CoralDoc

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shoyu Burner
[B]All other things being equal, all things in the northern hemisphere (above the equator) will want to rotate counter-clockwise, and all things in the southern hemisphere will want to rotate clockwise.

blacks2k

man, that reminds me of the time when i totalled my black s2k earlier this year, my scenario, raining the past few days and that day and the road was soaked. was at a stoplight, accelerated to about 60km, no hard gear changes but probably hit the white lane marker, next thing i know the car breaks RIGHT (remember im in australia and we drive on the left side with a rhd car) and boom im up a gutter with the rear taken off from a telegraph pole and the front of the car through a brick fence. i still relive that moment everytime i drive past the guys house and when it rains i have that awful sensation that the car is going to go at any second, so i "drive miss daisy" when it rains and drive hard when its dry. but besides that i drive sensible all the time.
i still dont know what happened that night, but all i know is that rain is no good. everyone, i cant stress this enough, drive sensible

awWhHDayUm

hey Art, you never told me about this?!??! or was it that same story you told me before?? anyhow, damn some of you are harsh, give him a break, he's just asking a question, and suddenly boom all of you jump on him. Keep it friendly

turbolane

I don't think you will ever know for sure why it broke right. It could be the slope of the road, differences in road surfacing, tire pressure, drivers weight, steering input, etc. The car will probably tend to drift right due to the driver's weight and road slope, but it could just as easily go left.

As for the LSD, I am not an expert on that but it seems that if both tires loose traction then this feature would not come into play until traction is regained on one or both tires. No idea on how it would effect a slide.

Clark

Coraldoc, I suppose this is true when using the Coriolis effect w/respect to the Earth's rotation, however individual rotating objects themselves experience a Coriolis acceleration when their axis of rotation is moved.

A simple Physics experiment that can be done in your garage will help illustrate the point. Take a bicycle wheel that has been removed from the bicycle. Spin the wheel, while holding the studs in either hand (so that you are looking along the tire tread as it rotates). Now, quickly turn the axis of rotation counterclockwise (push out your right hand and pull in the left). You should feel a downward force on your right hand as you do this, and this is a Coriolis acceleration associated with you moving a rotating object.

Clark

CoralDoc

Thanks for the clarification and refinement of my statement. I was not aware that the term "Coriolis effect" could be used in situations other than involving changes in the Earth's rotation vector with latitude.

Since I was a bicycle mechanic in my youth, I'm well aware of the demonstration that you describe .

Sir Tom GT

"Come on" back at you. Does contributing intelligently also apply to you? Now, let me reply to you..

Yes, I do think this is what people were saying. I found it to be ridiculous that some members were taking his simple question and analyzing it so seriously rather than just answering him.

I did keep my cool and all I was doing was being humourous and lighthearted for the entertainment of others. Others saw this and laughed; I'm sorry that you chose not to.

So, now you're also implying that I'm unintelligent. Does stating this comment make you feel that you are somehow superior and/or smarter than me? Your rude post is uncalled for. Before you insult others you should evaluate yourself. I see you as patronizing many people and their ideas on this thread with your demeaning comments even in this thread, such as:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Cedric Tomkinson [B]
"Nobody should try it with or without permission."

"the mere fact that you need to ask what caused it shows you fail to realise the inherent dangers in driving any powerful lightweight RWD car in the wet.

Chipster

WOW! You guy's need to get a grip! Pun intended. Can't we all just get along, here?

Tonky

Tom:

I'm not really sure why I'm responding to your post which is as ill-conceived, rude and sarcastic as your first one. I don't think I was rude to DJ, I don't propose to start a poll on it anyway!

I'm sorry if it disappoints, but I really don't feel the need to prove anything to you, least of all how clever I am, which incidentally, I don't claim to be. You don't really have to be very bright to know that driving balls out in the wet in a car like this one is dangerous and unpredictable.

Just think it through.

BTW none of us buy this car to drive like clergymen, but there's a time and a place for it!

Please enjoy your car Tom, but excercise a little discretion!

Rasputin314

If I'm not mistaken, this experiment demonstrates conservation of angular momentum and not Coriolis acceleration.
Coraldoc's original post was correct.

Also the post about that force affecting sinks and toilets is purely urban legend. There may be a textbook explanation for why the car pulled right, but that is not it.

I think a more likely explanation is a L-R weight imbalance, or different traction to each of the wheels (oil or bumps on road, alignment of rear wheels, etc). We will never know!