Help!!- I span my real car :(

[IceMike]

Just got home from a nites racing, and being tired i was drivin wot i would call like a granny and keeping the revs low. Got almost home and there is a small round about and as i went round it the back end of my focus let go and span 180 around into a kirb. There was a bang but im not sure if it was just from the tire hitting the kirb or wot, i cant tell cos its dark. the kirb was one of them angled ones, and i cant feel any dent marks on the alloy, but wot else should i look out for or try and listen for to see if ive done any damage. i know i should book it into a garage to get checked but i dont have any time this week.

[Battle_axe]

Originally Posted by IceMike

Just got home from a nites racing, and being tired i was drivin wot i would call like a granny and keeping the revs low. Got almost home and there is a small round about and as i went round it the back end of my focus let go and span 180 around into a kirb. There was a bang but im not sure if it was just from the tire hitting the kirb or wot, i cant tell cos its dark. the kirb was one of them angled ones, and i cant feel any dent marks on the alloy, but wot else should i look out for or try and listen for to see if ive done any damage. i know i should book it into a garage to get checked but i dont have any time this week.

get it jacked up and rock the wheel in and out to feel for ant play in the bearings also i would guess you will get a whining sound when driving if you have done more damage

[matdodd]

Just check the wheel/tyre and hub mate, if you hit it hard it should be easy to see most problems in the light.
Good job by the way It was very wet on the way back you must of been driving the Focus like your buggy!

[matdodd]

O ye you could ask Stan hes a expert at hitting kirbs

[MikePimlott]

When you spun did you drive it home afterwards ????

[Jonesy]

Dude, what you playing at!

Hope it all works out ok

[IceMike]

Originally Posted by MikePimlott

When you spun did you drive it home afterwards ????

yer i drove it home but its less than a mile and it ant the best of roads after all this weather so its hard to tell if the car was handling weird

[IceMike]

Originally Posted by Jonesy

Dude, what you playing at!

Hope it all works out ok

its stupid i was tryin to save money and drive abit more economically, but i was only gettin another 2mpg, bollocks to taht in that future ill wrag its tits off again, seems like a far safer way to drive

[ben]

Check the steering arm isnt bent..
Also the wheel may look undamaged, but if it has been into the curb sideways hard enough it will of bent the wheel from the centre. Making it scrap, nothing you can do to bent it back ( i have got a slight bit of knowledge in the wheel deparment haha!)

I nearly spun the corsa earlier, thought i could beat this lass to the roundabout in actual fact i couldnt, i came into the roundabout pretty much completely sideways at about 40.. then sideways the other way on the way out! Anybody watching would of thought i did it on purpose!
I must remove the shit £35 tyres

[Jonesy]

Originally Posted by ben

I must remove the shit £35 tyres

Or you could drive normal?

[DCM]

And you wonder why insurance is high....

[DCM]

double post... doh!

[poopers]

Keep an eye out for the wheel bearings on the corner/side of impact, I damaged mine avoiding some idiot pulling out of a road without looking, put the car well up on two wheels that did. If you hear a deepish rumble it can be those.

I did the same thing before Christmas, 2nd gear on a roundabout just pootling along and the car spun around and just kept sliding straight off at the exit, finding myself broadside across a dual carriage way (Good thing it was 6.00am). I parked up thinking I had an oil leak, only to watch the next car do the same, turns out there was diesel all over the place.

[ben]

Originally Posted by Jonesy

Or you could drive normal?

Always a possibility

[cjm_2008]

Originally Posted by IceMike

bollocks to taht in that future ill wrag its tits off again, seems like a far safer way to drive

good luck with that.

[Jonesy]

Originally Posted by ben

Always a possibility

Never with you BJam

[Chrislong]

Originally Posted by ben

Check the steering arm isnt bent..
Also the wheel may look undamaged, but if it has been into the curb sideways hard enough it will of bent the wheel from the centre. Making it scrap, nothing you can do to bent it back ( i have got a slight bit of knowledge in the wheel deparment haha!)

Ben,
How about hitting the same kerb at same speed again in the hope of hitting opposite side of wheel, then that'd level it out - although change the offset a tad.

If wheel was bent, itd shake the car about at speed, perhaps at more than 30-40mph though.

Get a long broom handle and rest it against the wheel and see where it points, then do same on the other side, it ought to be the same unless it has been damaged. My Focus ST170 had 4 wheel tracking so I presume yours will, so if it is out it is easily put right at a garage able to do 4 wheel alignment (not necessarily Kwik Fit though). A four wheel alignment may be worthwhile anyway.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by IceMike

Just got home from a nites racing, and being tired i was drivin wot i would call like a granny and keeping the revs low. Got almost home and there is a small round about and as i went round it the back end of my focus let go and span 180 around into a kirb. There was a bang but im not sure if it was just from the tire hitting the kirb or wot, i cant tell cos its dark. the kirb was one of them angled ones, and i cant feel any dent marks on the alloy, but wot else should i look out for or try and listen for to see if ive done any damage. i know i should book it into a garage to get checked but i dont have any time this week.

Originally Posted by ben

Check the steering arm isnt bent..
Also the wheel may look undamaged, but if it has been into the curb sideways hard enough it will of bent the wheel from the centre. Making it scrap, nothing you can do to bent it back ( i have got a slight bit of knowledge in the wheel deparment haha!)

I nearly spun the corsa earlier, thought i could beat this lass to the roundabout in actual fact i couldnt, i came into the roundabout pretty much completely sideways at about 40.. then sideways the other way on the way out! Anybody watching would of thought i did it on purpose!
I must remove the shit £35 tyres

Ben unless you know somin i dont, focus steers from the front!!


IceMike

normal thing that bends is the hub/ supension arms, as the arms are only pressed steel, as Chris said it has adjustable rear wheel tracking, so your best bet is to get it 4 wheel aligned by a good garage that has a good 4 wheel alignment system, that way they can also check the wheel is not bent as its part of setting the machine to the car.

[MatJohnson]

Originally Posted by ben

Check the steering arm isnt bent..

it was the back of the car you wanged wasn't it?

Just a visual check on it, check the alloy, the sills should be fine and get your head under the back end to see if the wishbones are straight.

Open the boot and have a bounce about on it to make sure the suspension travel isn't damaged and go to a car park, full lock one way, full lock the other way and see what happens (slowly).

More than likely it would have done your tracking in. Just take it to ATS or somit and ask them to check it, should be free, just don't tell them why

[ben]

[QUOTE=mark christopher;334418]Ben unless you know somin i dont, focus steers from the front!!QUOTE]


Note to self: Read posts properly What a pleb