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 faster you go, the more the vehicle aerodynamics are pushing the car down on the road. Even a regular berline has pretty good aerodynamic to reduce air drag and add some downforce to improve adhesion to the road. But if you rely on the air around you to improve the drivability of the car, it means the car will get more sensitive to changes in the air around it.
When the car is stationary, gravity and the weight of the car is doing 100% of the work to keep the car on the ground, so a gust of wind has to overcome all of this to move the car. When driving, now the air you are driving through is doing a part of this work, and the faster you go, the more the air is responsible for a greater percentage. So any changes in how the air moves around the car will be felt more the faster you go.
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