What to do if your brakes fail?

[Joe Dirte]

That youtuber is an idiot, he should have never shown the full video. There is more than enough in there for a lawyer to sue both of those guys over, he is completely throwing his 'buddy' under the bus just for a viral video. If the guy has $200k to stick into a malfunctioning car and not enough sense to build it correctly he has plenty for a $500k+ lawsuit. Without that video he could have played dumb and claimed he just lost the brakes and probably just been out a car, I bet there will be a followup video in the coming weeks with a lawsuit update. How much of the youtube money do you think he will pay is buddy to help with lawyer fees? I bet $0.

But gotta get that clout! Gotta represent... hence why I avoid most "car related" channels on YouTube as they are just assclowns chasing fame with ignorance as their powerplant. Its like those idiots sharing the intersection "take overs." You knew posting this would get every single person involved in trouble but you did it for that digital like.

 

[454cid]

Wow, watched about half of it.... throttle sticking and riding the brakes, how dumb. When I saw the first part of the video, I wondered why the rpm never dropped when he said he lost the brakes, he probably boiled the fluid.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

He put it in Park is what Uncle Tony said. The driver stated on the comments on the YT video that the on that shifter you can't down shift...
"Car had a B&M ratchet shifter, once I shifted up thru the gears you can’t downshift till you put it in park"

I'm not sure what that means...Doesn't make sense to me. So it's like a one-way device that resets at Park?

So I guess he could of put it in "1" as the next step? Dunno.

I watched the UTG video just now. I agree with him about shutting it off, at least you would stop accelerating. I think downshifting would actually make it accelerate faster because of the throttle being stuck. With the roots and displacement and all that it's still making serious power at 25% throttle.

Now that I think about it, I wonder what his master cylinder setup was. With the roots and a normal vacuum power booster without a checkvalve he might have actually been pressuring the booster which caused him to not have brakes. It looks like when he steps on the brakes his foot doesn't go down to the floor.

 

[Supercharged111]

I saw that and he recommends using the harness. I want to discourage using a harness without a HANS device. That's what killed Dale Sr. You can live with a smashed face.

You're partially correct. Dale was wearing a helmet and had nothing to prevent all that mass from hyperextending his neck. With no helmet, you're no worse protected from that with a 6 point vs a factory belt and no airbag. Modern cars use the airbag to prevent hyperextension of the neck.

 

[454cid]

That youtuber is an idiot, he should have never shown the full video. There is more than enough in there for a lawyer to sue both of those guys over, he is completely throwing his 'buddy' under the bus just for a viral video. If the guy has $200k to stick into a malfunctioning car and not enough sense to build it correctly he has plenty for a $500k+ lawsuit. Without that video he could have played dumb and claimed he just lost the brakes and probably just been out a car, I bet there will be a followup video in the coming weeks with a lawsuit update. How much of the youtube money do you think he will pay is buddy to help with lawyer fees? I bet $0.

I only watched half, but I'm not sure I'd blame the Youtube channel. The car owner/builder is the one I'd hold responsible.... he built the car and then knowingly took the Youtube guy for a drive while having problems. The Youtube guy is probably pissed the car owner put him in danger. The youtuber should have called the ride short when he found out the throttle was sticking, but I'd guess it was his first experience with something like that and he simply wasn't processing the seriousness of the situation fast enough.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

You're partially correct. Dale was wearing a helmet and had nothing to prevent all that mass from hyperextending his neck. With no helmet, you're no worse protected from that with a 6 point vs a factory belt and no airbag. Modern cars use the airbag to prevent hyperextension of the neck.

F=ma

Extra mass or not, it can kill you.

 

[454cid]

Now that I think about it, I wonder what his master cylinder setup was. With the roots and a normal vacuum power booster without a checkvalve he might have actually been pressuring the booster which caused him to not have brakes. It looks like when he steps on the brakes his foot doesn't go down to the floor.

Given that he was riding the brakes, I'd assume he boiled the fluid. The vacuum booster is something I hadn't though of, and sounds like it's also a possibility.

 

[Supercharged111]

F=ma

Extra mass or not, it can kill you.

It can, but simply saying that riding in a car with a race harness and no helmet is dangerous implies to me that you're trying to convey that it's more dangerous than riding with no helmet and a factory 3 point harness, which it is not. If there's a cage to bang your head off of, that's another matter entirely.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

It can, but simply saying that riding in a car with a race harness and no helmet is dangerous implies to me that you're trying to convey that it's more dangerous than riding with no helmet and a factory 3 point harness, which it is not. If there's a cage to bang your head off of, that's another matter entirely.

I don't have data, but I do believe that to be true. Factory 3-points have more stretch than an FIA certified 4+ harness system.

 

[Supercharged111]

I don't have data, but I do believe that to be true. Factory 3-points have more stretch than an FIA certified 4+ harness system.

That may or may not be, but has no bearing on breaking one's neck in a crash that could have been prevented with a HNR.