled95GT?? ]
 

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Posted by six 5.0 (Member # 3153) on :
 
You can buff that out....
 

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Posted by Stevo (Member # 972) on :
 
My uncle has one in the same color combo! I know this wasn't his... Sucks for that guy!
 

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Posted by 94gt (Member # 3060) on :
 
heck, a new front clip and cut the top off... BAM! you get a convert
 

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Posted by asskickn88 (Member # 4957) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by 94gt:
heck, a new front clip and cut the top off... BAM! you get a convert

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No, rip the drive train out and throw it in a notch. My personal preference would be a 93 Cobra or a clone with that motor and trans.
 

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Posted by 04Z06 (Member # 2309) on :
 
Should have Zanoed it first. Maybe it will buff out though.

E
 

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Posted by SF Coupe (Member # 1810) on :
 
Wow, sucks for that guy. Hope he is OK. I was there on Saturday he was in the beginners group. Turn 9 going backwards is very tricky. It's blind, over the top of a hill, with zero run off area. The dirt was also wet which likes to grab tires going sideways. 500hp in a 2 ton car is not a good combo for road course racing.
 

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Posted by 93redcobra (Member # 1344) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by 04Z06:
Should have Zanoed it first. Maybe it will buff out though.

E

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Posted by Hozr (Member # 6196) on :
 
There was discussion of a repurchase from insurance and a swap to a 65 stang...
 

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Posted by iceman302 (Member # 7180) on :
 
Good thing he taped off the headlights and front end. He could've got a rock chip...
 

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Posted by 1Sicgt (Member # 714) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by iceman302:
Good thing he taped off the headlights and front end. He could've got a rock chip...

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quote:

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Originally posted by iceman302:
Good thing he taped off the headlights and front end. He could've got a rock chip...

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quote:

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Originally posted by venomous99:
so since the car was driven on a road course does that mean the repairs are 100% the owners responsibility?

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I talked to my insurance guy before doing an Open Track Day with a club and he told me as long as it's not a race or timed event, I would be covered. I have personally seen a few cars wiped out at OTDs and I have had my car sprayed with debris. That's exactly why I picked up a Fox Body to go smash around the track. Too many yahoos and guys driving over their heads. I stopped running with one group, because I don't believe in "Self Teching Your Car".

Too bad about that GT500.
 

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Posted by TAHOE GT (Member # 6080) on :
 
So, the handicap placard isn't mine, but was under the seat. I put it in there for y'all to have something to make fun of. Seriously, though, on stock tires the Shelby was a handful if I got into the throttle, too much. Other than that it was a dream to drive. It really doesn't handle as poorly as it should. (Skeptics can begin flaming, here.) (If you haven't driven one, don't speak.) My experience in turn nine is only related to the fact that I could pick up so much speed, not because there was too much power. I spun because I didn't brake going uphill into nine, as I had been the entire rest of my time on the track. (Brain fart, I guess.) I couldn't shed enough speed to make the corner after the crest of nine, so the tail came around, the left tires debeaded and the wheels bit into the dirt.
Yes, it was the cool-down lap, but (bonehead me) I missed the flag 'cuz I was passing someone on the straight and didn't look at the flagman.
I'm not defending my actions, here. I thought you'd like to know what happened, since some have been writing about the accident. I may even post-up the in-car video I have.

For the flamers and haters, there are only two people that have any clue as to what happened - I'm one. The flagman in turn nine is the other (unless he was asleep.)

Thanks for the condolences, I'm OK, 'cuz the Shelby's built Ford-Tough. (Both doors still open and close, BTW.)

IF you are the a$$h@1e that stole the cobra from my front grill (I doubt it was a Mustang-owner, but I wanted to put it out into cyber-space) while I was in the infield medical center, I hope you window your engine block someday soon.






 

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Posted by Beasty5.0 (Member # 2935) on :
 
Good to see you made it out without any major injuries, because by the looks of the car, it seems that it could have been worse.

By the way, can I have dips on the engine and tranny
 

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Posted by bottled95GT?? (Member # 1772) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Beasty5.0:
Good to see you made it out without any major injuries, because by the looks of the car, it seems that it could have been worse.

By the way, can I have dips on the engine and tranny

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HELL NAW...i got cash in hand
 

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Posted by TAHOE GT (Member # 6080) on :
 

My apologies for the poor quality video, but you get the idea.

[ October 19, 2007, 12:53 AM: Message edited by: TAHOE GT ]
 

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Posted by hidnn.o.s. (Member # 1219) on :
 
Smooth run.......
 

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Posted by WILDTHANG (Member # 4441) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by bottled95GT??:

quote:

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Originally posted by Beasty5.0:
Good to see you made it out without any major injuries, because by the looks of the car, it seems that it could have been worse.

By the way, can I have dips on the engine and tranny

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HELL NAW...i got cash in hand

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Greg too bad about your car, but it's good to see you're OK. Turn 9 is a buttclitching turn going into it normally, I can only imagine hitting it in reverse format. I notice your airbags didn't go off, did you have your fuse pulled? I know you rolled, but the car had to have had a large jolt on the first hit.
 

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Posted by WILDTHANG (Member # 4441) on :
 
Somebody else in OK had a track mishap.





[ October 19, 2007, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: WILDTHANG ]
 

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Posted by TAHOE GT (Member # 6080) on :
 
[quote0I notice your airbags didn't go off, did you have your fuse pulled? I know you rolled, but the car had to have had a large jolt on the first hit. [/QUOTE]

It was rather amazing how "light" the impact forces were. I think that is mostly because it rolled easily. I did get some neck-strain from that first part of the rollover where my helmet leaves the camera frame, but after that you can see I tried to "turtle" my head down. When the car comes back down on it's wheels, you can see there is a big jolt. That was a bit hard on my back. Other than that, I'm OK physically. I had a CG-Lock on the belt, so my butt stayed planted in the seat.

I'll tell you though, I sure as hell didn't expect to roll over. I expected to slide off-track and maybe have some minor plastic damage.

I did not have my airbag fuse pulled. I'm glad they didn't deploy, though. I guess if I'd come down hard on a door the side bags would have deployed.
 

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Posted by Hozr (Member # 6196) on :
 
Airbags aren't designed to deploy in a rollover. The impact needs to be pretty much head on or a direct side hit for the sensors to activate. In any other type of collision the airbags do more harm than good. Airbags without seat belts can be fatal.

Oh, and airbags are meant to deflate immediately after inflating. They DON'T pop.
 

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Posted by iceman302 (Member # 7180) on :
 
That had to be one of those "Did that really just happen?" moments.
 

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Posted by STANGUP (Member # 7666) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by TAHOE GT:
So, the handicap placard isn't mine, but was under the seat. I put it in there for y'all to have something to make fun of. Seriously, though, on stock tires the Shelby was a handful if I got into the throttle, too much. Other than that it was a dream to drive. It really doesn't handle as poorly as it should. (Skeptics can begin flaming, here.) (If you haven't driven one, don't speak.) My experience in turn nine is only related to the fact that I could pick up so much speed, not because there was too much power. I spun because I didn't brake going uphill into nine, as I had been the entire rest of my time on the track. (Brain fart, I guess.) I couldn't shed enough speed to make the corner after the crest of nine, so the tail came around, the left tires debeaded and the wheels bit into the dirt.
Yes, it was the cool-down lap, but (bonehead me) I missed the flag 'cuz I was passing someone on the straight and didn't look at the flagman.
I'm not defending my actions, here. I thought you'd like to know what happened, since some have been writing about the accident. I may even post-up the in-car video I have.

For the flamers and haters, there are only two people that have any clue as to what happened - I'm one. The flagman in turn nine is the other (unless he was asleep.)

Thanks for the condolences, I'm OK, 'cuz the Shelby's built Ford-Tough. (Both doors still open and close, BTW.)

IF you are the a$$h@1e that stole the cobra from my front grill (I doubt it was a Mustang-owner, but I wanted to put it out into cyber-space) while I was in the infield medical center, I hope you window your engine block someday soon.

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hey you still get 1000 kool points in my book just for being so calm afterwards, because had i wrecked my pos daily driver id have said 100 curse words while still rolling let alone a GT 500. glad to see you wernt harmed and even came to share the true story without letting the hating or jokes get to you.
 

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Posted by 1Sicgt (Member # 714) on :
 
Ya Thunderhill is bad after the rain. I know from our track dates we have seen many rollovers after rain since the run off is just mud then. Its a sure thing to flip. The only thing you could have done to keep that from happening is when you realized you had too much speed up the hill would have been not to turn, and force your way straight into the mud. A simple sink and plow , versues the roll. But they don't teach that until the later classes.

Good thing is that it happened with NASA, and since its a driving school, not a race date, you should be able to get everything covered.

Glad to see you are ok, and that you are suprisingly cool with it. Just get another one, and don't let one bad day ruin the whole OT experience. Get out there and track some more.
 

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Posted by dynoguy (Member # 6457) on :
 
"Thanks for the condolences, I'm OK, 'cuz the Shelby's built Ford-Tough. (Both doors still open and close, BTW.)"

I rolled up on the quad and ask the safety guy if the driver is ok. He says, "thats him right there."

As if on cue he reaches in the car and puts the handicap sign on the mirror!!!

That car must be tough.

He was very calm. Sorry about your car Tahoe but man we enjoyed the heck out of your blower whine coming off turn 1 all weekend. You looked pretty good out there.
 

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Posted by Pro71bird (Member # 7844) on :
 
First of all.....good to see your not hurt. Second....that sucks! Good luck to you.


 

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Posted by Ogi (Member # 7972) on :
 
Hello,

My name is Ogi and I was at Thunderhill that weekend. I was driving in group 3 so we never saw each other on the track. I'm really glad I found this posting because the impression we were given of what happened contradicts very heavily with what the video shows.

I don't think it's the fault of the person giving us the run down of what happened, I think someone before him started making some messed up accusations.

Basically it was assumed that since you were passing a car at start finish and missed the checkered flag, that you were "racing" with someone and had a case of "red mist" (track version of road rage). This seemed fishy to me since your car has much more power than everyone else's and leading into turn 9, is a long uphill straight (close enough to a straight) so I couldn't imagine you struggling to get around someone, but who knows. Glad I managed to find this tread through google and get a better idea of what happened.

I hope you don't give up on going to the track altogether, however hopefully next time you will consider taking a piece of machinery that doesn't have 500 hp. I normally track a BMW M3, however last weekend I was tracking a bone stock 328i (hell, it even had an auto gearbox). There is still a lot to be learned.

With you putting up the video and posting here shows a lot about your character. Kudos to you sir, keep out there, and if you notice your mind is starting to wander, take a trip through pit lane to clear it up as best you can.

Stay safe.
Ogi
 

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Posted by TAHOE GT (Member # 6080) on :
 
Thanks for posting Ogi. I hadn't heard that I was "racing" someone. Very interesting. The las car that I passed was that white Miata, and there was an instructor in the car. He never said that he saw the incident, only that I was carrying too much speed up the hill to make Turn 9. The vid also shows no one in front of me to be "racing" with. Oh, well. I s'pose that some need to feel important and pretend to "know what happened." It's probably the same person who stole the cobra from my front grill.
 

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Posted by hidnn.o.s. (Member # 1219) on :
 
Tahoe, you seem like a good guy, sorry for your trouble. One thing, we recently installed a Griggs coil over/LCA setup on a GT500. Car handles FAR better than it did before. If you get another 500 I'd highly suggest you toss on this setup. It's completely adjustable as well along the lines of ride height etc.
 

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Posted by Ogi (Member # 7972) on :
 
Tahoe,

It's obvious to me that you weren't racing anyone and goofed at the 2nd worst place to goof on the track (next to turn 8).

They may have told us that you were racing someone just to try and scare us group 3 guys into submission (some guys in group 3 do make some dangerous passes and let the ego do the driving for them).

Either way, glad I found this thread and got a much better perspective as to what really happened.

I hope you don't give up on going to the track, and although with the speed you were carrying I'm pretty sure it would have been impossible to make turn 9, hopefully you will realise how much more there is to learn out there.

As stated in the 1st post I made, you may want to consider taking more of a beater car out there. I had a blast in my BMW 328i (with an automatic) even though normally I go out there in a M3. I almost took my mom's honda civic sedan (non modded) just to learn about overcoming understeer and maximizing car control skills while manining a low enough of a speed that I wouldn't get in any trouble.

In the 328i I managed to learn how to recover from a potential spin (I almost lost it in turn 6 a few times), and I was getting a good grasp on how to set up passes properly (it's a little more difficult when you have less than 500 hp ).

I want to thank you with sharing the photos and video online once again, and try not to feel bad about what happened. Everyone makes mistakes, and all that was ruined in the end was a piece of machinery.

Ogi

[ October 24, 2007, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: Ogi ]
 

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Posted by Cody Frank (Member # 7993) on :
 
well heck mr. G, that looks like my old 5.0 now! So i'm taking it that's how i shouldn't drive my 96. sideways is permitted but not up side down. Sorry to hear bout your shelby, but i'm not too worried for you cause i know your gonna get something just as nice if not nicer. You always got an Ace up your sleve. Since day 1 i've known that. just a kid with a dream to own a mustang.
 

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Posted by 92stangLX (Member # 3252) on :
 
That sux. Always remember... cars can be replaced but people can't

So what are you gonna end up putting that engine and tranny in
 

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Posted by bigscoop50 (Member # 7618) on :
 
i got dibs on seats lol wuldnt mind having those in a fox! good 2 hear ur ok
 

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Posted by 04Z06 (Member # 2309) on :
 
From the video it looks like too late of apex coming over the hill put the car out of position and in order to keep the car on the track they had to turn a bit sharper than normal. This caused the rear to come around and when the rear hit the dirt it was all over.

Is this accurate? If this is the track I think it is, I have seen a few cars do the same thing. Well, without rolling though. That was just total bad luck. A fraction of a second later and the car probably would have went over.

E
 

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Posted by NorCalRydaz (Member # 3233) on :
 
damn that sucks!!! I didn't think it was gonna roll either but it did. must be a crazy turn.. track days look fun!
 

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