Bad weekend for cobras

mikiec · #1 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 08:32 AM

This past weekend the Arizona Cobras had 2 cobras sustain some form of damage.

1. Cobra hits some water/oil and spins off the side of the road and drops down 20 feet. Had the owner gone over at a faster speed the bottom is some 100 feet. He and his daughter OK. Side pipes destroyed some minor glass damage.

2. Grabbing second gear at the drag strip in Tucson....Red cobra into the wall. Street tires and possible cold track. Driver lifted when car started to spin. Car continued to spin itself into the wall. Damage to rear of car. Driver OK.

Let's remember these things can bite in an instant.

Drive safe..........................

Mike

Back in Black · #2 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 08:46 AM

Were they SB's or BB's?

ROSS WEAVER · #3 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 09:05 AM

Mikiec,

Glad everyones OK. Its amazing what kind of damage these cars can sustain and people still walk away. Says something about the quality of a so called "kit car".

Ross

mikief · #4 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 09:20 AM

Got a name on the red one down here?

coyled · #5 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 10:05 AM

Glad everyone is ok. Who went over the edge and where? scott

mikiec · #6 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 10:08 AM

Mikief...

It was a Phoenix car. jack has friends down in Tucson as he used to live there a few years ago. His friends suggested he take it to the track. He did.

Mike

Lyle · #7 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 12:47 PM

There's a message in the drag strip incident. Cobras will go sideways pretty easily and fast, but if the driver lifts off the gas at that moment, the rotation will continue. Gordon Levy told me about this at the driving school at PIR. I experienced the phenomenon twice that day. The first time, I was in a hard turn and made a SLIGHT lift before accellerating for the straight. Slight was enough to rotate beyond recovery. Luckily there were no obstacles in the way as I did a 360 spin to a stop. The second time it started to go out, I got on the gas smoothly and the rear end recovered nicely. Good thing - there were obstacles that second time. Weight transfer is the key. The only way to get the rear end to stick again is to get weight on it, which means accelleration. So, if the rear end of your Cobra starts to move out, you have three possibilities: 1) you have room to accellerate until the car straightens out; 2) you have room to spin out without hitting anything; or 3) you don't have room for either. Avoid door number 3. It may be counter-intuitive, but the rule is - if you're getting sideways, stay on the gas.

I'm glad no one got hurt.

Lyle

Okiesnake · #8 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 08:28 PM

Don't know all the details of the cobra on the track but learning how to heal and toe downshift while braking is especially important in a high powered car. If you don't blip the trottle just before letting out the clutch the engine is going to instantly and excessively brake the rear wheels and unbalance the car. You can get away with not bliping the trottle on braking downshifts on the street but on the track at speed - just before going into a turn - will get you in trouble.

Back in Black · #9 (**permalink**) 10-30-2002, 08:45 PM

If you have high HP to "contact mass" as many fast bikes do...you cannot just downshift without blipping the throttle...have experienced this on bikes such as my Yamaha V-Max...you can lose it fast if you attempt to brake too much with engine compression...have to find the middle road.

JoeLafives · #10 (**permalink**) 10-31-2002, 08:43 PM

I just finished the 4-day GP course at Bondurant. Well worth it. Wish I'd taken it before last Saturday. Lyle's comment is mostly correct BUT not always. If the oversteer spin is brake(or gear change) induced, i.e. on entry into a corner then stepping on it while turning into the spin is the way to go, BUT if the oversteer spin is throttle induced i.e. like when your LEAVING a turn then just adding more throttle is not going to solve the problem. A lift (just enough to stop the rears spinning) is the way to go. In either case if your past 90 degrees best to put both clutch and brake in and let it go round.