Front Tow Hook Saved Me
04-28-2008, 10:38 AM
#17
Drifting
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Suburban DC
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I don't know, this may belong in the "I'm an Idiot" thread going on now, but here's one where the tow hook didn't save me.
When I was first getting starting with the track stuff 10 years ago, I used to run with the tow hook in and swap brake pads when I got to the track. At the end of the track day, I would pull the Hawk blues and put whatever street pads I was running. One morning I was at Summit Point. I arrived at the track early, it was cold and damp, threating rain. I jacked the car up and swapped out the pads, and then it was time for the drivers meeting. Off I go into the classroom. When the meeting was over it was pouring rain. I was in Green group and not scheduled to go out for another hour, so I hung out in the classroom with a bunch of others. No trailer or canopy to duck under for me then. Eventually it was time for my first session. My instructor shows up at my car and gets in. We head out thru the paddock and onto the false grid, just putting along. We'll be in the middle of the line. As I approach the cars in front of me, my instructor is chatting away and I engage the brakes to put it right behind the next car in line.
My foot goes to the floor! I had forgotten to pump the brake pedal after putting the pads and then got distracted by the call to the meeting. I never remembered several hours later.
Of course my brain immediately knew what was wrong and just like in a major event, time slowed down. I started pumping the pedal for all I'm worth but it's not coming back up in time. Meanwhile the owner of the car in front of me was leaning on his car watching me pull up and with no sign of me slowing down he was starting to get agitated. The instructor in the right seat started yelling at me "WTF, slow down, slow down!" At this point my brain was locked up in horror and I couldn't say anything but just kept pumping so it looked like I just blindly running into another guy's car. Every instructor's nightmare. He's yelling, now the 911 owner is freaking, and then BLAM! I plow into the 911 in front of me. All this happens in a split second. A stunned silence descends in the pit lane.
Finally my brain lets my mouth start working again and I explain what had happened. We get out of the car and examine the damage. My car? not a scratch. The 911? A nice big perfect hole the perfect size of tow hook all the through his fiberglass rear bumper. Yup a nice, big, $985 hole <- what it cost to fix.
To this day, after I replace pads in a brake caliper, I get up and into the car and pump the pedal. Always! Some lessons are more expensive that others.
When I was first getting starting with the track stuff 10 years ago, I used to run with the tow hook in and swap brake pads when I got to the track. At the end of the track day, I would pull the Hawk blues and put whatever street pads I was running. One morning I was at Summit Point. I arrived at the track early, it was cold and damp, threating rain. I jacked the car up and swapped out the pads, and then it was time for the drivers meeting. Off I go into the classroom. When the meeting was over it was pouring rain. I was in Green group and not scheduled to go out for another hour, so I hung out in the classroom with a bunch of others. No trailer or canopy to duck under for me then. Eventually it was time for my first session. My instructor shows up at my car and gets in. We head out thru the paddock and onto the false grid, just putting along. We'll be in the middle of the line. As I approach the cars in front of me, my instructor is chatting away and I engage the brakes to put it right behind the next car in line.
My foot goes to the floor! I had forgotten to pump the brake pedal after putting the pads and then got distracted by the call to the meeting. I never remembered several hours later.
Of course my brain immediately knew what was wrong and just like in a major event, time slowed down. I started pumping the pedal for all I'm worth but it's not coming back up in time. Meanwhile the owner of the car in front of me was leaning on his car watching me pull up and with no sign of me slowing down he was starting to get agitated. The instructor in the right seat started yelling at me "WTF, slow down, slow down!" At this point my brain was locked up in horror and I couldn't say anything but just kept pumping so it looked like I just blindly running into another guy's car. Every instructor's nightmare. He's yelling, now the 911 owner is freaking, and then BLAM! I plow into the 911 in front of me. All this happens in a split second. A stunned silence descends in the pit lane.
Finally my brain lets my mouth start working again and I explain what had happened. We get out of the car and examine the damage. My car? not a scratch. The 911? A nice big perfect hole the perfect size of tow hook all the through his fiberglass rear bumper. Yup a nice, big, $985 hole <- what it cost to fix.
To this day, after I replace pads in a brake caliper, I get up and into the car and pump the pedal. Always! Some lessons are more expensive that others.
That's a funny story because it could literally happen to anyone. My driveway is short (40 feet) and steep (20-25 degree angle) and I often do brake pad swaps the night before a track event. By the next morning, I have no memory of having done the pads.
Very recently, I was awake but groggy, heading out to my local track (Summit Point) in the pre-dawn. I soon found myself rolling backward in the dark, pumping madly but uselessly. Luckily, nothing was behind me, and after exiting the driveway at negative 15 MPH, I was able to execute a Starsky & Hutch turn as the brakes came on line.
04-28-2008, 10:47 AM
#18
Rennlist Member
Over the years I've been discouraged from running with the tow hook on the front after seeing cars get their front bumpers bent from low speed impacts with the tow hook on? I guess you were lucky, but I would think the 2 shocks inside the bumper do their job better without the tow hook on?
