Lost control of car
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Joined: Jun 2007
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E63
Lost control of car
Hi guys, just wanted to share my scary experience: Let me 1st say that I am not a great driver, never went to a driving school or track, although I very much want to learn more. I was driving with 3 other people in the car, accelerated pretty hard towards a turn, and the car started to spin. luckily, I knew better than slam on the brakes so i turned the steering wheel the other way (away from the turn) and pressed the accelerator. I regained control of the car (there were other cars on the road, could have been a pretty bad situation), but realized my shortcomings as a driver and scared myself pretty badly. My question is: The car was in the softest suspension setting. Would having it in sport 2 suspension mode made the car much more controllable? Sorry if this is a sort of naive question.
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From: Orlando, FL
2026 AMG GT63 Pro
Hi guys, just wanted to share my scary experience: Let me 1st say that I am not a great driver, never went to a driving school or track, although I very much want to learn more. I was driving with 3 other people in the car, accelerated pretty hard towards a turn, and the car started to spin. luckily, I knew better than slam on the brakes so i turned the steering wheel the other way (away from the turn) and pressed the accelerator. I regained control of the car (there were other cars on the road, could have been a pretty bad situation), but realized my shortcomings as a driver and scared myself pretty badly. My question is: The car was in the softest suspension setting. Would having it in sport 2 suspension mode made the car much more controllable? Sorry if this is a sort of naive question.
Don't let the car control you, you control the car..
The more time you have to transfer weight while in a turn the better...ie no jerking of steering wheel..
And lastly, if in a turn, all braking should be done before/leading up to the apex, and acceleration should come after gradually...the idea being that any force or grip used to accelerate or brake can't be used for turning...the less braking and accelerating in a turn, the better the steering feel, ie less over/under-steer...
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From: Naperville, IL/Chicago
2008 CLK63 Black Series 2012 C63 Black Series 2014 SLS Black Series
You "excelerated pretty hard BEFORE a turn"? This is not a knock, but why would you do that? Were you trying to blip the throttle? If you are doing some agressive driving, in most instances and corners you should never be too hard on the gas until you reach the apex of a turn, at that point, depending on the corner you should either roll on the throttle smoothly or in some (very rare)cases stab the throttle. The fact that you had 3 people in the car does not help matters, you would have been better off with 4 people (more balanced). Take it easy, learn at the track, not on the roads.
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Drives Slowly
If accelerating hard as you're turning the car, I assume you induced oversteer. Was ESP on and did it intervene?
BTW, did you get high-fives from your passengers for that awesome display of AMG power or did you lose three friends?
Be Safe!!!
BTW, did you get high-fives from your passengers for that awesome display of AMG power or did you lose three friends?
Be Safe!!!
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Potomac, MD
2007 SL550 - Aegean Blue; 2008 E63 Wagon - Iridium Silver
Wow. Just wow. You really need to think carefully about what you are doing driving such a powerful car if you are not a skilled driver. These cars take lots of experience to drive safely. 500+ horsepower is lots of fun if you know how to use it, but is VERY dangerous if you are insufficiently skilled. The fact that you accelerated toward a turn leading to a loss of control and a spin is an indication to me that you have no idea what you are doing, and are jeopardizing your own life and those of your passengers. I don't say this with any malice, just stating a clear warning. If you want to see another example of an insufficiently experienced driver in a 500+ horsepower car with multiple passengers that ended tragically, search this forum for "Ocala". Give some serious thought to what this experience is saying to you, my friend.
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From: orange county NY
'05 C55(sold)'05 E55(sold)'06 911C4S(sold)'06 ML350 '06 CLS55(sold),buncha slo bikes
Wow. Just wow. You really need to think carefully about what you are doing driving such a powerful car if you are not a skilled driver. These cars take lots of experience to drive safely. 500+ horsepower is lots of fun if you know how to use it, but is VERY dangerous if you are insufficiently skilled. The fact that you accelerated toward a turn leading to a loss of control and a spin is an indication to me that you have no idea what you are doing, and are jeopardizing your own life and those of your passengers. I don't say this with any malice, just stating a clear warning. If you want to see another example of an insufficiently experienced driver in a 500+ horsepower car with multiple passengers that ended tragically, search this forum for "Ocala". Give some serious thought to what this experience is saying to you, my friend.
My thoughts exactly
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: SoCal
C63S coupe, X5M
Hi guys, just wanted to share my scary experience: Let me 1st say that I am not a great driver, never went to a driving school or track, although I very much want to learn more. I was driving with 3 other people in the car, accelerated pretty hard towards a turn, and the car started to spin. luckily, I knew better than slam on the brakes so i turned the steering wheel the other way (away from the turn) and pressed the accelerator. I regained control of the car (there were other cars on the road, could have been a pretty bad situation), but realized my shortcomings as a driver and scared myself pretty badly. My question is: The car was in the softest suspension setting. Would having it in sport 2 suspension mode made the car much more controllable? Sorry if this is a sort of naive question.
Stiffening the suspension would help a tad but not a whole lot. Take some driving lessons and hit the track
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From: Baltimore MD
MB, BMW
i must wonder, how many of us here really are really capable of harnessing 500HP on the street, or on the racetrack?? and yet, there are daily threads about modding & getting more power.. 
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2007
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E63
Wow. Just wow. You really need to think carefully about what you are doing driving such a powerful car if you are not a skilled driver. These cars take lots of experience to drive safely. 500+ horsepower is lots of fun if you know how to use it, but is VERY dangerous if you are insufficiently skilled. The fact that you accelerated toward a turn leading to a loss of control and a spin is an indication to me that you have no idea what you are doing, and are jeopardizing your own life and those of your passengers. I don't say this with any malice, just stating a clear warning. If you want to see another example of an insufficiently experienced driver in a 500+ horsepower car with multiple passengers that ended tragically, search this forum for "Ocala". Give some serious thought to what this experience is saying to you, my friend.
Thanks for all the comments, and the tips. I guess I will have to look into a driving school to improve my driving skills
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: SoCal
E55, Audi S4
Hi guys, just wanted to share my scary experience: Let me 1st say that I am not a great driver, never went to a driving school or track, although I very much want to learn more. I was driving with 3 other people in the car, accelerated pretty hard towards a turn, and the car started to spin. luckily, I knew better than slam on the brakes so i turned the steering wheel the other way (away from the turn) and pressed the accelerator. I regained control of the car (there were other cars on the road, could have been a pretty bad situation), but realized my shortcomings as a driver and scared myself pretty badly. My question is: The car was in the softest suspension setting. Would having it in sport 2 suspension mode made the car much more controllable? Sorry if this is a sort of naive question.
The softer the suspension the longer it takes for weight transfer to happen and the more warning time and catch time you have to save it.
Stiffer suspension just like shorter stiffer sidewalled tires (higher springrate of tire) require a better driver to identify and rectify the problem much more quickly otherwise it's game over somewhere north of 15% of slip.
Go find a Skip Barber like drivers school. Or if you live in a area that has a National Auto Sports Association chapter go do one of their HPDE course's. It will be the best thing you do for your driving
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From: Bostonian Ma
2012 CLS63 AMG
...well as long as you don't add a SCharger 
Be safe out there. I'm glad to hear thought you were able to pull her back in
Last edited by armaniE55; Apr 13, 2008 at 09:27 PM.
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From: SoCal
C63S coupe, X5M
It's easy to harness even 600hp on the streets, just mash and go and feel the speed
