Paul Walker dead

[Kaido]

The mental logic behind yolo evades me. You only live once... so throw it away foolishly? Maybe if we had nine lives, then when some jerk wanted to hang by his fingers from a crane, or base jump off a bridge, or ride a wheely down a highway his friends could all shrug and say "yhnl."

I don't think it's so much that as much as being in the moment. You're in a hot car with your buddy, of course you're going to gun it. And in that car especially, it's reaaaallly easy to go nuts.

Series won't be the same without him. I wasn't a big fan of his character, but Vin Diesel needed someone to play off other than the Rock.

 

[phucheneh]

Dude, physics. This is a technical forum, we have standards . The car is going 100+ mph, around a curve. A spinning car has no traction. When a car spins it travels in a straight line from the point where the spin began until it stops or hits something that changes its course. The _only_ thing that can cause that car to follow a tighter curve into the inside wall (or whatever is there) is oversteer. In that particular car it was almost certainly caused by losing the back end. The fact that the driver's side impacted first seals the deal on that. End of story.

Dude, physics. You're really bad at it.

 

[Brian Stirling]

Pics/streetview already posted here...Dec 1, 2013.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35797339&postcount=107

Yeah, must have missed that post.

But, if you look at the street view you see the light pole with the 45mph sign on it and that is the pole they hit and knocked down. And again, the trees are just too wimpy to have done the major damage.

The light pole, even if it were break-away, would have a great deal of mass such that a light car, travelling at high speed, would hit it and the pole would act kind of like hitting water at high speed. Hit water fast enough and you might as well hit concrete.


Brian

 

[BUTCH1]

IMO the driver was a total asshole for going that fast on that road, not only did he kill himself he killed a man who used his good fortune to help many others along the way, he was lucky he didn't encounter another vehicle in the process of crashing and could have cost more lives. I'm all for fast cars and fun but there is a time and place for everything, if it involves recklessly involving Joe six-pack just trying to get home from work your a douche IMO..

 

[MrPickins]

Dude, physics. You're really bad at it.

http://*********/tyHelFPYGPY?t=2m4s

He's completely correct.

Edit: WTF? youtu .be is blocked?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyHelFPYGPY

Jump to 2 min 5 sec.

 

[phucheneh]

He's really not, though...I mean, he COULD be, because we're both just speculating on what actually happened. But you guys don't seem to get the difference between what I'm talking about versus something like that drifting video.

In the latter example, you're talking about lower speeds, and the back end is already purposefully broken loose, with the front wheels steering. The car's overall inertia is pointed towards the inside of the turn, and the front wheels MUST maintain traction so that the obvious counter-steering can direct it back the other way. 'Competition' drifting like that is an automotive ballet; what leads to accidents like Walker's is more of an automotive blitzkrieg.

The Porsche was already travelling at a very high rate of speed...realize that if the car impacted a pole at 100mph, it was going a decent bit faster than that before it started spinning. It's bleeding off speed during the spin as the tires skid; it's not doing it very efficiently, though- the concrete might as well be ice. That's the picture to have in your head...it's not a slow power-over, it's a violently fast spin. The back end of the car is whisked out from under it under traction, but it's quickly lost...not just at the back end of the car, but also at the front as it is jerked in the other direction. Such a condition during a high-speed turn WOULD throw it towards the outside.

An at least semi-skilled driver would not be on the throttle during the turn...their mistake would likely come while accelerating out of the exit. The driver's brain said 'it's go time' without realizing that that car can probably easily snap the back end out from under itself in third or fourth gear. On a straight. It's very much like the analogy I made to a rocket on the back of a car...it's nigh-impossible to direct that massive thrust straight ahead, which causes the back end to pass the front end and the whole shebang to spin like a marching baton.

 

[Markbnj]

He's really not, though...I mean, he COULD be, because we're both just speculating on what actually happened. But you guys don't seem to get the difference between what I'm talking about versus something like that drifting video.

I'm trying to visualize your scenario, but I really can't. Given the track portrayed in the LAT graphic, and given that we know the car hit the pole on the driver's side, if you're saying it was a spin and not oversteer, then you feel the car yawed 360+ degrees while arcing toward the inside of the curve? I mean, oversteer certainly seems like a simpler explanation to me, but I'm no race driver.

 

[phucheneh]

Nor am I [a race driver]. I'm just going off of experiences with stupid-fast cars on the street, and trying to give the deceased a bit of credit- they were being stupid, but they probably both knew enough about driving and the danger of that car to not push it through that corner. The relative 'safety' of the straight tricked them into opening that car up. Which was a mistake. Anywhere but on a racetrack, preferably with real track tires...mistake.

I need to go back over the info posted. I'm not even very sure of the scale of that diagram that was posted...like I said, just speculation. I just objected to the implication that my understanding of physics and cars sucked. I think I'm pretty good in that area. Though a lot of the rest of me might suck. :awe:

 

[Markbnj]

The physics thing was just a crack, but working off the basic assumption that if something fairly massive is traveling at high speed in a circle, then its motion is constrained somehow (i.e. by the coefficient of friction between the tires and the road). If that constraint is removed then the mass is going in a straight line at a tangent to the original arc. I can't envision a "spin" that would result in hitting the inside wall of a curve, so I guess we're probably using different definitions of the term. On the other hand I can easily imagine oversteer leading to exactly what happened, so I'm going with Occam's Razor until convinced otherwise .

 

[Number1]

Paul Walker's fatal crash caused by 'unsafe speed,' investigators conclude

The Porsche carrying Fast & Furious star Paul Walker was travelling approximately 145 km/h when it lost control on a suburban street and crashed, killing the actor and his friend, the Los Angeles County Sheriff said on Tuesday, concluding an almost four-month investigation.

"Investigators determined the cause of the fatal solo-vehicle collision was unsafe speed for the roadway conditions," Los Angeles County Sheriff Commander Mike Parker said in a statement.

The sports car slammed into a light pole which had a speed limit sign of 72 km/h, killing Walker and Roger Rodas in a fiery wreck.

Paul Walker dead: Fast and Furious star killed in car crash
Paul Walker died of 'traumatic and thermal injuries' from crash
Parker said the 2005 model-year high-powered sports car had been modified to increase its horsepower.

Investigators calculated that Rodas was driving between 130 km/h and 151 km/h when his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT began to drift as it lost control after coming out of a curve.

No evidence of mechanical problems

The Associated Press reported in December that investigators had found no evidence that the car had mechanical problems and ruled out debris or other roadway conditions.

si-paulwalker-852.jpg
A 2011 file photo shows actor Paul Walker at a photo call of the movie Fast and Furious 5, in Rome. (Andrew Medichini/Associated Press)

Subsequently, Porsche sent engineers to California to review the rare car's wreckage. Though it was badly mangled and burned, the engineers were able to do a thorough analysis. They found no problems with the car's electrical systems, brakes, throttle, fuel system, steering, suspension or other systems.

Porsche declined a request for comment Tuesday.

Paul Walker crash: Car may have been going more than 160 km/h
Fast and Furious 7 gets 2015 release after Paul Walker's death
The conclusion about the speed was based on a "yaw" mark on the road that the car's tire left on the road in an area of industrial office parks in Santa Clarita, about 48 kilometres northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Witnesses told a sheriff's deputy that they thought the car could have been travelling in excess of 160 km/h.

Post-crash investigators noted several issues with the condition of the car, which had several prior owners, including IndyCar driver Graham Rahal:

Its original exhaust system had been modified in a way that could allow it to go faster, but also could have been done to change its sound.
Its tires were about nine years old; the owner's manual suggests changing the tires after four years.
Its left rear brake rotor was worn below manufacturer specifications, but that did not contribute to the crash.
Rodas, 38, and Walker, 40, had taken what was supposed to be a quick ride from a fundraiser benefiting Reach Out Worldwide, a Walker charity that gives first-response aid to victims of natural disasters. The crash occurred near the fundraiser, and horrified friends of the men raced to the scene.

While Rodas was Walker's financial adviser, the two had bonded over their shared love of fast cars. They co-owned an auto racing team named after Rodas' shop, Always Evolving, and Rodas drove professionally for the team on the Pirelli World Challenge circuit in 2013.

Walker starred in all but one of the six Fast & Furious blockbusters, which glorify muscular cars and risky driving.

This only confirms what I have been saying:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=35862895&postcount=455


Alky is an idiot.

 

[purbeast0]

obviously he's an idiot, and obviously speed was a factor.

and why the f did you post your post in orange text?

 

[Ns1]

Its tires were about nine years old; the owner's manual suggests changing the tires after four years.

Buy 6 digit car, own car shop, never replace tires. Brilliant.

 

[Number1]

obviously he's an idiot, and obviously speed was a factor.

and why the f did you post your post in orange text?

What are you smoking?

 

[Ns1]

What are you smoking?

I seem to recall orange text the first time I read that post too.

//edit

kept hitting backspace, confirmed it used to be in orange.

 

[norseamd]

this was not exactly a malaysian 777 plane crash

 

[SKORPI0]

Subsequently, Porsche sent engineers to California to review the rare car's wreckage. Though it was badly mangled and burned, the engineers were able to do a thorough analysis. They found no problems with the car's electrical systems, brakes, throttle, fuel system, steering, suspension or other systems.

Porsche declined a request for comment Tuesday.

I'm surprised that none interested/3rd party engineers (not from Porsche) were sent to investigate the crash. If they haven't anyway. Porsche might be covering their ass against a possible law suit by declaring that car wasn't "defective".

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I'm surprised that none interested/3rd party engineers (not from Porsche) were sent to investigate the crash. If they haven't anyway. Porsche might be covering their ass against a possible law suit by declaring that car wasn't "defective".

A couple of idiots driving at that speed on a city street are going to crash eventually even in a car with zero defects. Should a team of scientists be called in to labor for months every time a reckless driver eats a tree? If the car crashed and exploded doing 30 mph on a straight road then yes, perhaps it might be a good idea to check for a defect. In a crash like this everyone knew the cause a long time ago.

 

[cabri]

Bump:
Money trumps common sense
http://news.yahoo.com/porsche-sued-over-crash-killed-paul-walker-234527307.html

Porsche sued over crash that killed Paul Walker

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The widow of the man who was driving a Porsche sports car that crashed and killed "Fast & Furious" actor Paul Walker sued the automaker on Monday, claiming design flaws caused both men to die in a fiery crash in November.



The wrongful death lawsuit by Kristine M. Rodas says her husband was driving at 55 mph (88.5 kph) — not at unsafe speeds as law enforcement investigators determined — before it crashed last year. Roger W. Rodas was driving a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT capable of speeds more than 200 mph (320 kph), but his wife's lawsuit says the vehicle lacked a proper crash cage and safety features in the gas tank that would have saved both men's lives.

Denial of the facts :thumbsdown:

 

[rh71]

how would she know how fast he was going? Can't they throw it out based on that alone?

 

[TerryMathews]

how would she know how fast he was going? Can't they throw it out based on that alone?

RTFA. " Kristine Rodas' attorney, Mark Geragos, said he hired the top experts in the country to evaluate the wreckage and crash. The results, he said, were an unbiased look at the accident that refutes an official investigation that determined the sports car was speeding at up to 94 mph when it crashed."

TL;DR: it wasn't an Ouija board.

 

[cabri]

RTFA. " Kristine Rodas' attorney, Mark Geragos, said he hired the top experts in the country to evaluate the wreckage and crash. The results, he said, were an unbiased look at the accident that refutes an official investigation that determined the sports car was speeding at up to 94 mph when it crashed."

TL;DR: it wasn't an Ouija board.

When you hire an expert to get a result; only a fool will consider the output to be unbiased.

Even laymen realized that the vehicle was not going at 55 from the first reports.

 

[TerryMathews]

When you hire an expert to get a result; only a fool will consider the output to be unbiased.

Even laymen realized that the vehicle was not going at 55 from the first reports.

Visual observation of veoocity is known to be inaccurate.

Let's be clear here, I do personally believe that they were speeding but at the same time attacking her for retaining her own expert not knowing who he is reeks of bias on your part.

For all we know she has retained the foremost expert in analyzing tire tracks. I'm sure her attorney will release the data which will include who prepared the report, in due time.

 

[Markbnj]

News flash: grief-stricken people often seek someone to blame, and when they do there is often an attorney standing nearby with a sympathetic smile and a contingency fee agreement.

 

[surfsatwerk]

News flash: grief-stricken people often seek someone to blame, and when they do there is often an attorney standing nearby with a sympathetic smile and a contingency fee agreement.

God bless America!

 

[cabri]

Visual observation of veoocity is known to be inaccurate.

Let's be clear here, I do personally believe that they were speeding but at the same time attacking her for retaining her own expert not knowing who he is reeks of bias on your part.

For all we know she has retained the foremost expert in analyzing tire tracks. I'm sure her attorney will release the data which will include who prepared the report, in due time.

My beef is why she retained her own expert that came up with the conclusion of 55mph.

She wanted the expert to justify her $$ in the lawsuit.