M25 VX220? totalled

[wibble]

I picked up my new Porsche 944 Turbo today and drove at a very pedestrian 70mph anti-clockwide from M25 (A12 junction) to M4 in mostly wet spray early afternoon today.

I noticed a VX200 going pretty rapid in the outside lane with a personalised plate. About 20 mins onwards I hit traffic between M1 and M40. Lots of stones covering the lanes and wreckage all over the place. On the outside lane was a 'totalled' Lotus, but more likely a VX220 (the same car I saw - heaven knows?) with no front end or rear end with collapsed suspension. It was difficult to tell what car it was with so much damage and I could not see the reg. either - anyone see it today?

It did bring home the dangers of wet, horsepower, inexperience and driving like a loon in poor conditions. I did get home safe and the car is locked in its garage, but can't wait to drive tomorrow. I still have the words of the seller advising me to be careful in the wet with the turbo lag echoing through my mind..... However, I am now a proud owner of a Porsche 944 turbo and haven't stopped smiling since.

 

[Guest]

Congrats on getting your new porsche

You done the sensible thing, dont get me wrong, when the conditions are good I like to put the boot down but when its wet/ice etc. I drive like a granny in a micra

Regards

John Daly

 

[carlmthompson]

I would echo John's thoughts - mines standard, and I've span the wheels in the wet on the motorway before (in 5th at 75!)

 

[Diver944]

Nice to hear you are safely home Wibble and congrats on the purchase. We'll be expecting some pics once you've cleaned her up again.

What am I thinking, I bet he can't read this today as he is already outside washing his new toy

 

[Fen]

VX220's have a bit of a reputation for very sudden breakaway in standing water, even when being driven sensibly.

Congrats on the car - you need to post details of course.

 

[mik_ok]

And they also have a reputation for extremely enthusiastic ABS in wet conditions - which cuts in very early and leaves you with limited braking.

Forgot to say - congrats on the car. 100% correct to be circumspect in the wet (I never had wheelspin in 5th in the S2, but wheelspin in 3rd in the upper rev range was certainly possible). Once you get more used to it however, a combination of wet and the "right corner" can be much fun. [8D]

 

[Alex Postan]

ORIGINAL: Fen

VX220's have a bit of a reputation for very sudden breakaway in standing water, even when being driven sensibly.

Congrats on the car - you need to post details of course.

I had two VXs - the first was a normally aspirated 220 and the second was the turbo. I drove them fairly quickly but failed to crash either of them. I thought that they were utterly fantastic cars and that the turbo was an exceptionally fast and safe piece of kit. I miss it.
Aquaplaning in the wet has more to do with the tyres fitted and depth of tread than the design of the car......[8|]

 

[Fen]

I have come close to buying one on more than one occasion and I spent a lot of time reading posts on the main forum for the model, where I read of several people who had what they seemed to find inexplicable loss of control - usually they were long-term owners also. Obviously most people don't crash them, and what I read didn't put me off buying one - I doubt very much that circustances will allow, but I might well buy a VXR version in the future.

 

[Ken993T]

I have a VXR 220, great car. You do have to be careful, when the turbo kicks in, if it's wet it is very easy for the back end to step out, I found that recently at a wet track day at silverstone. Also the standard suspension means that if the back does step out it's very difficult to catch, this can be sorted out with an upgrade to Nitrons. As if that's not enough, the standard tyres on the VXR are Ao48's, very little grip when they are cold and very little tread depth so they do acquaplane, the answer is two sets of tyres.

I have some great track days in the VX, it's almost as much fun as my GT3 RS, I can can catch slower GT3's, even some RS's. It's alot cheaper to run than a Porsche. Overall a very under rated car.

Ken

 

[sawood12]

Welcome to the 944 turbo and yes, you do have to watch out for the lag in slippery conditions as it can catch you out. I've found that once you get used to the car and can anticipate when the turbo kicks in you can just lift off the accellarator a tad as the boost is building and take the sting out of the boost kick. This is a technique I employ all the time in slippery conditions. Also when overtaking I now pull out and straighten up before hitting the throttle as my 'moment' happened when pulling out for an overtake as the boost was kicking in and I suddenly found myself very sideways. I did manage to recover the situation with a few fishtales and kept my foot in to complete the overtake, but I consider myself lucky. I'm sure I would have been in the nearest ditch if I was in a VX220 turbo!

My impression of Elises (and therefore VX220's) after seeing many Elises trashed at the side of the road as soon as conditions get interesting is that as superb cars as they are their low polar moment of inertia combined with their low weight means when they break away they do so very quickly, and unless you are anticipating the breakaway and are ready to catch it and have exemplory driving skills you don't stand a chance in hell of recovery. You'll be pleased to know that in the 944 it is the opposite, in that although it has near-perfect 50/50 weight distribution because the weight is distributed at the ends of the car and not in the middle it has a high polar moment of inertia which means you get a much slower and progressive breakaway which gives you a good chance of recovery - uless of course you are driving like a complete and utter maniac.

Anyway, happy and safe driving!!

 

[wibble]

Thanks for all your replies.

I was considering a Elise, VX220 or Caterham over a year ago. I have read how the VX220 and Elise can be tricky in certain conditions and probably true for most high performance cars (and bikes). Probably best left to the track in a controlled environment - even 'the Stig' has problems [:-], but then that's the attraction of driving these cars for most of us anyway.

As soon as I get a chance I will post some pics of my car.