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
It’s kinda like how turning the wheel of the car doesn’t cause it to move when it’s sitting still.
When the car is sitting still, the wind is the only force acting on it laterally, which isn’t enough to move it. But when the car is in motion, there are a bunch of forces balancing together to determine the car’s movement. Adding in a sideways wind and that balance shifts such that the car moves to the side.
It’s also worth noting that at 60+, it doesn’t take a lot of lateral motion to *feel* like a lot. The wind is probably only pushing you a few degrees off course, but at 60mph, which is 88 feet per second, being a few degrees off course will move you across the line to partially be in the next lane in a couple seconds (you can also see this when changing lanes using the steering wheel; you can move the steering wheel a couple degrees and change lanes pretty quickly)
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