My equipment: Photo on Flickr
Conditions: 7:45am, overcast, light rain, approx. 5 degrees C.
Location: Intersection of Patricia Bay Highway and Beacon Avenue in Sidney
From a standing start, I aggressively accelerated southbound when the traffic light turned green, without wheelspin. I can't state with certainty at what RPM I shifted into second gear, but it was sufficiently elevated that the engine was somewhat up its power band. On letting out the clutch and applying throttle, the wheels spun and the tail immediately started going to the right. I don't believe I had exceeded the actual speed limit yet (still in first gear), although I can't state that with certainty, as I wasn't watching the instruments.
I responded automatically and backed off the throttle, so that the rear tires could regain their grip, BUT THEY DIDN'T. Steering into the slide, the front tires behaved, because they had not broken traction yet, but the rears kept sliding.
At this point the car was rotating slowly until it was going down the highway backwards. This is an important moment, because it is your second chance to regain traction while the wheels are lined up with the direction of travel, albeit in reverse.
Once again, the tires DID NOT GRIP. At this point I realized I was a just passenger, and waited for the crunch.
The key point here is: Once sliding, these specialty tires KEEP SLIDING.
So, let's see what Michelin says about them. From TireRack:
quote:The Pilot Sport PS2 is a Max Performance Summer tire member of the Michelin Pilot family of low profile, high-speed tires. Initially developed for Original Equipment (O.E.) on some of the world's most prestigious sports cars and performance sedans, the Pilot Sport PS2 combines world-class dry road traction, handling and cornering. Some of the first Pilot Sport PS2 O.E. fitments included the BMW Alpina Z8, McLaren SLR and Porsche GT2 & GT3 models. The Pilot Sport PS2 is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.
(My italics.)
So given that I want to DRIVE this car, wouldn't I rather have tires that offer more well-rounded performance characteristics? Good idea; let's do a TireRack.com search for a set of tires in the required sizes, 235/40/17 and 335/35/17. Search results, limited ONLY BY TIRE SIZE: results
Hmmm, this is the only tire available in those sizes as a matched set. (I don't think I need to bother going into the problem of finding appropriate 15-inch tires in the original sizes for this audience.)
Anyway, the end result is that I end up driving on tires inappropriate to the conditions, have a lapse in judgment, and crash my car.
Now, some general observations.
This is my second Pantera; I bought the first one brand new from the dealer in 1974, with its original 15x7 and 15x8 Campagnolos and Goodyear Arrivas. That car was my daily driver, rain or shine, summer or winter. I lived in Edmonton at the time, and visited my parents in Penticton for Christmas. By driving. Over the Rogers Pass. In my Pantera.
I remember the trip back to Edmonton for one thing in particular; I made the 600 miles in about eleven hours, which was about what we could manage in the summer in good conditions (we didn't have all the traffic then). It was snowing in the Rockies, and I drifted and powered my way all through the Rogers Pass on those Arrivas, which were nearing the end of their useful life. It was an absolute blast, and I could trust that car even between the cliffs up and down on either side of the road. That Pantera was a well-rounded car that I could trust completely.
I have never trusted my second Pantera the same way. What modifications have been made to it did not maintain a well-rounded personality. It has been lowered; it has had the rubber suspension bushings replaced with poly; it has a bigger rear sway bar; it has WAY more horsepower. Comparing the two cars, I would have to say that Ford and DeTomaso got it right, and the changes detract from the car. Sufficiently so that I feel betrayed by it.
Ah, but I'm getting old, and no longer have the quick reactions I did in 1975, right? That must be it, right?
Nope. I just visited my mother again in Penticton at the end of this January, this time traversing the Hope-Princeton highway in the snow. Again, I had an absolute blast, drifting and powering my way past every car I encountered on the road. Here's a picture I took of the conditions: Allison Pass
But this trip I didn't do in the Pantera; I did it in my four-door five-speed 1992 Acura Integra, which, like my first Pantera, I can completely trust.
Oh yes, the car; how is it? I'm not sure yet. It hit the highway divider while nearly parallel to it with the right front corner, breaking the wheel. It rebounded sufficiently that the side of the car did not touch the barrier; next point of contact was the back edge of the right rear wheel; breaking the suspension and forcing the wheel up into the wheel well. That was the last contact; the car then slid to a stop. The barrier was displaced sideways by about 15 inches for a bit more than the length of the car, so it absorbed considerable energy that the car did not have to.
The ZF appears to be intact, so the force must have been absorbed before the halfshaft bottomed. There is no damage to the left side; both doors are untouched and work; hood is untouched and closes normally; roof is untouched; rear deck lid is untouched. Underside of right front wheel well below park light is stove in, but light is not broken (none are). The main frame rails under the center of the car appear to be dead straight by sighting along them.
The problem is the right rear area. When it was forced up, the tire buckled the area just below and behind the gill. The cover piece mating with the engine cover is displaced up and left, which doesn't look good. Also, while the deck lid is untouched, it mismatches with the fenders at the rear on closing by 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. This indicates that although the rear panel appears untouched, it has been displaced to the left by that amount. And finally, the right rear fender has three buckles along its top edge. My guess is that that area was rotated a couple of degrees counterclockwise around the right main frame rail.
Is it fixable? For sure, yes, back to better-than-new by the guys who do full bare-metal Pantera restorations. It's not that bad. Within the constraints of an insurance claim, here in Victoria? Watch this space...