Lost control on the raining day!

[tanks]

Hi Guys, Just wanted to share an unfortunate experience incident happened today... As I was driving back to my office today... My UDM suddenly spin out of control and hit the highway's divided! Damn! I was warned by my mechanic few weeks back when I do oil changed. He told me to be careful while driving on the wet surface, there has been few insurance claims related to this incident. While rushing back to office today, I obviously didn't put much attention to he words... Bang! I though It'll be a big hit. Thank God, it was only my front bumper and luckily no other cars involved... Scarely . So, for those who drives E46, pls be careful while driving on the wet surface. The wide tyres on our car is only good on dry road condition.... Going to AB tomorrow, wonder that how long would it take to get it back now??

 

[kahl]

yeah.... The mixed tyres IS ONLY good for the dry road conditions. the rear end of the car tends to hydroplane out of its tracks. This causes lost of traction spinning the tail end of the car out of control. Be CAREFUL!

 

[KL2DC]

wait...the car spun out in a straight line or in a corner?

Did the DSC kick in?

 

[tanks]

It was a big corner before enter the toll.... hit the steel divided on my right... spun around and face the incoming cars... quickly put on double signal and flash the headlamp...

 

[kahl]

DSC was not on ah? so you lost the rear end of the car....? big corner before entering toll? where's this area? i do know if rain... always... at the USJ exit KLIA-SUBANG bound on ELITE h/way definite to have a vehicle in the ditch... either at the left corner or the immediate right corner after it... heh... seen quite a number of accidents there when the road conditions are bad. sorry about yr car bro...

 

[MRsamdol]

DSC is not a miracle performing gadget on the car guys..

Tanks sorry to hear about your acciddent will watch out when it rains.

 

[tanks]

Didn't nocite whether it is on or not oh.... If you know the 40 cents Bukit Raja toll to meru and port klang (or to shupadu highway), a big right curve before the toll. Skip and bring the rear end of the car faces toll, right front bumper hit the steel divided and stop at the middle of the road. Got a better picture....

 

[tanks]

Thanks guys! I'm glad that didn't hurt any1 and the car still can drive... At the time of the accident I thought it's going to be really bad. Might have to call the toll free number on the windscreen... But, turn out my UDM is stronger than I thought. Will be caution when it rains...

 

[KL2DC]

DSC would've helped...I've played around with it, it would've provided a small safety net in either the entry or the exit. I agree it doesn't repel the law of physics and in some extreme cases when DSC kicks in, it might also induce some fishtailing or oversteer (when DSC tries to corrent understeer, it starts playing with the brakes and in some high-speed mid-corner situations, it can be rather disconcerting).

All I'm saying that its hard for the car to snap-spin/oversteer like that especially if you take into consideration a staggered setup, 50:50 weight distrubution and the curb weight of the car. Actually, if the slip coefficient of the surface is equal, a staggered setup is likely to induce understeer...

Either way it looks like maybe a) you entered the curve a little too fast, b) there was some oil run off in the bend or c) the condition of your tires was not optimal. Also you might want to do some high performance courses to better understand your car etc.

GL with the repairs...and drive carefully! Remember your safety and the safety of other motorist come first.

 

[wglee]

tanks, your E46 is pre-facelift Malaysian-spec or facelift Malaysian-spec? Pre-facelift Malaysian-spec E46 318i, 328i and 325i as well as early facelifted Malaysian-spec E46 318i have no DSC. Most facelifted Malaysian-spec E46 318i and all facelifted Malaysian-spec E46 325i have DSC.

However, all E46 Malaysian-spec cars have ASC+T which is nowhere as effective as DSC.

If fitted, DSC is always by default switched on. DSC is only switched off if you take the conscious step of actually switching it off by depressing the DSC button for a few seconds, in which event a warning light would appear on your instrument panel.

 

[KL2DC]

wglee, you are correct, sir.

ASC+T is just traction control. Its to aid traction, to get you off the line in slippery conditions, usually straight line. DSC is a stability control program (ASC+T comes under DSC) and monitors yaw, wheel slip, turn angles etc to correct oversteer and understeer through braking and throttle modulation. When you activate ASC+T on its own, it actually allows more wheel slip than full on DSC so that the rear tires can bite into the loose surface (snow, gravel, mud etc).

 

[ratchet]

Thanks guys! I'm glad that didn't hurt any1 and the car still can drive... At the time of the accident I thought it's going to be really bad. Might have to call the toll free number on the windscreen... But, turn out my UDM is stronger than I thought. Will be caution when it rains...

Smacked my UDM against a divider before...and like you, it wasn't as bad as I judged from the impact. Pretty tough car.

Just out of curiosity Tanks, how fast did you take the curve?

 

[Zoggee]

at wat speed la....you are a lucky to survive the crash.

 

[KL2DC]

at wat speed la....you are a lucky to survive the crash.

Don't be too hard on tanks, he was just trying hard to imitate you....

 

[okow]

Although I feel for your loss and damage to your ride, I do agree with wglee and KL2DC. Cars just dont spin out on their own under "controlled" circumstances, more so your E46.
Tyre wear, entry speed, road condition (could have been off camber) water from rain, aquaplaning etc...one or all could have contributed to your incident.
Was it raining heavily? Did it just start raining or was it raining for quite sometime....reason being....Take note: the road surface is ALWAYS more slippery when it just starts to rain. Thats when all the oil and grub on the surface for the last few days start to flow....

 

[Zoggee]

Don't be too hard on tanks, he was just trying hard to imitate you....

nola..ppls always think they are in safe hands with all those electronics like ASC,TCS and Airbag No doubt they are built to safe life....I meant well la.

Tanks,

go register for the HPC events. You'll be surprise what they can teach you.

I meant well ah....nothing seriuos ah???

 

[KL2DC]

go register for the HPC events. You'll be surprise what they can teach you.

I meant well ah....nothing seriuos ah???

I agree! ... DSC/ASC is there only as a safety net. Its not a performance enhancer. The best safety feature/performance enhancer of a car sits behind the steering wheel (i.e. you, the driver). A HPDE event will teach you plenty about car control and dynamics and is money well spent. At the very least you should go out on an empty parking lot and feel the threshold of DSC and even ABS...

Don't get us wrong, we're not here to make you feel bad, we only want to offer constructive advice and support. Ultimately, we want you to be as safe as you can be, the next time you're out in your UDM. That is all...

 

[wglee]

wglee, you are correct, sir.

ASC+T is just traction control. Its to aid traction, to get you off the line in slippery conditions, usually straight line. DSC is a stability control program (ASC+T comes under DSC) and monitors yaw, wheel slip, turn angles etc to correct oversteer and understeer through braking and throttle modulation. When you activate ASC+T on its own, it actually allows more wheel slip than full on DSC so that the rear tires can bite into the loose surface (snow, gravel, mud etc).

BMW literature seems to suggest that ASC+T can control power-on oversteer. I discovered that too one day, but that's another story...

BTW, one of my ex-colleagues attended Auto Bavaria's Advanced Driving Course in 2000 (what a shame that these courses are no longer available) and the cars used for the course were South African E46 328is with DSC. My ex-colleague told me AB's people poured oil, water and soapy stuff on the road surface, made him charge at the stuff with the DSC-equipped South African 328i, and the car resolutely refused to understeer, oversteer, spin or skid! Sounds impressive, but judging by your experience, tanks, the law of physics still cannot be overcome, I guess.

 

[Zoggee]

Tanks,

Look at KL2DC avatar...how he hold the steering. 3 and 9 o'clock position.

and the HPC evnts is a charity event...plus it's cheap.

If you are to register for a Defensive driving else...it'll cost a bomb!!!!!!! at at least RM1K locally...

And the HPC ....it's below RM200. Its not a racing course...

 

[Zoggee]

Wglee...

dun get me wrong...its the drivers attitude. It's not the car.