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Reported Paul Walker of Fast and Furios fame dead at 40.

The KILL appears by the fire, and a steel bodied car would not so much buckle in the center. That Porsche GT was mostly plastic (composite/graphite) and aluminum.

From what I have read, Walker was unconscious in the passenger seat and apparently burned to death as they were trying to rescue him with fire extinguishers. Several people had to be detained and later released at the scene who were trying to rescue them as to get them out of the way of the first responders. It is a shame that both of the victims' children were there, though apparently someone tried to keep Walker's daughter at a distance so she could not see what was happening.
 
I'll never have sympathy or give **** at all about people who wrap themselves around poles or trees or whatnot. You have to really be driving recklessly to do that and I've got no patience for folks putting others in potential danger. Thank goodness they didn't hurt any innocent bystanders.

Well that is not exactly true, a blow out from a faulty tire could cause this as well as a punctured fuel line to close to a hot electrical part. There are all sorts of tragedies that even excellent drivers cannot change.
 
In principle I agree with you, only I also think it reasonable to figure the car didn't likely have numerous failures at the same time. Even if the throttle stuck, there are so many other computer controls that will kick in (unless turned off or reprogrammed), that still wouldn't lead to an accident. So if it had been a Toyota or other ordinary car? Possible. But that is all but impossible in a Porsche GT. The computers more drive the car than the driver does. A "stuck throttle" would trigger front-to-rear tire sensors, the brakes and transmission to shut it down within milliseconds. I don't think mechanical failure alone could account for this, though could contribute.

The shop that worked on my CL65 was astonished at the vast array of sensors all feeding computers, and I had no clue how much the computer systems of such cars now do - including for safety. Prior to it, I had a Jaguar XKR (a supercharged version of the XKE). I got rid of it because the computers SO MUCH control over the car for safety's sake it was annoying. Until the CL65 I had no clue that cars had computers that operate the brakes and throttle - like it or not. It can be almost like your just along for the ride. And the failure safeguards even worse. If the computers sense ANYTHING is wrong, they literally shut the car down - and then MAY allow you to limp home in 2nd gear. They do not want either warranty claims on multi-six figure cars nor products liability lawsuits by people rich enough to buy them.

Supercars are SERIOUSLY programs to STOP IT AND SHUT IT DOWN! if anything goes wrong. That doesn't mean just turning off the motor. It means taking control of the throttle, brakes and suspension while shutting it down. Some actually are starting to even take over steering too.

Jeremy Clark bought a Ford F40 and immediately came to hate it, because the computer just keep turning the car off sensing something was wrong.

We also get into the question of if a person goes into a 30 posted curve at 90 in a car that can do it, but blows a tire while doing so and it wrecks, is that accident solely due to mechanical failure? I suppose that would be how someone looks at it.

I think I read this was a brand new car which means the driver had very little experience driving it.

Lack of experience can be very deadly, especially if you are trying to show off to the star of the F & F franchise. I am not saying that is what happened here, but it is very likely.

Who here can say they wouldn't have wanted to do the same? I mean car guys, not the people that only know where the key goes.
 
No. I will stay. Thanks... he was in that movie with Jessica Alba in her bikini all movie... Into the Deep. That one was cool . The F&F were stupid beyond belief. If people don't like my deuce and a half, thank you very much, then don't post on the world wide web.

I think this is a bigger story because of the way he died.

If he would have overdosed, like so many other celebs, there wouldn't be so much coverage, but he has been in 5, so far, movies with this same kind of driving.

I am not sure if his the irony is the speeding car or that he wasn't driving.
 
I get what you are saying. These low production ubber performance cars are a double edged sword. They do allow a 100% maximum the car can do more than other cars. The computers allow you to do what no other cars can do and that's great. But even without mechanical or electronic failure, if you take that car past that absolute ability level, you will lose the car far worse than other cars - and at a much higher speed. Mechanical/computer/electric failure also would be a disastrous too.

The car I have had all limiters removed and SERIOUS power upgrading the obviously super rich first owner. The car has the capability to go 224 miles per hour. Worthless in any usage sense, but impressive. However, the car being capable of doing 224 mph doesn't mean the tires can do 224 mph. I'm sure than can't. They've been on it too long nor are rated for it. So, really, how fast it can go is as fast as it's going - immediately before I died.

A trivia fact? The tires on the $2 million dollar Bugatti Veyron cost $70,000 dollars to replace, and they MUST be replaced every 2rd high speed run - and they recommend only 1. You can't even go for 250 mph unless the computer has been told the tires are fresh. Before you can take the car to just over 200 mph, you have to completely stop the car, change the mode it's in, and then the computers will do a diagnosis of the car, DROP it's rear air foil, drop the car down and ONLY then will the car decide it will even allow you to try to go that fast.

Personally, for performance fun driving, I preferred the lesser, ordinary cars. They're are fun without the radical g forces, intensity, and fear factors. Plus you don't get to as fast as you dare go without risking a ticket that would destroy you - in about 6 seconds from a standing stop. What I have will get to 60 in just a tad over 3 seconds, and that is limited due to tire hook up problems from a start. It will hit 100 in just over 6 seconds. Insane. Unusable. Unpleasant. An old sports car with a manual tranny straining thru the gears is more fun, though less than half as fast. I always thought I'd love the performance of a super car. Candidly, I don't.

I really would like to know what all they find in the accident, but doubt those details will be published. I bet Porsche is going to crawl all over that car. Whether this will help or hurt Porsche sales is up in the air. It could make that model desirable as a collectable, like Porsche speedsters the same as James Dean was driving can be worth millions. Or it could make them seem like lemons.

After buying crashed/salvage cars, I decided I would never want a Viper.

Every crashed Viper I saw was broken in half and I would never want to be in it when it does that.
 
You know what is even more Ironic than him having played in movies about street racing?

He also was the star of a movie called "Joy Ride"............................
 
From what I have read, Walker was unconscious in the passenger seat and apparently burned to death as they were trying to rescue him with fire extinguishers. Several people had to be detained and later released at the scene who were trying to rescue them as to get them out of the way of the first responders. It is a shame that both of the victims' children were there, though apparently someone tried to keep Walker's daughter at a distance so she could not see what was happening.

For what that car cost, it should have come with its own fire truck.
 
Wrong.

Body construction was carbon fiber.

This is not 'plastic'.

'Plastic' is not used in automotive frame / body construction.


:roll: "Graphite" is carbon fiber and epoxy, the resin used for graphite and fiberglass, is plastic.
 
After buying crashed/salvage cars, I decided I would never want a Viper.

Every crashed Viper I saw was broken in half and I would never want to be in it when it does that.

Interesting. Being a front engine and that much torque I would think it would have a very stout frame.
 
Interesting. Being a front engine and that much torque I would think it would have a very stout frame.

Chrysler engineers strike again.
 
From what I have read, Walker was unconscious in the passenger seat and apparently burned to death as they were trying to rescue him with fire extinguishers. Several people had to be detained and later released at the scene who were trying to rescue them as to get them out of the way of the first responders. It is a shame that both of the victims' children were there, though apparently someone tried to keep Walker's daughter at a distance so she could not see what was happening.

You must have not seen the pics of the aftermath. No one tried to get them out of that car and he was alive after the hit. He ended up on the drivers seat and the driver slid down and under the dash.
 
Interesting. Being a front engine and that much torque I would think it would have a very stout frame.

488 ci, not really that torquey. High rever, not a puller. Which is why they failed as truck motors.
 
488 ci, not really that torquey. High rever, not a puller. Which is why they failed as truck motors.

2013 Corvette 427 Z06: Power (SAE): 430 hp @ 5,900 rpm; 424 ft lb of torque @ 4,600 rpm

Read more: New 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Performance Specs - 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Performance Specifications - Motor Trend Magazine

2013 Viper: 512 cu in (8.4 L) V10 640 bhp (480 kW) @ 6150 rpm 600 lb·ft (810 N·m) @ 4950 rpm

Over 25% more torque than the ZO6

SRT Viper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
2013 Corvette 427 Z06: Power (SAE): 430 hp @ 5,900 rpm; 424 ft lb of torque @ 4,600 rpm

Read more: New 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Performance Specs - 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Performance Specifications - Motor Trend Magazine

2013 Viper: 512 cu in (8.4 L) V10 640 bhp (480 kW) @ 6150 rpm 600 lb·ft (810 N·m) @ 4950 rpm

Over 25% more torque than the ZO6

SRT Viper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What is your point? None of that is very impressive for the money you spend.
 
Interesting. Being a front engine and that much torque I would think it would have a very stout frame.

Most people can't handle a car with that much power but they buy them anyway.

When you hit a post sliding sideways, the car rips in half.

I have never Heard of the Viper being a strong car in any way. Remember they are always looking for ways to lower the weight.
 
What is your point? None of that is very impressive for the money you spend.

How much is the Viper in the US?

In Mexico it costs the equivalent of $100,000 or more.

That just seems like a lot of money for a death trap, especially on the roads we have here in Mexico. They are horrible.

If the British Top Gear guys want to look for some of the worst roads in the world, like they did looking for the best, they can come here, but of course they are scared to come here and not because of the cartel violence.
 
How much is the Viper in the US?

In Mexico it costs the equivalent of $100,000 or more.

That just seems like a lot of money for a death trap, especially on the roads we have here in Mexico. They are horrible.

If the British Top Gear guys want to look for some of the worst roads in the world, like they did looking for the best, they can come here, but of course they are scared to come here and not because of the cartel violence.

Viper SRT 10 comes in at close to $100k
 
What is your point? None of that is very impressive for the money you spend.

The POINT is that was you posted was completely inaccurate. The Viper as a very torquey motor a production car, more than most even most performance cars costing $200K+

The reason they were not continued as a truck motor is because in trucks they got extremely bad gas mileage. I was thinking of buying a used older one a couple years back only as a boat towing vehicle, until I looked up the gas mileage it'd get. With a good tailwind and being very gentle on the gas I'd have been lucky to get 6 mpgs while towing.
 
Viper SRT 10 comes in at close to $100k

Yeah, the top performance Camero, top performance Mustang, top performance Corvette and top performance Chrysler (Viper) all cost $100Kish. A loaf of bread used to cost 50 cents too.
 
How much is the Viper in the US?

In Mexico it costs the equivalent of $100,000 or more.

That just seems like a lot of money for a death trap, especially on the roads we have here in Mexico. They are horrible.

If the British Top Gear guys want to look for some of the worst roads in the world, like they did looking for the best, they can come here, but of course they are scared to come here and not because of the cartel violence.

I wouldn't want a Viper because I don't care how it looks, it is too much of a look-at-me! car, and it's a 2 seater. But I understand why many people would.

Every review of the Viper is the same conclusion. They are an old school muscle car. Loud interior, rough ride, crude suspension, bad gas mileage, don't handle well by modern standards. Rather, just raw horsepower and torque.

There are people who want such a car for the sensations of it, and from those reviews probably are a car the more still allows you to "feel" the road and the performance.

The high performance (used and modified) high tech car my wife gave me is at the other end of the spectrum in terms of chassis, suspension and computer controls - as in all very advanced. Such is superior for performance and can out performance more primitive cars in terms of chassis and suspension (handling) plus definitely very smooth, quiet and comfortable. That is the direction all "performance" cars are going.

Yet there are drawbacks to these ultra-high tech cars compared to the more crude Viper. The ultra high tech design and computer controls prevent you from feeling the car.

They also have their own unique dangers, and one Jeremy Clark of the British Top Gear commented on. They are definitely FASTER and MUCH faster in curves and corners. A human can pump the brakes, adjust the suspension, and alter the throttle 600 times per second. At the max, these cars are literally performing beyond human capabilities for the car. So they are "faster." BUT if you are already pushing it beyond the physical traction abilities of the car that even the computer can deal with - you now WILL lose the car and there is no possibility you can recover control. So when they DO wipe out, they wipe out VERY badly and you have lost total control.

A Viper is more along the lines of an old school American muscle car, more like a 1969 L88 Corvette than a 2013 Ferrari.
 
Most people can't handle a car with that much power but they buy them anyway.

When you hit a post sliding sideways, the car rips in half.

I have never Heard of the Viper being a strong car in any way. Remember they are always looking for ways to lower the weight.

Ubber high tech performance cars are more powerful than most people can handle, yes. And they are very deceptive in that they are most faster than they "feel." Tire traction limits 0-60 and 1/4th ets in a manner for which they are fast (generally 12 second 1/4ths and low 4 second to high 3 second 0-60 times), but actually relatively they are MUCH faster in terms of if you punch it at 30, 40, 60 mph and then tire traction limitations are not as relevant.

At those speeds flooring like lighting up a rocket sled - and that is why they get people into so much trouble - particularly in curves. They don't realize that at 40 or 50 mph if they floor it - unless the computers can react fast enough to veto the driver - the back drive tires will break traction and the car will spin out.

Chrysler design has a lot of carry over of Mercedes Benz performance concepts, which included being heavier. The heavier weight means less need for down force ground effects at super high speeds and overall is safer at extremely high speeds. Since American performance is still a matter of "how fast will it do the quarter mile?" - then for people that matters for they will always wish the car weighed less, plus a lighter weight car will corner faster.

On the other hand, it is wind resistance, not weight, that becomes the primary obstacle to performance at very high speeds - for which then necessity for down force ground effects body design is more of a handicap than having the car being heavier.
 
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Yeah, the top performance Camero, top performance Mustang, top performance Corvette and top performance Chrysler (Viper) all cost $100Kish. A loaf of bread used to cost 50 cents too.

Learn how to spell Camaro, then we can talk. And there are no 100K Camaros unless you are approved to buy a COPO.
 
The POINT is that was you posted was completely inaccurate. The Viper as a very torquey motor a production car, more than most even most performance cars costing $200K+

The reason they were not continued as a truck motor is because in trucks they got extremely bad gas mileage. I was thinking of buying a used older one a couple years back only as a boat towing vehicle, until I looked up the gas mileage it'd get. With a good tailwind and being very gentle on the gas I'd have been lucky to get 6 mpgs while towing.
Well gee, I guess my certs and 30 years of experience cant hold up to your internet bull****. LOL
 
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