With your collective indulgence, I'd like to re-open the discussion of the topic "sudden acceleration". You may recall in mid february I opened the discussion with this submission in vol. 51 issue 39, or thereabouts:
( " So yesterday I heard what I believe was a public service announcement (by some automotive engineer, I think) on the radio saying that the least powerful brakes are going to easily overpower the most powerful engine.This suggests that applying your brakes firmly in an unexpected acceleration situation would prevent a catastrophe.") Responses from subscribers to this forum suggested that applying the brakes firmly and immediately to stop the car would be successful, regardless of the power output of the engine. Applying the brakes to merely slow down the vehicle, most concluded, would likely result in overheating the brakes to the point that they could be ineffective. The recent report of a Prius driver's scary struggle with sudden unexpected acceleration raises this topic again. I am taking no position on this issue. I am asking questions to better understand what is happening. Here are several questions that circulate through my mind. If a driver were to experience this phenomenon in a powerful car whose speed has gone well above 100 mph, would there be any hope of stopping the car using only the brakes? Can a Prius whose driver is trying to brake the car continue to accelerate? How powerful is the Prius engine? Can all cars be shifted easily into neutral in the event of this emergency? Is there any "down side" to turning off the engine in this situation? Having driven a 240D for many years, sudden acceleration sounded rather attractive . Now, not so much. Jerry 1982 240D 60+ horsepower __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4940 (20100312) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
