STi crashes at VIR
04-06-2010, 10:39 AM
#21
I came from a WRX and know his setup on that car fairly well. It was making a lot more power than the average STI that would be out on the course. A normal STI or even a stg2 one won't be seeing speeds like that going into the uphill S section.
04-06-2010, 11:13 AM
#22
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Palo Alto
Posts: 5,387
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I figured he had to be making a lot of power to get going that fast. I think the top speed of an F1000 car around that same circuit is around 150 and F1000s are turning lap times like a 911 GT3 RSR (the real race car version, not the street legal version).
04-06-2010, 12:27 PM
#23
Originally Posted by ConfessORdie,Apr 5 2010, 09:22 PM
that was the neck brace-like item he was wearing right? Protects against whiplash and neck trauma?
The HANS device is essentially a device that anchors the head to the shoulders. The human head is quite massive and when you have a sudden deceleration event, such as crashing into a wall, your body stays more or less planted by the harness, but your head wants to fly forward. Imagine holding a bowling ball in your lap and then crashing into a wall. The bowling ball is not going to stay put.
The forces acting on the head are so great that they can actually cause the spine to stretch taut. The spine is stronger than the base of the skull so what happens is the base of your skull will rip out and stay attached to the spine while the rest of the head keeps moving forward. Naturally, this kills you. That's precisely what happened to Earnhart. It's called a basilar skull fracture.
While I completely agree that the HANS device is an necessity, I disagree that it really did much to help the guy in this crash. His neck probably experienced some strong lateral loads when the car rolled, but he didn't crash into anything in such a way that it really utilized the HANS device.
04-06-2010, 12:27 PM
#24
Originally Posted by rockville,Apr 6 2010, 11:13 AM
I figured he had to be making a lot of power to get going that fast. I think the top speed of an F1000 car around that same circuit is around 150 and F1000s are turning lap times like a 911 GT3 RSR (the real race car version, not the street legal version).
04-06-2010, 03:43 PM
#28
Also, steering wheels are supposed to be somewhat collapseable. It's nothing to do with this being a subpar wheel.
