Decided to go get wires and plugs seeing that my car is running like crap and can't figure it Well I was going down a big hill and had to take a right onto a side street. The speedlimit on the main road is 50, so braked it all the way down to about 10 mph, and began into the turn when the front tires locked up, started sliding sideways, i let off the brakes and tried to regain control, NOPE, downshifted and gunned it to swing it back, Nope. Slammed the carb doing about 20 mph head on. Front of the car hits it with the tires locked up(front goes flying in the air, and soon slams down and the rear follows. Now trying to control the car to a stop on a guys lawn. Scared the crap out of me thats for sure! I pulled to the side of the road and looked to make sure everything was ok, which it was. As i was outside, a older guy comes and starts yelling at me, i said it was a mistake and I was not going fast. Of course he did not believe me. So that was my horrible day. Keep in mind that when its pouring the roads are like ice along with the leaves, wouldn't want to loose any cars this year I know most of you guys already know this though

 

I feel for ya man. I had the same situation except it was either take a pretty steep ditch or a telephone pole. Needless to say I realized that I wasnt gonna get it back so I just shut er' down as much as could an hit the ditch. After sliding to a stop, didnt think anything was broken so I just slipped an' spun down to the end where it widened out into someones yard. Cut a quick 180* and about that time the dude came yellin somethin about callin the cops.... So I put er' on the floor and dug the guy a couple of trenches across his yard followed by a double barrel smokey down his concrete driveway. Man I didnt drive down that street for damn near a month. Ahh the trials and tribulations.

 

Next time slam tranny into neutral with your elbow, as ya holding the steering wheel.
Slows ya down much quicker, removes engine generated power thru drivetrain as ya slowing down.
Practice this in a empty parking lot next time.
Glad ya ok, it's only money & metal, not an arm or body. That's a good thing. Better is it not happening at all.

 

ah good thing is your ok

 

and by running you will more than likely get the cops called on you instead of stopping and appologizing to them ....

you got lucky but ill tell ya one thing for sure someone goes sliding down my yard and tears *** like that they will have the cops called for sure.....

if you just stop and explain 99% of the time not all the time , people will understand...unless you were doing something completely ignorant

 

You would be better off to downshift to a lower gear, so as to use the gearing effect of the trans and rear to your advantage.

 

thats exactly right ....if you were sliding on ice at a stop sign i could see you putting it in neutral but not going down a hill....

 

Sound like you need to change your front brake hoses. They will show no signs of wer on the out side, but the hoses degrade inside and collapse. Which will let pressure in, but not back out.

Happened to me but in dry weather. Had to remove my brake pads to drive home.

$15 a hose at most places
parts america sell remaned calipers for $9.99 each
and also return and get new pads, I am sure you bought life t ime ones.

 

and it starts off like that. Brake lock up or stick but then works again but it slowly will get worse and wrose, till they lock completely.

 

Next time you're in an empty parking lot, give that a try.
You'll see how much quicker one can regain control.
Downshifting only keep wheels moving under pressure of engine.
IF ya sliding, why keep spinning wheels?
Give this a try this winter
Explain to the cops who visits ya that you are experimenting with controlling car in a skid & safer here than on roads, don't ya think?
Works every time! I know I've used it. He will look pissed but the drivers point is extremely valid
Next time watch a NASCAR race car skid thru grass. Watch tire revolutions.

 

Very True. Also slapping the car in N is alot faster then downshifting.

 

Its no faster, and it wont help slow you down. Not nearly as much as dropping into a lower gear. Want to to try it? Go 30mph, and put the car in nuetral. See how fast you slow down. Then go 30 and drop the car into first. Then do both with the application of the brakes.

You wont keep spinning the tires quickly, because you wont be using the gas pedal. If you think Nascar has anything to do with your car on the street, well then, keep trying that method.

 

I ts simple to tell that a simple bump of the shifter in the upward direction (which would put the trans in N) is easier to do ( in a situation when your car is out of control) Then reaching down, pressing in the shifter button in and pulling the shifter back. ALSO putting the car in N will cause NO harm to anything(as long as your off the gas) while downshifting to 1st CAN.

 

When you are about to smash your car into a million pieces in an accident, you are worried about hurting your trans? If you are going too fast, dont shift all the way to first. The point is, there is no point in shifting to nuetral. In a sliding situation, or in an attempting to stop quickly situation where there is no traction loss, it will do nothing.

Besides, it isnt going to take any longer, you have already "reached down" if you are going to put it in nuetral. You push the button when you grab the shifter. What takes so long?

 

______________________________________--
I ts simple to tell that a simple bump of the shifter in the upward direction (which would put the trans in N) is easier to do ( in a situation when your car is out of control) Then reaching down, pressing in the shifter button in and pulling the shifter back.
____________________________________---
Guess you missed that part so i reposted it for ya

Also, In an out of control spin most people dont think "ok what gear should I down shift to?" You dont have time to think. And the whole time your trying to save your car from damage so why in the world would you just throw it in 1st and help wreck it? Sure unless the throttle is stuck open throwing it in N isnt going to slow you down much. But it wont cause any damage like downshifting can and it takes less time.

 

I guess you missed the point, so I went ahead and quoted it for you. You dont have to reach down and put it into nuetral? Do you use your jedi powers to do this? Perhaps you have mastered the art of telekenisis? It will take less than half a second. If you are going to put it into nuetral, why bother? It wont help slow you down. The gear effect of being in gear will help much more than nuetral. Thats the point I am trying to make. The simple bump of the shifter will accomplish nothing. If it truly takes you that long to downshift, maybe there is something wrong with your shifter?

 

Auto cars wont let you down shift to far. Try throwing it into 1st going 90. It wont. It will how ever down shift to the top of the lowest gear it can/ by rpm n speed.

Who hasn't meant to just down shift to 2nd and hit first by mistake. It just goes into 2nd as your moving way to fast.

in a stick car you can though. It will scream and buck like a mule if you hit 1st at 90. Revers is even better.


all honesty in snow I have found the fastest was to stop is not shifting at all, leave the car in 4th -5th and brake. The car bogging from to hi a gear at to slow a speed stop you faster then a down shift.

 

Not in the newer ones it wont. But back in the day, when we didnt drive all the new cars, you sure could. I have accidently hit 1st at 60 in a car with a 3 speed auto. damn, it was loud.

 

Well putting it into N is better than leaving it in D I guess...


I have 2 buddies that have crashed ALREADY. And there was only one snowfall. They both went into the curb.

And today I walked through the junkyard for a new washer pump and such, SO many cars with pole imprints on them.. ouch..

There was even a late 60's FIREBIRD that got owned by a pole!

That's enough to make me buy a $200 subaru or something.

{edit} oh, and you want loud? Try downshifting in your dad's turbo Jetta from 5th into fourth, but hitting second instead.

 

Just noticed your edit. With age, and years behind the wheel, you acquire the abililty to downshift in that situation. To me it is almost automatic. Downshifting will not cause damage when in a situation like this. What maybe once a year or two? Not like you are doing it every day. And how is downshifting going to help wreck it? I must be arguing with john kerry. "Downshifting is killing social security, and will cause a draft!"

 

Seems like almost every thirdgen I see in the yards has been front end crashed. You see all other makes with bad engines, and whatnot, but all thirdgens are crashed in the front end. Maybe I should take mine apart again, and take out the magnets.

 

.

 

pre 65s maybe

68 Ford galaxy wouldn't
76 Olds gutlass wouldn't
79 Cheby camaro wouldn't
80 Buick wagon won't

In the wagon I just instinctively just slam it all the way down and the tranny knows what's it doing.

 

Haha those damn magnets are a pain for sure.

At least the thirdgens arent like some of the stangs I have seen... I dont know HOW they get oil all over the firewall, but man, do they do a good job of it..

 

73 camaro we had would
72 firebird we had would
84 z28 we had would
88 gmc i have does
wifes 93 town car will
66 impala will
81 buick regal did

and the list goes on ....


hey ljnowell

obviously these guys have way more driving experience than you or me so why bother ...LMAO

i know ive saved my cars from a wreck a couple times by down shifting when slowing down i know youve been in the vehicles in question with me before....LOL

but obviously it doesnt work does it ...

shifting the car in neutral will do nothing to help slow you down when you are going down hill like the original poster was......

and as you get some more experience behind the wheel it will come natural to you to down shift if it is needed instead of grabbing the wheel and crapping your pants

 

If your car would shift down to 1st doing 90 you have a shift kit or a bad trans. A stock GM trans t350 will not let you shift into 1st doing 90. peroid.
It will only down shift to 2nd

 

Actually the older ones, and thier metric counterparts will. The Last one that I owned that would do it (excluding the built th350 in my camaro now) was a metric 3 speed in a 78 cutlass. Nothing wrong with it at all. Besides who said anything about 90? Never tried it that high, even on accident. The highest I ever did was around 60. This is well outside the boundaries of when it shouldnt go into gear, for a newer trans.

General, I agree, no point in arguing with youth, you will never win.

 

exactly ...LOL

its kinda like beating your head against a wall both come out with the same result ....a headache....LMAO

 

Yeah its kinda like the adjustable fuel pressure thing when you were totally incorrect and everyone but you knew it.
Dinosuars, what can ya do huh Gumby.

Along with the old age maybe some thicker gasses are in order . I never said it would slow you down and I never got into the trans wont downshift to 1st arguement.

All i said was its easier to put it in N and will cause less damage then it is to downshift to 1st.
And that most people wont have time to think what gear to downshift to or wont have time. OTHERS caome in here with their oh so mighty driving skills and talk about how great drivers they are and crap.

But this is getting OLD, and most likely Techsmurf is comming with the lock.

BTW Of all the older , smart people I have ment. I never saw one of them type anything and use the symbols. LOL and LMAO so much.

 

yup dinosaurs.....LOL

its called experience ...LOL...i dont claim to know everything and i also learn something new on here from time to time when im not sifting thru the kids and thier "i know everything and you dont " attitudes...LOL

just remember you can go golfing and it doesnt make you a golfer , you can go fishing and it doesnt make you a fisherman , and you can drive a car and it doesnt make you a mechanic....LMAO

 

Quick techsmurf, come and lock the thread, someone doesnt agree with me!

 

Me again
Great responses
I hit the trans shift with my elbow as I keep both hands on wheel. I just give it a good wack. Years of practice behind steering wheel.
This "slam into neutral while in a skid" practice is for skidding on flat road surfaces. Again try this in a parking lot & see how quickly ya regain control & straighten out car direction. Why is simple. The engine no longer drives/moves the rear wheels, only the brakes to control wheels moving/rolling.
When going down hills and sliding, well, I don't let that happen in first place.
Knowing the road conditions sure beats being surprised.

PS Want to have fun with a topic?
Try this one
"Black Ice at Night Time".

Have done 3rd to first shifts in my 1966 Corvette. Going side ways thru backward "S" turns at 50 MPH to 30MPH in haze of tire smoke is mucho fun. Just very glad an opposing lane car did not join my fun!
Ah old trannys! ALL the fun ya could have doing reverse to low burnouts in old Buicks! Why don't old luxury cars cost $300 anymore?