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Old 02-11-2015, 09:24 AM   #7 (permalink)
RedDevil
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtamiyaphile View Post
Weight will also increase your stopping distance... If you added up all the weight of all the safety components (including safety cells, deformable structures etc - keep in mind a heavier car then needs a heavier engine, gearbox, brakes and so on), there's probably as much as 50% of a cars mass. More mass= more accidents (partly why SUVs are crashed so often). ...
A 500kg car would stop in far less distance than a 1000kg one.
Sorry, but this is a misconception.
If a car is twice as heavy it will press twice as hard against the road; the tires can generate twice as much friction before they begin to give way.
A car that is twice as heavy should, all other things being equal, be able to stop in the same distance as a lighter car.

Of course the brakes need to be able to handle twice the braking force too.

If you fail to brake in time then the damage inflicted will be higher, that's true.
On the other hand, if you get hit you'd better be in a heavier vehicle as the higher mass of your own vehicle makes the resulting speed change after impact lower.

But stopping distance and vehicle mass are totally unrelated to each other.
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