Dead deer and the moose maneuver...
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Dead deer and the moose maneuver...
I'm sure you're all familiar with that time-tested SUV killer, the moose maneuver, AKA the emergency lane change. Well tonight I had reason to commit this nasty move.
Got to my exit on the freeway, only to realize it was closed for some night-time construction, i.e., patching pot-holes. Sped off to the next exit to turn around and come back to the exit on the opposite side of the freeway. Well, halfway to the next exit, I'm in the middle lane when I see some chunks, gobbets really, in the road. As the beam of my headlights washes across them they look like a raccoon or some such. Unfortunately, they are but small castoffs, shreds of the HUMONGOUS F@#%ING DEER CARCASS THAT I AM ABOUT PLOW INTO AT 75MPH!!!!
Picture this, I'm in the middle lane, a car to my right, carcass is the left half of my lane. I could have cleared it easily if I went right, but I would have run the car in the right lane onto the shoulder or hit him. So, I wrench the wheel left, hard, and realize, just an instant too late, that I may have just overcooked the suspension, tires, shocks, etc..., on a Buick that weighs about 3900lbs, and as the car starts to lurch left, I pretty much think I'm toast, even as I'm bringing the wheel back to the right to compensate for what I think is going to be a terrifying, fishtailing skid at 75MPH down a major freeway in the middle of the night, to an inevitable spinning, flipping, hurting fireball and blackness...
...and then I'm in the right lane, doing about 50, and the car has barely worked up a sweat while clearing the carcass with an easy couple of feet to spare!!
When I yanked the wheel over, the PA just went with it, leaned just a little, dug the tires into the pavement with a sound like asphalt being ripped wholesale out of the ground, and turned like a go-kart on meth, scrubbing off speed all the way. My foot never even made it to the brake pedal.
I've never really pushed this thing very hard in the twisties, so I really did expect it to snap loose, andwhen it just did exactly what I told it to, just like my old SSEi did, it shocked the hell out of me!
I'm going to have to have to take this thing for a drive down to my favorite twisty at some point and figure out just how much of my shenanigans it'll put up with.
The next time I have to commit to a moose maneuver, I intend to do so with a much lower "oh,sh*t" factor.
In closing, remember that a dead deer can do every bit of damage that a live one can, and at night, a carcass can be very hard to spot.
Got to my exit on the freeway, only to realize it was closed for some night-time construction, i.e., patching pot-holes. Sped off to the next exit to turn around and come back to the exit on the opposite side of the freeway. Well, halfway to the next exit, I'm in the middle lane when I see some chunks, gobbets really, in the road. As the beam of my headlights washes across them they look like a raccoon or some such. Unfortunately, they are but small castoffs, shreds of the HUMONGOUS F@#%ING DEER CARCASS THAT I AM ABOUT PLOW INTO AT 75MPH!!!!
Picture this, I'm in the middle lane, a car to my right, carcass is the left half of my lane. I could have cleared it easily if I went right, but I would have run the car in the right lane onto the shoulder or hit him. So, I wrench the wheel left, hard, and realize, just an instant too late, that I may have just overcooked the suspension, tires, shocks, etc..., on a Buick that weighs about 3900lbs, and as the car starts to lurch left, I pretty much think I'm toast, even as I'm bringing the wheel back to the right to compensate for what I think is going to be a terrifying, fishtailing skid at 75MPH down a major freeway in the middle of the night, to an inevitable spinning, flipping, hurting fireball and blackness...
...and then I'm in the right lane, doing about 50, and the car has barely worked up a sweat while clearing the carcass with an easy couple of feet to spare!!
When I yanked the wheel over, the PA just went with it, leaned just a little, dug the tires into the pavement with a sound like asphalt being ripped wholesale out of the ground, and turned like a go-kart on meth, scrubbing off speed all the way. My foot never even made it to the brake pedal.
I've never really pushed this thing very hard in the twisties, so I really did expect it to snap loose, andwhen it just did exactly what I told it to, just like my old SSEi did, it shocked the hell out of me!
I'm going to have to have to take this thing for a drive down to my favorite twisty at some point and figure out just how much of my shenanigans it'll put up with.
The next time I have to commit to a moose maneuver, I intend to do so with a much lower "oh,sh*t" factor.
In closing, remember that a dead deer can do every bit of damage that a live one can, and at night, a carcass can be very hard to spot.
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Sounds pretty nasty man.....Glad your car kept you intact through out the manuever....and it'* a damn good thing you didn't have a chance to brake, that right there was prolly exactly what kept you from loosing control in a maneuver like that.
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Glad to hear you made it w/o any issues...
Alien says... "but...but Brian has F41...the best suspension available!"
Have fun in the twisties..
Alien says... "but...but Brian has F41...the best suspension available!"
Have fun in the twisties..
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Originally Posted by LakevilleSSEi
Sounds pretty nasty man.....Glad your car kept you intact through out the manuever....and it'* a damn good thing you didn't have a chance to brake, that right there was prolly exactly what kept you from loosing control in a maneuver like that.
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Wow, good thing you were able to get out of it!!
I had a similar thing happen to me while driving my Girlfriends now deceased 99 Lumina (Intake Failure), but I had a car full of family and I didnt want to swerve because of the massive weight transfer that would have sent the car spinnning, so I hit it.........A damn recliner, perfectly upright in the right lane Dragged it about 50 feet into the breakdown lane.
I had a similar thing happen to me while driving my Girlfriends now deceased 99 Lumina (Intake Failure), but I had a car full of family and I didnt want to swerve because of the massive weight transfer that would have sent the car spinnning, so I hit it.........A damn recliner, perfectly upright in the right lane Dragged it about 50 feet into the breakdown lane.
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You have F41! Luckyyyy. I've come across a couple carcasses myself, 8 to be exact, on ONE trip on one highway. I was certain I was gong to hit a live one that night.
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Originally Posted by BillBoost37
Glad to hear you made it w/o any issues...
Alien says... "but...but Brian has F41...the best suspension available!"
Have fun in the twisties..
Alien says... "but...but Brian has F41...the best suspension available!"
Have fun in the twisties..
And yes, if I'd hit the brakes, I'd have spun right out...
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