[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by The HACK

T
For ANYONE who sits in front of a computer who thinks they can do better, I hope you never have to deal with it. Because you may think you know what to do. And maybe you do. But truth is, if you're not put into that situation, you never know how you will react.
.

I have had it happen twice, once on the street, once on the track. Was no big deal at all.

On the street, it was just a floor mat, so I just reached down and moved it. On the track, it was stuck throttle body, so I just left it in one gear and did a lap around the track like that to the pits, it is really not hard to slow down a car with a stuck throttle.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Uber Commuter

Try stabbing it repeatedly like you would in a panic situation. At the 3rd stab the car will shut off...

+1, when my water pump went I used the button to kill my engine to keep it from overheating. Definitely works in a 2010.

[Chihuahua]

I had this happen on my E30 once, the cruise control servo yanked the throttle to full open. I put the car in neutral and stopped the car on the shoulder. I did not have the cruise control engaged at the time, and was going about 40mph before we went full throttle. It was disconcerting to say the least.

[Law]

I call BS on the whole thing.
The car was an E53 X5.
Not only is there no such thing as a transmission that locks-out neutral at any speed but also the automatic transmissions of that generation were still "physical", meaning one could physically move the gear selector into neutral. So that throws out the "electronics glitching" theory.

And then there's the key. E53 X5s still used physical keys in the ignition,
where the user would insert the key and turn clockwise to start. The opposite, counter-clockwise motion would've shut the engine off.

The guy had 30+ minutes. Even in a "panic" situation, there were a number of solutions available and that's before we discuss the braking options.
There's simply no excuse. The guy is an idiot.

[ShocknAwe]

Assuming the car maxes out at 155mph, how long until the tank is empty in the heavy X5 at that speed?

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by orangeglim

The Car and Driver article linked above seems to indicate otherwise, even on a high powered 500+ HP Mustang doing triple digit speeds. The distance is greatly increased, but it still stops.

Having lapped a totally stock Mustang Shelby GT 350 around a road course at full chat, I’m with you. In a pretty short time, the guy in the BMW concocted a pretty good story for beating a major speeding ticket - too bad there were a few holes big enough to drive his car through.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

There is no such thing as a vehicle that can overpower its brakes. Period.

I had a 36hp 1960 VW with Brazilian brake shoes that would beg to differ. It could hardly stop itself from 60MPH in neutral. Life lesson, that.

[bimmer456]

Why did he avoid the spike strips? Seems like he was doing it on purpose.

[E902009]

Few things he could’ve done:

- he went through a stretch of road that had guardrails. Rub up against the rails to stop the car,
- throw the shifter to neutral, or even try reverse,
- gently try parking brake

I have a very hard time believing this is true. How much did Mercedes or Audi pay him to do this?

[mirob]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

Why did he avoid the spike strips? Seems like he was doing it on purpose.

I think this guy is full of shit (not you, the driver)....BUT, if my vehicle was speeding out of control, losing my tires (and any control of the vehicle I have) would be the last thing I'd want.

[48Laws]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

There is no such thing as a vehicle that can overpower its brakes. Period.

Yes. It’s called skidding.

[Maynard]

I 'm not saying it is legit, but on the other hand, people don't think straight under high stress (and I've heard some crazy stories about what you can get IC circuits to do with the right blitz of EMF or radiation). Personally, I'd consider rubbing a guardrail at 90+mph or hitting spike strips to be about as good an option as opening the door and jumping out - I know it is the right thing to do, but hard to bring yourself to do it. Other than hang on and wait for it to run dry, there isn't really much else to do if it won't go into neutral or shut down. I'd want to see more info on this, especially what the brake pads looked like.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by 48Laws

Yes. It’s called skidding.

No that's when you brakes overpower your tires or .ore correctly the coefficient of friction they can provide.

[PTinVT]

I'm inclined to believe that it's far more likely that either the driver was an idiot or trying to get out of a ticket, than it was actually impossible to put the car in neutral or shut the car off.

I tested the "hold the start/stop button down for 3 seconds to stop the engine while moving" feature in my car very early in my ownership, since it was my first pushbutton start/stop car, to make sure I understood the feature.

[48Laws]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

No that's when you brakes overpower your tires or .ore correctly the coefficient of friction they can provide.

No. When your brakes overpower your tires, that's called a successful STOP or rather, a proper wheel/brake engagement! Conversely, when the car’s momentum overpowers the mechanical operation of the brakes and tires... hence why we now have ABS, that's a skid or something similar. My brakes work on ICE, as their job is to stop the rotation of the tires itself but, the momentum of the vehicle in conjunction with the ice's surface, I continue to slide. A modulating brake allows for a controlled stop over a distance v. And total brake engagement without control over a distance.

[NormanConquest]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

There is no such thing as a vehicle that can overpower its brakes. Period.

My thoughts as well, this story isn't passing the smell test.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

There is no such thing as a vehicle that can overpower its brakes. Period.

I think this is not always true, depending on what you mean by 'overpower'. Brakes turn force (speed) into heat, with finite limits on their ability to survive this - once they fade/melt/heatsoak, they stop working. Engines turn gasoline into force, with a much greater ultimate power potential, provided that the car isn't brought to a full stop that stalls the motor. Granted that a well-maintained modern car can outbrake the motor FOR A SINGLE STOP, but only if you do it right. Both articles cited in the thread include info that points to how it could go wrong if the driver does not immediately apply full pressure; especially since vacuum assist to brakes will be nil at WOT, and drivers are panicking and may not be really doing the full stomp needed for the first time.

"As this chart shows, each car’s braking system is capable of generating more than 500 braking horsepower, and no car in this group has an engine with more than 200 horsepower. A key point to remember, however: You must brake HARD. Merely squeezing the brakes on a runaway vehicle will gradually overheat them to the point where they’ll fade to uselessness."

I really wish these car mags had tried it a second or third time in a row. Not saying the guy's story was legit, just that it isn't impossible. One photo of the brakes on the SUV after all this would likely end all the speculation.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

There is no such thing as a vehicle that can overpower its brakes. Period.

That's true in perfect conditions, but also false in several practical cases.

If the driver (incorrectly) brakes lightly for a period of time, with the gas pedal stuck, it will overheat the brakes and/or boil the fluid. At this point, even vigorous application of brakes will have marginal to no effect.

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by E902009

Few things he could’ve done:

- he went through a stretch of road that had guardrails. Rub up against the rails to stop the car,
- throw the shifter to neutral, or even try reverse,
- gently try parking brake

I have a very hard time believing this is true. How much did Mercedes or Audi pay him to do this?

Reverse or park are very bad ideas, that will lock the rear wheels and make you spin/rollover at high speed.

Neutral and engine shutoff are the proper solutions to that issue. Or a single hard, pedal to the metal brake application will get you to stop.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Meeni

Reverse or park are very bad ideas, that will lock the rear wheels and make you spin/rollover at high speed.

Neutral and engine shutoff are the proper solutions to that issue. Or a single hard, pedal to the metal brake application will get you to stop.

Reverse is fine. It won't go into gear until it is nearly stopped anyways.

[nick3753]

Has anybody be heard any update on this, or still "under investigation"?

[The Wind Breezes]

Even if he can't think of shifting to neutral, brakes are required by law to stop the car in first gear at full throttle. A full panic stop will get the car down from speed. What kind of crazy fool gets in the situation where he is terrified for his life and has the free time and attention to fucking call the authorities but can't summon the adrenaline to press the brakes hard for a few seconds?