Although I have a heavy box-shaped car, I was thinking about the Mercedes G63 specifically. That is a powerful engine on a non-aerodynamic car, what happens if you take it over 100mph and get hit by a gust of 60mph wind? My car gets literally pushed around lanes during heavy winds at highway speeds, has anyone ever even gotten a G63 past 150mph?
In: Physics
The vehicle will have the same force when it’s parked vs when it’s driving. Ignoring difference in speed of the wind relative to the vehicle depending on whether the cross wind is slightly from the front vs the back.
Some of your movement will be from the flex of the tire. Picture of the part of the tire that’s touching the road staying where it is and the rest of the tire is flexing in the direction the wind is blowing. The next part of the tire that makes contact with the road will be shifted slightly to the side. This is a very small amount but when driving fast, these small amounts add up quickly.
Something else that I believe would happen, that I haven’t seen mentioned, and it would be more pronounced with a taller vehicle like a SUV, is the suspension is going to flex as well. If the wind comes from the driver side, the vehicle is going to lean to the passenger side. The suspension on the passenger side will compress because it has more force on it. That’s going to change the geometry of the suspension and can cause the vehicle to turn a small amount as well.
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