Posted on 12/03/2013 10:21:13 AM PST by Red Badger
Brakes aren’t very effective when the tires are skating over a layer of fluid on the pavement.
Check out my post 35 above with calibrated crash tests.
Based on this, I think it's possible to see the level of damage in the Walker crash from a focused collision taking the car from 40 mph to zero in a fraction of a second, PLUS car fire.
That isn't trivial - since the energy goes up with the SQUARE of the velocity, those additional 5 mph represent about 27% more energy in the collision.
I'm guessing none of those failures happened in a 610+ HP V10 mid-engined RWD car that only weighs 3,000 lbs and is notorious for loss of control.
Yup, called loose nut between the seat and steering wheel.
The fire no doubt adds to the overall catastrophic appearance, but the structural damage appears to be way to high for such a realitvely low speed.
On the other hand, the Porsche 911 series is a rear engine, which means the front end has minimal crumple resistance (it’s basically a trunk). So I suppose it’s feasible ...
Here’s Mark Martin showing that this sort of thing can (almost) happen to NASCAR drivers too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jzwZSBEUo
Narrow, immovable objects can make a mess of any car.
Plus, the driver was driving 45 mph while navigating a 15 mph turn (assuming the reports are true). It sounds like a freak accident.
It makes one stop and think about how we drive, even at lower speeds. Because you just never know what will happen.
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