Way off topic - anyone watch Mythbusters last night?

[Black 535i]

They demolished an E34 dropping it 4000 feet from a helicopter to recreate a television commercial. Seemed like a nice car but I felt for it after when it was shown about 12" tall and the wheels and rims came right off. Could not tell which model but in one shot had a D1 emblem on the rear instead of the usual number it was.

[pgrindstaff]

I watched the episode last night and found identifying the two cars somewhat difficult. The one Grant controlled was obviously a 95 but had a wide grille and a hood for a narrow grille car. I am assuming one of the cars was a 530 or 540, as they taped over the first two numbers, leaving only the '0', but a top speed of 105 sounds a bit low for a 540 (I happen to know it is about 20 MPH faster :D).

Now, it is my understanding that the e34 is a 50/50 weight distributed car. It must not be true, or I misread somewhere, because they filled the trunk of the e34 that took a trip for 4000 feet with cinder blocks. The result was quite impressive as the car basically fell horizontally.

[632 Regal]

LOL

Now, it is my understanding that the e34 is a 50/50 weight distributed car. It must not be true, or I misread somewhere, because they filled the trunk of the e34 that took a trip for 4000 feet with cinder blocks. The result was quite impressive as the car basically fell horizontally.
You could put a million pounds in the trunk and it would not affect the speed at which it falls. Wind resistance has much more to do with it. if the car was flat it would travel much slower than vertical.

[paanta]

LOL
You could put a million pounds in the trunk and it would not affect the speed at which it falls. Wind resistance has much more to do with it. if the car was flat it would travel much slower than vertical.

The ratio of drag to mass is what matters to terminal velocity, so a million pounds would most definitely make it fall faster. Unless you've got a BIG vacuum chamber. :)

[pgrindstaff]

I was not commenting on the speed at which the car fell. The problem they were having was finding a vehicle what was balanced and would fall relatively flat, instead of go nose down, therefore falling faster. If you watch the episode you'll see that the car effectively fell flat, only seesawing a bit. Compare that to the cars they tested earlier, that fell nose first.

[3gunF1guy]

I loved the rocket sled smashing into the car. My kid said that the car looked like a potato chip when you smash it. I was amazed!!! You will notice they didn't even find the engine block. It just went away.

Scott

[infurno]

I watched it. Such a waste. :(

Everybody would have known of weight distribution in a vehicle, that's a given. It would have taken a simple sentence to remind the audience of that. No need to destroy 2 cars and an e32 was it?

I thought the best part of the entire episode was when they ended up not blowing up the remaining e34 just for fun. Even though its full of holes and probably destroyed by now anyway.

The test was a disaster though. They never made it up to the speed they needed to reach. The car should of went much faster than 105 unless there was something really wrong with it or the rig they used for control.