CarlosA4

Well, here goes:
Driving from houston to dallas this afternoon (went to a concert last night) and the roads are clear, dry, and not that many cars on the road ( in Ennis)..
Then, all of a sudden (no warning) it starts hailing rain... we are talking RAINING HARD (hardly could see with the wipers on high).. so, since i was doing over 70mph (yes, the speed limit) i wanted to slow down, and go to the middle lane.. as i shut off the cruise control, and started to the lane, the car starts to hydoplane torwards the 1st lane, i try to correct it and counter steer and then i start sliding torwards the cement medium at a 45 deg angle.. (NO CONTROL).. i try to steer away and nothing happends, i just keep sliding (at this point, i make sure my gf and lil sis are buckled and tell them to hang on).. i can't control the car and i'm heading right torwards the cement, so, i just steer with the car and end up doing a 180... next thing i know, i am facing the wrong direction and now sliding 45 deg angle torwards the 1st lane, i again try to correct my steer and nothing happends, so, i steer torward the slide again and finally complete another 180 and facing the right way, but going torwards the ditch (deeep).. i then (in desperation) pull my emergency brake and slide in the emergency lane torwards the cement wall... the car luckily slides and stops.. less than a feet away from the wall.. everyones wide eyed and catching their breath.. and its over..
all this happend in less than 5-6 seconds which of course, seemed like a lifetime, i was sure we were going to hit something, and i actually felt VERY safe in my Car, i knew it was well built and i knew we were going to be safe, i was only worried about getting hit by another car when we finally would stop...
My 96 2.8 (non quattro) is to be thanked, if i had my old supra, i am not so sure the outcome..
I now realize what a great car it TRULLY is, not only for looks and safety, but also for fantastic handling in an emergency.. my advice ? practice and get to know your car and what it can handle in an empty parking lot or something... i did, and i am glad i did..
p.s. please, no flames, just wanted to share my story.

Anand@4Induktion.com

<p>- Anand Dhanda
'00 A4 1.8TQMSx
'01('02?) TT 225QR
<a href=" http://sdaoc.sixmillion.com/aas/"><img src=" http://sdaoc.sixmillion.com/sig.JPG" border=0></a>

kirwinh

Not much to say, just happy you guys came through OK.

myke050

yeah, i dont have quattro either- im sure sometimes it would help a bit in "quick acting" situations

Bill S

What kind of tires and tread depth left?

rmlg was ruben g

Glad to hear you're alright.

ChuckH

...I use to have. It really sucks being in a spin and not being able to do anything about it. I ended up spinning around and watching the guard rail go by twice (closer each pass), until I finally nailed it head on on the last turn. Luckily it was a fairly light impact, so the damage was fairly minor.

Glad to hear you stayed away from everything and all is well! :-)<p>Charles
2000 Nissan Xterra SE V6 4x4 (personal)
'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip (business)

ChuckH

<p>Charles
2000 Nissan Xterra SE V6 4x4 (personal)
'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip (business)

CharlieK

Two philosophies--

Either stay off your brakes and keep steering in the direction the car is actually moving, or nail the anti-locks and keep steering in the direction the car is actually going. DON'T touch the e-brake unless you're in a snow-filled parking lot and want to practice doing 360 degree spins.

eMKay (BFLO)

I live in Buffalo, everyone here has at least 1 "out-of-control and got really lucky" story. And more than that have "out-of-control, got stuck in a ditch" stories.