Fast and Furious Star Paul Walker (all around car guy) Dies in Porsche Accident

[wingcar]

Bottomline is:  Respect the car and what's it's capable of doing and not doing, or pay the price...
Just because you can afford one....doesn't mean you should own one or that you instantly became a much better driver, no matter what your background is...Safety on the road is a matter of common sense and horseplay on the highway with a "Hi-Performance" car (and you don't get much more "Hi-Performance" than a car like this) only takes an instant to change your world and someone else's.....................

[Dino]

The driver may have been a professional race track driver, but he wasn't on a track now was he?  I recall seeing the car when it was new and the comments it got from pro drivers.  Like Ghoste said, it's all or nothing with no room for error. 

It's incredibly sad what has happened and I can only hope most people will think twice before taking a barely legal street car on public roads.

[Ghoste]

It would be nice to see Walker's charity interests continued. 

[1974dodgecharger]

The driver may have been a professional race track driver, but he wasn't on a track now was he?  I recall seeing the car when it was new and the comments it got from pro drivers.  Like Ghoste said, it's all or nothing with no room for error. 

It's incredibly sad what has happened and I can only hope most people will think twice before taking a barely legal street car on public roads.

Come on dino our cars are barely legal in the road......

[Dino]

The driver may have been a professional race track driver, but he wasn't on a track now was he?  I recall seeing the car when it was new and the comments it got from pro drivers.  Like Ghoste said, it's all or nothing with no room for error. 

It's incredibly sad what has happened and I can only hope most people will think twice before taking a barely legal street car on public roads.

Come on dino our cars are barely legal in the road......

Only because so many drive with crappy brakes.  Compared to that Porsche, our cars can be renamed Isetta.

[A383Wing]

Paul Walker died after the speeding Porsche in which he was riding hydroplaned on reflective plastic markers in the street ... at least that's what his family and accident reconstruction experts believe.

Sources close to Paul's family says the family has been in touch with stunt experts who have gone to the crash site and come back with what they believe is a solid theory -- a speeding car that hits the plastic markers -- called Botts' Dots -- will hydroplane, causing the driver to lose control.

We've learned the experts have told the family ... a car going speeds approaching 90 MPH will lose traction after hitting a series of Botts' Dots.  It's akin to driving on ice -- and  control is further compromised by the fact that the Porsche was outfitted with special racing tires that have very little tread.

And there's this ... Porsche sent out a memo to dealers back in 2004, warning about control problems with the Carrera GT, saying, "This vehicle cannot drive over a Foster Beer can that is lying on its side.  It will crush the can and damage the carbon fiber under panels," adding, "You need to be aware of what type of road surface you are on (dips, pot holes, seam heights, etc.)."

[Big Sugar]

Im thinking thats all nonsence !   Cripes its simple folks ! They lost control while speeding and hit a tree !  Any way you look at it doesnt chage a thing, DRIVER ERROR !
  To even consider blaming the car is just nuts !






Ron

[Mike DC]

    
It's not blaming the car, it's blaming the car being driven on the wrong road conditions.  

Those reflective thingys may work for their intended purpose but they are a problem for people crossing the lanes at anywhere near the edge of traction.  The Nevada Silver State Classic is in danger because the state has been considering putting those things onto the roads they have been using. 

The retort comes to mind, "He shouldn't have been pushing that hard on a public road." But in the bigger picture I don't think we should be too happy about anything which makes a road harder to handle.  It was a couple of leadfoots going too fast on dry pavement today.  It might be someone's mother wrecking on an icy/wet patch at a more reasonable speed tomorrow.



All that being said, I do blame the car for being too fragile to drive over a big beer can.  It's bad enough that it's too low, but to have the car's undercarriage panels get DAMAGED by such a thing is pretty far out there.  Its not relevant to this incident but it is pretty crazy IMHO.    

[hemi-hampton]

When he said Fosters beer can I wonder if he meant the 12 oz. Aluminum can or the 32 oz. Steel can

[JB400]

If that article by Bryan is true, I call it a freak accident.  Here's why:  2 guys (with a reputation for driving fast) in a car       (with the reputation of being difficult to drive) on a stretch of pavement (with a reputation of being a high speed hotspot) decorated with these slick lane markers.  Too many variables to place blame on one exact cause of the accident.

Regardless of the cause of the accident, as a driver, the only thing we can do is be more aware of our actions and surroundings.

[Ghoste]

It's just an accident.  Period.  Otherwise it was done on purpose.  Whether a single cause or a series of factors it doesn't matter, the end result is a tragedy.  Purpose built race cars driven by the highest caliber drivers on purpose built race surfaces have sometimes fatal incidents as well. 
I wish the best for the families of BOTH victims.

[Dino]

When he said Fosters beer can I wonder if he meant the 12 oz. Aluminum can or the 32 oz. Steel can

That's what I was thinking.  It's hard to believe such a flimsy aluminum can would damage carbon fiber, that stuff is real strong.

It's just an accident.  Period.  Otherwise it was done on purpose.  Whether a single cause or a series of factors it doesn't matter, the end result is a tragedy.  Purpose built race cars driven by the highest caliber drivers on purpose built race surfaces have sometimes fatal incidents as well. 
I wish the best for the families of BOTH victims.

Me too. 

[Ghoste]

I'm thinking the beer can analogy was meant to be illustrative and not literal.  They are extremely low to the ground so road imperfections will result in the car bottoming out.
Carbon fiber is strong in one way but the stuff is brittle too, it seems like the right blow will cause it shatter.  Anyway, a lot of those supercars with the one inch ground clearance and carbon fiber panels have them gouged all to hell on the bottom.  Ferrari has a front end suspension lift button that you can use in areas with speed bumps or for steeper parking garage ramps etc that lifts the car a bit.  (some others have it too)

[Dino]

I'm thinking the beer can analogy was meant to be illustrative and not literal.  They are extremely low to the ground so road imperfections will result in the car bottoming out.
Carbon fiber is strong in one way but the stuff is brittle too, it seems like the right blow will cause it shatter.  Anyway, a lot of those supercars with the one inch ground clearance and carbon fiber panels have them gouged all to hell on the bottom.  Ferrari has a front end suspension lift button that you can use in areas with speed bumps or for steeper parking garage ramps etc that lifts the car a bit.  (some others have it too)

I guess they don't test these things on Michigan roads then.   

[Ghoste]

Ain't that the truth.

[472 R/T SE]

Ca. has their share of junk roads.  Not to the extreme of persay Pa.

[Mike DC]

 
                 
I think the Fosters can warning was literal.  They were referring to the bigger can though.


Carbon fiber gets the weight loss from losing versatility, like most high-tech composites.  It's strong in certain directions instead of all directions so they can avoid carrying the weight required for the other directions.  It's stiff & eventually shatters because elasticity means more densely packed molecules -- > more weight.   Etc.


Aluminum seems like a good substitute for steel in lots of places, if only we could somehow improve the fatigue life issue. 

[Indygenerallee]

Everything will break if given enough abuse, Carbon fiber is strong but I have seen shredded CF driveshaft before, You can really compromise the structural integrity if you get a gouge in the fiber and I believe that's what they were trying to get across with the beer can analogy (Don't bottom it out on ANYTHING!)

[tan top]

Im thinking thats all nonsence !   Cripes its simple folks ! They lost control while speeding and hit a tree !  Any way you look at it doesnt chage a thing, DRIVER ERROR !
   To even consider blaming the car is just nuts !






Ron

    yep nothing more ,   sad for all  involved ,
end of story 

[wingcar]

Any car will kill you if you engage the gears while disconnecting the common sense portion of your brain.

A car can't think and reason, that's still the driver's job.

[mopar0166]

Any car will kill you if you engage the gears while disconnecting the common sense portion of your brain.

A car can't think and reason, that's still the driver's job.

YES