Went to a car meet ... an s2k went off a cliff during the drive!

[doma]

I went to a car meet in palo alto today. It was mostly bimmers but other cars were invited too. Lots of car lovers. Saw some nice wheels

There were...
1 lotus (me)
1 Lambo
an old MG Sprite
2 S2000s
~6 NSXs
~4 boxters
a viper, and about 150 BMWs (some were WAYYY overPimped!)
and a bunch of other things

As I pulled in to find a spot a group started yelling 'british* cars, over here!'. It was the Sprite owners. (As a rule are most british* cars so tiny?)

Folks were generally very nice; two of them asked me if I've been caught yet for driving a car that isn't street legal! (Duh!) They don't call it a Federal elise for nothing!

Anyway, I went and checked out one of the s2000s while I was there. Two hours later it was totaled! During the drive (which I did not go on) the driver lost it and went off a cliff! The word is it landed on its top. Luckly the driver walked away. Be careful people, at these meets there can be a pressure to drive too fast ('too' as in 'beyond you and you car's capability' ... I'm just fine with the 'fast' part as long as you use good judgement).

A 300 series also plowed into a pole on the drive.

Overall the elise was a hit - our little car sure does draw a crowd.



* horror awful spelling corrected.

[doma]

the mg

[doma]

this guy hand made the shell with wood forms and fiberglass - not a 'pure' porsche but nifty anyway

[doma]

there were about 6 of these.

[doma]

the wrecked s2k (pic taken by someone else) Yikes!

[shay2nak]

damn, that sucks. Glad to hear he walked away from the accident.

[girlracer]

There is only one T in British. Btw, nice Lottus.

[JBsZ06]

A few years back I went on a car run and the car right in front of me spun around doing a 360 and then flew off into the woods...Landing on a boulder, twisting the frame and totally the car..

Up till then it was hours of fun but after that I just lost interest in going on any more fun runs.

Drivers skill varies and watching this car go off the road right in front of me...made me realize...I prefer running the car through the moutains without a large group of cars...

Thanks for the photos and for those that say it will never happen to them...just so you know thats what the guy said who lost his car that day...

Be careful..and use common sense..

I felt bad for the guy who lost his car but again..at least he didn't get hurt..

Best to run all out in drivers events at a sanctioned and safe track... ...IMHO

[DesignIt]

From what I've experienced "group speed" is a bad thing. Keep the upper limits on the track, or at least solo where no one else is temped to keep up with the faster drivers. The thing that concerns me about such events is not crashing but attracting the ire of the local constabulary. I've been nailed by a policeman wielding a "Kentucky long rifle radar gun" that he aimed at the identical red 100mph Miata in front of me, but pulled me over instead. He was a real Kentucky gentleman and said nothing of the hyper-legal speed but instead complimented me on the car and the Panasport wheels. Of course he did give me an expensive state souvenir for my trouble.

I'll keep my speed to the track or solo.

John

[offroadr35]

the funniest display of "group speed" problems happens to many motorcycle riders.

On more than one occassion i've had someone i was riding with go off the road, only to have 3-4 people follow him off in the exact same way. it's amazing how we go where we look

[doma]

>There is only one T in British. Btw, nice Lottus.

Oops. Spelling corrected.

Heh, you spelled Lotus wrong.

[jtanner]

This is why I keep my performance driving on the track. It's easier to keep the shiny side up.

Jim

[girlracer]

It's amazing they walked away. Considering how many S2000s seem to end up wrecked, it's impressive how many owners get off without serious injuries. Apparently the roll hoops work as a genuine roll bar, not just for show.

Just glad to hear no one got hurt.

[Pelican_Racing]

My first thought was, oh man, I missed a cool meet.

My second thought was, now I remember why I don't organize those meet and drive events anymore.

Glad no one was hurt. I've seen worse on the backroads.

-Hong

[girlracer]

Incredibly, the same thiing happened to another S2K owner this weekend:

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=263583

Once again, climbs out with no more than a scratch. Safest convertibles in the world?!

[andykeck]

Originally posted by girlracer
Safest convertibles in the world?!

They do seem to do well in rollovers. Beside the pretty solid roll structure behind the seats, there's a steel hoop built into the windshield surround. No problem using the windshield to get in or out on that car for sure.

[Andrew]

Originally posted by andykeck
They do seem to do well in rollovers. Beside the pretty solid roll structure behind the seats, there's a steel hoop built into the windshield surround. No problem using the windshield to get in or out on that car for sure.

Yep. I read somewhere that the s2k was designed to have the same structural integrity as a car that has sheetmetal over your head.

Which makes you pause and think because the roll hoops behind the seat are below the tops of most peoples' heads.

The possessive form of "peoples" looks very strange to me fore some reason...

[girlracer]

Originally posted by Andrew
Yep. I read somewhere that the s2k was designed to have the same structural integrity as a car that has sheetmetal over your head.

Which makes you pause and think because the roll hoops behind the seat are below the tops of most peoples' heads.

According to the guy in GA (who went off the cliff), the windshield surround provides the main help, and the roll hoops are there as a sort of secondary thing, if the windshield bends at all. He also said even though they were upside down, they both stuck to their seats (seat belt tensioners I guess) so they were held into the car rather than dangling out beyond the roof line. That said, I'm still glad I'm short enough to sit below most roll hoops.

[girlracer]

Originally posted by MyElise
This is why the Elise and most other cars have so much understeer built into them. They finally put some back into the new S2k.

Car meet......how many guys are going to have to die before you canyon runners get the message. Take it to the track!

hmm... well I guess if people feel pressured into driving beyond their limits that's not a good thing, but in defence of car meets in general, I've always found our hill country drives quite relaxing, and totally uncompetitive. I don't drive any differently with another Elise in front of me than I normally would. The natural flow of traffic means that the group gets split up a little anyway, so no one one feels bad for 'holding up' the pack. Most often I get left behind on the twisties by a better driver (Dave), but I feel no pressure to catch up and we all end up back together again in the end. Everyone needs to travel at a speed that is enjoyable to them. Driving beyond your limits is no fun, road or track.

[fitfan]

Originally posted by doma
the mg

Not a sprite.. sprite is the mini tr4 looking bug, i do belive thats a midget. Allways though i wanted one until i drove one! ...yikes! what a disaster of a car... hahaha