Doink

I need some help with my other half,

About a week before christmas I crashed my Scooby into a rather large tree and wrote it off. I walked away with no injurys to speak of and Since then the insurance has been sorted and I am just waiting for the cheque to arrive so i can buy another one,(depending on insurance quote).

No problem, so i thought however my girlfriend thinks that because i have not crashed any of my other cars that subaru imprezas are a very dangerous car and should be removed from the roads of britain.

I have been trying to re-assure her that this was a one off but i am running out of material. Is there anybody with any similar experiences who can offer some advice on this situation.

ethanrob

iTrader: (3)

Yeah,Dump her *** and buy another one

chiark

We had snow here the other day. The 'umble impreze could go places where no front and definitely no rear wheel drive car could go. My wife was a little bit nervous as a passenger, but said that she'd have been worse in any other car.

It's a practical car, incredibly safe, but needs respect.

Without wishing to sound patronising, how about suggest that you'll take an advanced driving course, or a session on a skid pan?

Did you lift off mid corner, or just run out of front end grip from going too fast? Either way, you've learnt something that you won't forget in a hurry...

Cheers, and good luck,
Nick.

RichWalk

Buy her a push bike or tell her to get a taxi!

On a more serious note, a guy I know in the Marines, bought an STi last year after he split from his lass- got himself a new girlfriend & promptly rolled his scooby- his current lass ended up loosing her hand. He being a total gent then dumpted her.... so your misses could have a valid point, mind you she was lucky!

john_s

iTrader: (1)

Can you not use the fact that you walked away as a testament to how safe scoobs are? That may not have been the case in another car.

Any car can crash (accidents do happen after all) whether it's into a tree, another car, or a car driving into you; it's more important how well your car stands up to the impact and protects the occupants.

John.

greasemonkey

Hmmm, cars rarely crash by themselves, it's normally the person behind the wheel who's ultimately responsible, thus not really fair of her to single out your ex-Impreza as the cause of your moment.

Confess to her you were driving like an *rse on the night in question, and that you'd have ended up in a tree no matter what you were in. Furthermore, your experience has taught you Mr Scott's time-honoured lesson about not being able to change the laws of physics, and you've now seen the error of your ways.

While you may or may not choose to admit all this to yourself, women seem to like a bit of spleen-venting and contrition, and her believing it was your fault (in a context where you're not going to do it again) is probably preferable to her thinking the car is an inherent deathtrap.

Doink

Cheers guy's,

Chiark
I have already looked into doing a day ralling in an impreza to hopefully improve my shoddy skills, would an advanced driving course be the better option rather than a rally course?

Greasemonkey
Yeah it was definately my fault, lifted mid corner. Will try to explain to her in the context you suggested. Cheers

John_s
I was well impressed with how the car protected me in such a large crash. I have and will continue to explain that if I was in a fiesta i might still be in the hospital now. cheers also

More opinions are welcome,

kend

I am a doc who attends lots of RTAs when the ambulance service in my area request extra help.
I've been to 2 badly crashed scoobys (>90mph on motorway) in both cases severe damage to crumple zones (as there is supposed to be) but the passenger cell largely intact, and no serious injuries to driver. Obviously this is a very small, not very scientific sample, but in both cases I would have expected serious injuries to drivers.
In addition to this car vs tree accidents have a much higher chance of killing you than if you hit another car, so the fact that you walked away from previous accident should be a good advert.
As mentioned in earlier comments, cars don't crash themselves, but decent brakes / steering / FWD/ acceleration all reduce the chances of crashing, and improve the chance of you getting out of trouble.

John P

Doink
I did an advanced driving test prior to getting the Scoob. It is a very useful thing to do as the main aim is awareness of what is going on around you. It is not difficult if you feel you are a capable and observant driver already. The main problem will be sticking to the speed limit at all times, remember your final test will be with an advanced Police trainer sat next to you. (please note that I am not having a go about speed at this point), I have modified my driving at times in general to be safer both to me and passengers.
Good luck with whatever decision you take

mrklaw

whats the lift-off mid corner issue? I sometimes back off slightly on a corner, but always gently. Is it only an issue if I lift right off? Any links to places with info on things like this?

Doink

Yeah i link to this info would be very useful to me to !

OllyK

Unless you are looking to powerslide round corners etc, what you are trying to do is keep the vehicle as stable as possible. I.e. no acceleration or deceleration and keeping the turn on a constant arc. That's the theory but you can play with it, braking later in to the bend and powering out early for example. But deceleration in a bend will cause the rear end to go light and momentum / centrefugal force will want to push it out so you get rear end slide. The amount of deceleration and the slippiness of the road will all be contributary factors. So slight lift off is not likely to cause too much problem, full lift off is getting nasty and braking will get really hariy.

Doink

Thanks for the last few post's, all usefull info.

But I think the issue has now been resolved, Spoken to the B*t*h and she says it's another impreza or her?






















I Think I will get a silver one this time !

Mice_Elf

Make a list of all those cars that have never had a crash / accident.... Show her this extensive () list and ask her what she thinks you SHOULD buy....

To be fair, I'd imagine she's only concerned about your wellbeing and her asking you to buy another car is because she cares for you and is scared you'll have another accident and get hurt in that one.

Cut her some slack - she's looking after you!

Bubba po

What about an evo then?

Doink

Thought about an EVO for a while before getting my first scoob, But the same seems to still apply now. they seem to be more expensive to buy and more expensive to insure i have found, and especially after a total loss on my record i doubt i could afford the latter.

Cheers anyway.

brett555

someone wrote

confess to her.... ...


this just opens up another can of worms ..!!!!

chiark

Advanced driver training is to increase awareness of situations rather than teach you how to handle a car at the limit. I don't know what caused you to crash, but you will probably have been driving too fast for the conditions - the training will help you to assess risk better, and slow down . Buy the "Roadcraft" book as a starter, as there's some good stuff in there both on observation and technique.

The skid pan training was a real help to me, especially with how to deal with understeer... A rally experience in controlled conditions may just make you think that you can do it any time. Sorry if that sounds slightly patronising, I just know what I'd be like

Lift off oversteer normally bites when you aggressively lift off the accelerator mid bend as you're shifting weight off the rear wheels, lightening them and allowing them to break traction. Trail braking (turning in under braking) can also have the same fun effects on an AWD or any car so isn't advised unless you're trying to achieve oversteer.

What was it that got you? Running out of road, or your car's **** trying to overtake the front?

It's a difficult choice mate, but ultimately it's only a car. Check your feelings for the lady in question before doing anything, and if you do go for the impreza and still want her around then come up with a convincing argument. After our experience in the snow, my wife's absolutely utterly converted to AWD, and after seeing the mess some people have made of a scoob and walked out, they are safe cars. The thing you need to do, IMHO, is persuade her that you have learnt a lot and will be a better driver as you know your own limits as well as the car's - that's where the advanced driver training would help your cause.

Most people will have had a cloth touching moment in a car, and everyone with a brain will have learnt from it - I did...

Again, sorry if this comes across as condescending. It isn't meant to be.
Cheers,
Nick.

r32

The other day I had a guy pull out of a side turning on to a dual carriage way straight infront of me. I thought this is going to hurt as I hurtled towards him at 7o (the legal limit). But I hit those brakes and swung across and just missed him. I believe that if I had been in an ordinary motor he would be dead and I wouldnt be too well.........
Get a Scooby.

Doink

Thanks again fellas

It was the **** racing me down the road,

P.s you dont have to keep apologising for giving me advice you have obviously been driving an impreza alot longer than me !

cw42

iTrader: (1)

when you get your new scooby, get down to the smacs group at our meet
there is more to owning the scooby than just driving it, there is a whole world of social activities out there too!
Hope to see you soon, in your new pride and joy,
chris.

lightning101

I like it. Buying a turbocharged car with more than 200bhp as a safe car LOL.

Volvo S40 1.6 is a safe car, renault megane is a safe car.

Subaru/Evo/skyline are fun cars, built in Japan with 4WD - I doubt it was meant for driving in the snow and rain unless you are rallying for a living.

chiark

Hey, it's a safe car in my eyes , and a practical family estate to boot. What more could you want ?

It sounds like you either went in braking, or found the joy that is lift off oversteer... This can happen in a FWD car too, but is probably a little bit more snappy on AWD especially if you're not expecting it.

Tyres make a *massive* difference to how the car will behave at the limit too. Having crap tyres on the rear and good tyres on the front is a receipe for fun handling too.

Getting in an Impreza and playing on private roads/track in the wet at slow-ish speeds to see what happens is the best way to make sure it doesn't catch you out again IMHO.

The mantra I use is "slow in, fast out", and if you do find yourself thinking you're too fast in a corner then you should probably balance the car and ride your luck... Or gently lift off and, if necessary, put corrective lock on if the rear does break. This is all fine in theory, but in practise when you're on the limit it is a different matter, so playing in controlled conditions is a damn good idea. But needs an Impreza

I am by no way a car control god, so hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will wade in

Cheers,
Nick.

Rikki 95WRX

Doink

I experienced a very nasty case of lift-off over-steer when i was younger in a FWD astra (17) - i had done a fair bit of karting and at the time considered myself a pretty competent driver. Ended up rolling the (parents') car as the back end twitched out and caught the gravel on bank of road. Looking back now i think I probably could have stayed out the bend nicely had I not backed off - but being inexperienced i think i panicked a little and the rest is history.

I have tried to learn from that and I have done a skid pan course and rally day. Maybe you should try convince the gf that you will use it as a learning experience to make you a more competent driver and tell her you may do some sort of tuition.

My gf also didn't particularly like it when I had the scoob - she said it was dangerous also but as mentioned previously it isn't a car that is dangerous but what is done with it. Given that, I think it is fair to say that many people who buy a performance car like a scooby do like to, um, 'push it' a little and perhaps your gf realises this fact and she is labelling the car as dangerous - which is a fair assumption really I guess.

Work out how much she means to you and if she means a lot try and convince her that it will make you a better driver - which is probably the truth!??

Rik

[Edited by Rikki 95WRX - 1/7/2004 6:15:09 PM]

Doink

When i posted this thread i didn't think i would get much response at all, Thanks to all those who have contributed and offerd advice.

I think I am getting through with the "If i was in a fiesta i might not be here" argument which I belive to be very true.

And that I will not make that same mistake again because i have learnt alot from the experience.

Looking into some advanced driving courses and this one sounds like it would be quite useful. It's a company in buck's called Ride & Drive so i might give that a try.

Hopefully a clicky.

http://www.ridedrive.co.uk/index2.htm

Thanks again for all your replys and i will let you know how i go on in in the near future.

Steve.

ps I will definately try to get to those SMACS meets as it's only down the road from me.

cw42

iTrader: (1)

Good result doink, look forward to seeing you soon m8,
chris

mentat

have you looked at the IAM website?

http://www.iam.org.uk/

I did a course about 3 years ago, and like someone else mentioned, it really can have a dramatic effect on the way that you drive.
And it's cheap too

kazlo

simple really........impreza sport,and when you have learnt to drive that well .the GF might not be so worried about you having a turbo...... (bit like taking your test on a 50cc moped and then buying a fireblade)scoobies are only as daft as their owners........good luck in whatever you choose......the kazlo

scooby daz

MY ADVICE TO YOU WOULD BE BUY AUTO TRADER,LEAVE IT OPEN ON A PAGE FULL OF CARS SHE REALY WOULD NOT LIKE, AND CIRCLE THE ONES IN THE COLOUR SHE HATES MOST.HOPEFULLY SHE WILL SAY I WOULD RATHER HAVE A SCOOBY. THEN YOU HAVE GOT HER.

R.A.

My wife would see through that one in seconds, she's telepathic, im'm sure.