Can a car just flip over suddenly while driving at a normal speed?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Can a car just flip over suddenly while driving at a normal speed?

Batman

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#261619 6-Dec-2019 14:38

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12291446

This guy says he was minding his own business and his porsche's rear wheels magically fired up and flipped the car.

Being a rear engine rear wheel drive I would have thought it's the most bizarre thing.

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#2369637 6-Dec-2019 14:54

My guess is he accelerated out of the corner to fast and lost traction and control.

Dunnersfella

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#2369640 6-Dec-2019 14:57

12 year old Porsche... 'not sure what happened'... former extreme skiing champ... corner...

I'm sure he can easily afford the replacement or repairs :-)

eracode

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#2369641 6-Dec-2019 14:57

I don’t think he’ll be able to get it panelbeated and back on the road by Christmas.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

dolsen

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#2369643 6-Dec-2019 15:02

Batman:

Being a rear engine rear wheel drive I would have thought it's the most bizarre thing.

To answer your question in the thread topic - yes. A front engine, rear wheel drive could drop the prop shaft, prop shaft digs in, flips car.

Looking at that car (including great shots of the underside). My opinion is, no.

maoriboy

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#2369649 6-Dec-2019 15:12

I saw that and thought that something did not sound right about the accident. Very odd to just flip out for no reason.

networkn

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#2369651 6-Dec-2019 15:19

I saw something like this happen on a freeway in LA one Friday afternoon a few years ago. Front right tyre blew, car sunk on that corner, driver got a fright and turned the wheel hard, and boom it was flipping over and over and then skidding along on it's roof.

It was a minivan not a porsche but if the forces are in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's possible.

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ShinyChrome

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#2369654 6-Dec-2019 15:25

Total coincidence that it happened near a corner though.

Looking at the mud jammed around the wheels and mud-guards, I'm gonna say something like he slid sideways, dug in to the ground somewhere, and rolled. Interesting to see what the police investigation turns up.

wellygary

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#2369658 6-Dec-2019 15:29

maoriboy:

I saw that and thought that something did not sound right about the accident. Very odd to just flip out for no reason.

The Roads around Queenstown are quite famous for causing expensive cars to have accidents with "unknown" causes

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/87167421/the-crash-that-mclaren-tried-to-cover-up

Edit: The corner talked about in the story is pretty gentle, but the road does have gravel edges, + there is a inviting straight just ahead,

https://goo.gl/maps/Q6TgeH9VUQ1xBXVs5

ShinyChrome

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#2369684 6-Dec-2019 15:46

It's a 997 GT3 as well.

So a 415hp rear-engined rear wheel drive car with both understeer and snap-oversteer characteristics when being pushed... wonder if the traction control was still on?

mdooher

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#2369692 6-Dec-2019 15:57

ShinyChrome:

It's a 997 GT3 as well.

So a 415hp rear-engined rear wheel drive car with both understeer and snap-oversteer characteristics when being pushed... wonder if the traction control was still on?

I'm sure he saw top gear once so he will be an awesome driver.

Matthew

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#2369694 6-Dec-2019 16:04

Hi, he is taking the p1ss, my guess is driver error caused the drive train to loose traction, and he lost it.

By the way the traction control system in a Posche is call "Porsche Stability Managment" and so the driver can operate the vehicle in PSM off mode, clearly that is what resulted. And so he should be P1ssed off...... with himself!

Cyril

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networkn

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#2369696 6-Dec-2019 16:07

cyril7:

Hi, he is taking the p1ss, my guess is driver error caused the drive train to loose traction, and he lost it.

By the way the traction control system in a Posche is call "Porsche Stability Managment" and so the driver can operate the vehicle in PSM off mode, clearly that is what resulted. And so he should be P1ssed off...... with himself!

Cyril

I am impressed you can tell that with such certainty all from a photo and a news report.

MadEngineer

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#2369697 6-Dec-2019 16:10

I read that as a “guess”. Certainly no certainty.

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cyril7

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#2369698 6-Dec-2019 16:11

Ha, thousands of cars undertake millions of manovours daily without instantaneously flipping, unless the driver applies in appropriate inputs, most of us dont own vehicles that have sufficient power to make such flips with ease, this vehicle however does, have sufficient welly, I suspect the driver is not telling teh whole story, if he does his insurance is screwed.

That said I could well be wrong :)

Cyril

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#2369700 6-Dec-2019 16:15

Yeah, if what this guy said is true, I suspect there will need to be a mass recall of all Porsches made in the last 14 years or so - massive safety issue.

But, as with others here, I suspect he's leaving something material out of the story and likely caused this accident by doing something stupid.

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