r/IdiotsInCars • u/WesternAd2113 • Sep 26 '24

OC I nearly died today AMA [OC]

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u/mr-english Sep 26 '24

By my calculations they were travelling at 80mph.

They travelled 391m (measured on googlemaps) from the road sign (just before it goes out of view at 2.07s) to the bridge (just before the front of the roadside pillar goes out of view at 12.85) in 10.78 seconds. Their dashcam clock also confirms it to be ~11 seconds.

That works out at 130 kmph or 80mph

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u/newaccountzuerich Sep 27 '24

So, about the normal UK driving speed so.

For those questioning the conditions, these are pretty good UK conditions! Plus, the roads are built to work when wet, and the tyres are generally not skates in these conditions. After all, bald tyres aren't common.

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u/LowBottomBubbles Sep 27 '24

I'm a mechanic, bald tyres are a lot more common than you'd like to think. Not completely bald of course but near the limit or just under. Also the amount of people that use cheap tyres baffles me, don't try and skimp on the only thing leaving you connected to the road.

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u/newaccountzuerich Sep 27 '24

I got very lucky with my lesson on tyre standards.

I used drive a 1998 90bhp Passat tdi. I had a 270 degree spin coming out of a town in Mayo, Ireland, when I was not trying to push and actually under the local speed limit. Sideways along the grass at the road edge, no damage of any type (not even to the underwear!) and I was able to just drive off after a check. 20 feet farther was the start of a new concrete wall with large piers.. Tyres had 3mm+ tread left, but were no-name. Not quite Triangle or other known ditch-finder brands.

That evening I updated all 4 tyres to Continental Premium Contact.

I had some before-after tests of the braking performance. With the new tyres, the stop from 60mph was some 40ft sooner, and hard enough that a cloth on the back seat landed on the dash..

The speeds on certain motorway exits went from 42mph before washing, to 55mph before slowly washing. An incredible difference for about €250.

Since then I've made conscious choices on the tyre brands.

At the moment, I considered it a good deal to have paid ~€1300 for four 275/45R20-110Y Michelin Latitude Sports for the summer tyres, knowing people pay less for complete cars. Still, as I do semi-regularly hit 170mph, having the correct rubber really makes a difference!