Originally Posted by
Stigissimo
I'll give some real updates on the wag soon. But for now, a story for the bored and/or interested about the most heart-stopping moment thus far of my driving career.
I was on the highway halfway through my daily commute. Sun bright, roads cold but mostly dry with some light snow on the shoulder. I was cruising in the left lane at about 65 - good space in front of me, nobody immediately to my right. I glanced in my mirror, thought I recognized the headlights as a GTI and spent maybe a second more looking to confirm my suspicion.
I redirected my attention to the road as I was rolling over a small crest, and to my alarm the car that had previously been a ways ahead had braked hard, nearly to a stop in front of me. Scratch that - I didn't even have time to be alarmed. I had stumbled upon near standstill traffic about three exits or so before I usually do, just after a crest, and was at most four car lengths behind the car in front while approaching at over 60mph. Before I could even shit my pants, I immediately and instinctively grabbed the tiniest dab of brakes then wrenched the car over two lanes to where there was some open space to slow down. When I say wrenched, I mean wrenched - 10/10ths of the limit, completely instinctive wheel jerk without having really slowed at all. Naturally on tall, soft-sidewalled blizzaks there was a resulting tank slap or two that I was able to get under control before slowing down and joining the traffic, safely. Now I had time to realize how terrified I was.
Some notes from this experience: It's pretty unbelievable how well you can come to instinctively know your car's limits. I think I would have to partially credit my knee-jerk reaction to my driving experience; I've spent some time on track (both in karts and cars) as well as a considerable amount of time intentionally exceeding the ZHP's limits of rear grip in the snow and rain. Had I tried to brake in this scenario I, the guy in front of me, and likely the guy behind me would have been splatter. Instead I reacted with aggressive steering input that was absolutely on the limit of what my car could handle...and I didn't even have to think about it. Not only did I instinctively perform the maneuver, I matched it to what I know through experience the car is capable of - no more, no less. When I say capable, I mean purely capable; my car hasn't had functioning DSC for about four months now (I spend enough time with DSC off to not want to bother fixing my DSC-brake light duo on the dash).
The rest of the credit I'd have to attribute to luck; I was lucky that I was in a position where there was nobody directly to my right, and that there was room in the rightmost lane to slow down safely after controlling a tank slapper that surely scared the shit out of everybody approaching from behind. I just hope that they all don't think less of BMW drivers because of how reckless the whole thing looked.
Side Note: Out of habit I drive with two hands on the wheel 9-3. Even after being distracted by a car in my mirror for a second, I was able to react immediately because my hands and feet were ready. Had I been driving with one hand (or worse, with one on top of the wheel which is not cool), there's not a chance I could have reacted properly or if by miracle had reacted properly, controlled that reaction. Drive properly.
Final Thoughts Getting to know your car's limits can save your life. Sometimes what is required to escape a really shitty situation is a maneuver on the absolute limit of control. There's equal credit due to the ZHP, whose handling is extremely forgiving, capable, and communicative. While I'm glad I was able to react correctly, I'm even happier that this 16 year old wagon with malfunctioning traction control ate up the maneuver like it was nothing. God I love this car.