Unexpected obstacles and resilient bodywork

[usagtrman]

With the roads clear of moisture and salt today seemed like a great day for a drive. The temperature is about 38f and the engine just loves the cool air. I was coming back from a country road blast on a busy 4 lane divided roadway with a 6 foot wide median. Traffic was heavy but still moving a good bit above the 45 mph limit. I was surrounded by SUV's....some on the phone....some taking pictures of me when the Explorer ahead of me made a sudden lane change. Moments later I saw why. There were 2 of the plastic 5 gallon paint buckets bouncing in the road. The buckets were sitting one inside of the other and as the Explorer moved by he knocked them just enough to send them spinning in circles but moving twords the curb. I couldn't swerve right as I had gawkers beside me. It looked like the buckets might stay by the curb and give me enough room to sneak by but the spinning motion caught the curb and kicked them right back to the center of the lane. I was now sure I couldn't get by on either side. I was also sure I could stop short of hitting them. The problem was I was sure the the Excursion behind me couldn't stop without my help. I braked as hard as I could, modulating the pressure based upon the proximity of the 4 1/2 tons(yep....over 9000 lbs!) of Ford. I'm not sure of how fast I was going when I hit the buckets but it was fast enough to send them flying into the median. The thud made me think my bodywork would surely be broken up but I had kept the behemoth behind from hitting us. I pulled off at the next lot and got out to inspect what I expected to be quite ugly. Amazingly the only sign of the impact was some white marks from the buckets! No cracks could be found and the white marks came off with some good old fashion spit and a firm rub. Having never had a fiberglass vehicle before I am quite impressed. I can't tell you how much I wanted to swerve. In retrospect a swerve in either direction or a full stop could have been disasterous(curb on one side, SUV on the other and the Excursion bringing up the rear). My choice of taking the hit was the right one this time. Luckily for me....me and our GTR are no worse for wear. Be carefull out there.

Brad Z

[pb3]

Well that was pretty close, was it just white paint on your body then?! When I managed to push a badly placed oil drum with mine (at low speed in reverse) I was scared to look at my yellow gel coat. But like you all I had was a very small scratch leaving a white mark that so far nobody has noticed, but I am sure they will now, doh!

[steve_d]

I don't want to spoil your relief but I'm sorry to say that impacts like that often do not show anything at first but may develop into a 'star crack' at some later date. The GF has been stressed by the impact and that stress may relive itself by cracking.
If it is any help I am also waiting for developments after hitting a pheasant at very high speed the other week.

Steve

[ultimarobert]

Be sure to open up the front and make a quick check near the swivel bolts.

[usagtrman]

The white stuff just looked like paint from the buckets. Thanks for letting me know to give the bodywork a detailed once over. I hope this isn't the beginning of cracking I noticed that the impact may have been absorbed partially by the laser diffuser which is mounted up front. In either case.....I'll be keeping an eye on this area.

Brad Z

[menostig]

A bit different but the lip spoiler on my Sport has suffered some vigorous smack-downs with no damage but a few rivet replacements. Amazing - compare to say a ferrari with similar performance and low front, how much would cone/ferry-ramp/braking zone bump damage cost on one of those ?

cheers
Roger.