Back in 2007, I was driving my first handmade car – a red 1999.5 MkIV Jetta with a 2. Slow and 5 speed engine, bought from the used yard for $6,000 la (it has a flimsy, broken O-shaped cup holder – one of my first “mods” was to buy fancy “claw style” cups from later MkIV Jetta/Golf models from eBay).
One day I was getting used to things like rev matching, downshifting dual clutches etc and was enjoying the car on my way home from work.
About to turn right at a clear intersection, I decided to downshift to match the revs as I pulled into the turn.
Reach hot on the brake. Brake off. Rev-match from 4th to 3rd (at that time I had not mastered the tiptoe). The car hit the bend.
“Yes – this car is amazing. I’m Tommi-freak-Makkinen”
Suddenly, the back began to turn.
“Oh no – wait, what… Oh my…”
Internet wisdom, which I read somewhere (probably Newcelica.org), flashed in my consciousness: “don’t hit the brake – press the gas” – so I hit the gas and hope/ pray I don’t get damaged – the car is horizontal, the nose of the car is facing the curb, and I can feel it swaying on the rough/bumpy road. But I still hold the gas pedal
And just like that, I did it – I accidentally threw my car into a corner, got a gas boost, and then saved it*, just enough, thanks to some general advice from strangers online car forum, and a big help of silly luck.
*After the adrenaline wore off, I started noticing weird wobbling or grinding sensations when braking – it turned out that I had bent the 4-wheel disc brakes on my Jetta, which would require huge amounts of money. $600 in 2007 for repairs, and a couple of days on a bus to work (bad luck, where I lived in the Toronto Area at the time). Save it for the track, folks – at least the sidewalks are nicer.
It helps Makkinen Evos to be red, potentially lending a bit of your golf prowess. That’s how it works, right?
