The Plot Thickens in Ferrari Crash
A gun's magazine found near the wreckage may be connected to the accident, and a Scottish bank says it might own the destroyed car.
By Richard Winton and David Pierson
The mystery deepened Monday in the case of the puzzling crash last week of a $1-million Ferrari Enzo on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
Sheriff's detectives said Monday that they believe a gun's magazine discovered near the wreckage is connected to the crash, and they plan to interview an unnamed person who they believe was in the car with Swedish game machine entrepreneur Stefan Eriksson.
The crash has also garnered the attention of a leading Scottish bank, which has informed sheriff's investigators that it may own the destroyed car. At the same time, detectives are trying to figure out why another exotic car in Eriksson's extensive collection, a Mercedes SLR, was listed as stolen by Scotland Yard in London, said Sheriff's Sgt. Phil Brooks.
The totaled Ferrari was one of two Enzos that Eriksson brought into the United States from England along with the Mercedes SLR, Brooks said. But detectives concluded that the totaled vehicle did not have appropriate papers and was not "street legal" for driving in California, he said.
Detectives have been trying for nearly a week to sort out what exactly happened last Tuesday morning when Eriksson's Enzo — one of only 400 ever made — smashed into a telephone pole, totaling the car. Eriksson told deputies that he was the passenger and that a man he knew only as "Dietrich" was behind the wheel. But detectives have been openly skeptical of the story, noting that Eriksson had a bloody lip and that the only blood they found in the car was on the driver's-side air bag.
Brooks said detectives have called in Eriksson for another interview. Eriksson has declined through the security guard at his gated Bel-Air estate to comment. An attorney who has previously represented Eriksson in civil matters, Ashley Posner, also declined to comment Monday.
But some city leaders in Malibu, where the crash has been the talk of the town, were less circumspect.
"The guy should have had an IQ test," said Malibu Mayor Pro Tem Ken Kearsley, who has been following the coverage of the crash with a half-grin. The driver's IQ "couldn't come up above 60 if he was doing 120 on PCH," Kearsley said.
But in fact, Brooks said Monday, the car was traveling 162 mph when it crashed, far faster than the 120 mph originally believed. The Ferrari, with just a few inches of undercarriage clearance, hit a bump at a crest in the road, sending the vehicle airborne and into the power pole, Brooks said.
Brooks said they are investigating whether someone else may have been present and are trying to determine whether the recovered gun component is connected to the case. He declined to say more about the find or elaborate on the status of the Scottish bank and Scotland Yard in the case.
The question of whether Eriksson was the driver is key to the case, Brooks said. Eriksson's blood-alcohol level was 0.09%, higher than the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.
Sheriff's officials are still trying to confirm witness reports that the Ferrari might have been drag racing with another car, and officials aren't sure if that's what happened.
Sheriff's officials said Eriksson was an executive with a game company that attempted to take on Sony and Nintendo, but the firm collapsed last year.
In Malibu, officials said they are not sure what to make of the accident.
Kearsley said the stretch of road was not known for drag racing, but for run-of-the-mill speeders. He said the Sheriff's Department has had success for the last year and a half using radar and lasers to catch overzealous drivers. The lasers are not detectable to drivers, he said.
"It's straight as an arrow where the accident was," he said. "You really have to go out of your way to hit a telephone pole."
Carol Moss, a longtime Malibu resident, activist and meditation group leader, said the accident came as no surprise.
"It was horrendous, but Malibu is full of idiots," she said. "There are a lot of wild cars and irresponsible people. The roads are dangerous. You always see people with those sorts of cars. You see some wild behavior."
But, in keeping with her Zen frame of mind, Moss extended an olive branch. "Everyone is welcome to attend the meditation group. Even the drag racer."
_____________________
Me YORGO...You Not

Post Edited (Feb 28, 9:19am)

I wonder why they just didn't do a DNA test on his blood and the blood on the airbag???
What a story, though!
1976 280Z
Draw-Through Turbo, 10 PSI, 4 Bbl Holley, E88, L28 (Flat), 10:1 CR, 5 Spd
1974 Corvette Stingray:
350, 400 Automatic, T-Tops, 8.5:1 CR, 78,000 Miles
1994 Acura Integra:
1.8L, 5 Spd, 189,000 and Counting!

I posted these pics very late in the older thread about this.. so I'll repost for those who missed them. That telephone pole did some damage!
...

That's amazing.
1976 280Z
Draw-Through Turbo, 10 PSI, 4 Bbl Holley, E88, L28 (Flat), 10:1 CR, 5 Spd
1974 Corvette Stingray:
350, 400 Automatic, T-Tops, 8.5:1 CR, 78,000 Miles
1994 Acura Integra:
1.8L, 5 Spd, 189,000 and Counting!

i can't believe that they actually interviewed an "activist, meditation group leader" for information...

Dude...it's california.
Previously owned: 2005 Z Enthusiast, Super Black, 6 spd.
Currently lease: 2006 Pathfinder S, Silver, Auto
"She is (and always will be) my little deuce coupe, you don't know what I got!"

that car broke apart exactly like it was suppose to do. cops are looking at it like omg look what happenned to the car. i heard some news media calling it junk the way it came apart. stupid morons dont even have a clue why its made to do that.
162? big deal, my vette group does that on a weekly basis around these parts.

why dont they do a DNA test on the blood instead of just thinking it might be his blood.
___________________________________________________________
Erik Coleman
Orange '76 280Z 2+2
Red '85 300ZX Turbo
Black '86 300ZX NA

What a waste of an amazing Ferrari. Those things are super-limited.
- GC Coilovers, Eibach 225/250 race springs, Illuminas, XR3000, other odds-n-ends.

Brian...162 mph on a public road is a big deal.
If your vette group does that on public roads on a weekly basis, then you guys are a bunch of idiots on a weekly basis.
Are some of the pictures posted above from a different wreck, they don't all seem to match up.
Still...this story gets more strange with each unfolding detail.
Previously owned: 2005 Z Enthusiast, Super Black, 6 spd.
Currently lease: 2006 Pathfinder S, Silver, Auto
"She is (and always will be) my little deuce coupe, you don't know what I got!"

CantZmee, the story is strange only because it was a ferarri. hundreds of people drink and smash cars at high speed the same way every week. usually it's loosers in cheap cars so it's not a news story. the "news" is that a looser somehow found his way into a ferarri.

YORGO's pics have nothing to do with the wreck.

The reason the cops are not getting any info is because the people involved are rich, with good lawyers.
1991 300ZX N/A Slicktop
1970 240Z

Yes comrade, YORGO is very bad to show pictures of others Enzo'es that have been crashed in other parts of world. Very unsafe car, no?
_____________________
Me YORGO...You Not


half the people on the roadways cant drive the speed limit safely. they are morons and dont have a clue about good driving.
everyday DMV approves more and more morons to get behind the wheel of a car. the people that died in the los angeles area that weekend from drunk drivers didnt get the amount of coverage the Ferarri accident did and he didnt even hurt anyone.
the media has their priorities wrong on their coverages. lets go cover the drunk drivers that smash into other cars and kill people and not 1 million dollar cars that hit a pole.

It's a very safe car, what makes you think otherwise?

I dont care what kinda car you have, the laws of physics dont allow for the car to fair any better than that Enzo did and the fact being most cars would end up alot worse.
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project

I think YORGO was making an intelligent joke.
Sadly, it isn't the media's fault. People seem to forget that they are just a business designed to max profits, just like a gas station or ice cream shop. People don't want to hear about drunk drivers. It makes them sad, angry, and feel helpless. Hearing about how some rich idiot ruined his awesome car is much better entertainment. The media does everything it can to entertain people, not inform them or better society. If you are looking at fox or the newspaper for information, you are lost.
If anything, the american people are to to blame. They would rather hear about this than drunk driver stories, just fact.
And I hate drunk drivers as much as the next guy. I ride a motorcycle the majority of the places I go, a drunk driver can kill me and not even know it. I don't ride past 10pm on thurs, fri, sat, or sunday because of it, pretty pathetic.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT

Well, thats the difference in values between the media and people. The news reported should not be a reflection of "entertainment value" but of important emerging issues, regardless of whether or not the public likes to hear about it.
the rest of media dealing with entertainment news, etc, can report what they want. the newspapers and nightly news should be focused more on information that means something, not about maing people feel good or bad
My guardian angel has twin turbos. . .
1995 Cobalt Green NA
1988 Maroon 300ZX NA (sold)

The last pic in your first post is a 360 Modena.
-----
Pete1978z: "It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death, I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything and let the problem take care of itself."

Good call Z1 ZOnly
Previously owned: 2005 Z Enthusiast, Super Black, 6 spd.
Currently lease: 2006 Pathfinder S, Silver, Auto
"She is (and always will be) my little deuce coupe, you don't know what I got!"

I completely agree haulnazz, but that is 100% irrelavent. Luckily, the american people do like to hear about social topics like war, drunk driving, etc. to the extent we do see a lot of it, though no where near what we probably 'should'.
They are a business, they do what is profitable. If they did show only important 'emerging' issues, I would start a company up that shows what people really* want to see [for better or worse] that's already on TV news and crush them into bankruptcy or at least re-focus them to what people want to hear about very quickly.
I used to slander the media until between my economics and media/politics classes I realized it is misdirected anger by looking at them at something of 'higher origin' than just another business trying to build capitol. I think the problem is the media trys to personify itself as some higher being immune to the laws of business and its only goal is to 'bring the people the news they need to know'. So for that, they are at fault.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT

The "media" is a business. They will show what sells because if they don't make a profit they are out of business.
There are many choices though - newspapers, the internet, Public TV and Radio.
The trouble is - whom to you trust and believe is giving you an objective report?
Ed and Jeanne's
ZXelda 1981 280 ZXT: ZXena 1990 300 ZX
1941 Buick Special Sedanette (Betty)
1956 Dodge Royal (Dorothy)
1971 Buick Riviera (Rita)
1975 Ford F-150 Stepside (Fiona)
1992 Firebird (Frieda)

BBC is pretty decent. Obviously it is biased like all other forms of information, but they aren't biased towards or against the U.S. for the most part.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT

yeah it is interesting to see the backside snapping off like it does... keeping the passenger compartment in tact... the gtp lemans type cars have been constructed that way since the mid 1960's ... it is amazing what you saw drivers walk from with just bruises..
It shows the thoroughbred it is ... have you guys ever taken a look at the brakes of these monsters... they are at least 17" and a solid 2" thik= ( vented naturally and slotted… and made of ceramic material … makes you wanna have!…)
However I would choose a f40 over an enzo any day ..if I had the $
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's
Post Edited (Mar 1, 12:20am)

You would choose an F40 over an Enzo?!! are you crazy!! Talk about better performance and more exculsivity with an Enzo! I guess if you don't like the looks then whatever, but I'd take the Enzo in a heartbeat.
My guardian angel has twin turbos. . .
1995 Cobalt Green NA
1988 Maroon 300ZX NA (sold)

no the F40 is a real raw car... no compromizes... the enzo has
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's

well that's neat -- it's made to seperate the engine and the driver compartment...
Poor car.
"The Z's disease won't make anything turn black, wither, and fall off, nor turn cancerous." - Tony D
"Take it to a track where BOTH drivers mean business or it's just one sided mechanical masterbation." - Hybrid77z

Look at crashed lemanscars and what happens ... the engine when set up in teh rear ... is mostly gone ( in GTP style cars that is )
Take the Porsche 914 and 917's the ferrari's of the 70's they all would rip apart there
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's

It's the same as F1 cars in a way, they're designed to break apart and absorb the impact as much as possible so the gforces dont rattle the drivers brain loose from it's stem which is the primary cause for fatalities in any type of high speed racecar accidents besides being physically crushed.
"Racing drivers are exposed to high risk situations such as car crashes. However, it is not clear exactly how much G force is loaded on the driver’s body in such situations. Because the driver’s muscles resist the G force in an actual crash, the G force loaded on the body may be smaller than that recorded by the car telemeters. Forces that cause severe injuries, such as concussions and fractures, are around 5–10 G, which are produced by acute deceleration of about 150–200 km/h."
http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/38/5/613
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project

----
that car broke apart exactly like it was suppose to do. cops are looking at it like omg look what happenned to the car. i heard some news media calling it junk the way it came apart. stupid morons dont even have a clue why its made to do that.
----
yeah it is interesting to see the backside snapping off like it does... keeping the passenger compartment in tact... the gtp lemans type cars have been constructed that way since the mid 1960's ... it is amazing what you saw drivers walk from with just bruises..
----
It's the same as F1 cars in a way, they're designed to break apart and absorb the impact as much as possible so the gforces dont rattle the drivers brain loose from it's stem which is the primary cause for fatalities in any type of high speed racecar accidents besides being physically crushed.
---
You guys just make this stuff up don't you?
Show me, anywhere, where any auto manufacturer or race chassis manufacturer states that their cars are designed to break in half in a crash. Show me any racing sanctioning body that specifically requires a chassis to break in half.
- John

You obviously dont know much, go watch some F1 crashes and see what happens to the axles and stuff... They're designed to break away and absorb the most force possible in an accident.
Considering the Enzo is largely based off F1 technology one would assume they tried to use the same methods of gforce absorbtion in the design. I could be wrong but it's unlikely :P
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project

Monocoque: The drivers’ life insurance. French for single shell. A safety cell made of carbonfibre composite which forms a protective shell around the driver. It is surrounded by deformable structures which absorb energy in an accident.
Sidepods: Side cladding of the cockpit which is integrated in the monocoque. The sidepods contain crash structures that absorb the forces arising from an accident or impact. A Formula 1 car’s radiator is also located behind these sidepods.
http://f1.allianz.com/azf1/sp/en/inside/lexikon/index.html
Research there grasshopper lol :)
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project

----
You obviously dont know much, go watch some F1 crashes and see what happens to the axles and stuff... They're designed to break away and absorb the most force possible in an accident.
----
Then why does F1, NASCAR, ALMS, Grand Am, etc. require Kevlar tethers to keeps the wheels and tires connected to the car in case of a suspension failure (FIA F1 tech reg 14.7)? You think they would require that and then allow the car to bust in half for safety reasons?
Again, show me some facts, not personal opinion gleaned from watching TV. Here are the F1 technical regulations, look through them and let me know where it says that engines or chassis halves are deisgned to break away in the event of a wreck (the relevant sections are 15 and 16):
http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/1603301296__2006_F1_TECHNICAL_REGULATIONS.pdf
- John
Post Edited (Mar 1, 10:44am)

they require the tethers to keep those parts from flying into spectators. it was after some spectators got killed from rims/tires flying into stands they adapted those tethers. they still allow the parts to beakaway to take the energy with them.

John...looks like your fighting a losing battle.
Think of it like an ejector seat on a air force jet. The structure immediately surrounding the driver is designed to break away so that the force of the impact does not do physical damage to the driver.
Previously owned: 2005 Z Enthusiast, Super Black, 6 spd.
Currently lease: 2006 Pathfinder S, Silver, Auto
"She is (and always will be) my little deuce coupe, you don't know what I got!"

I remember a few years back a guy was actually killed by a flying wheel that came off in a crash, dont remember the race but I think it was F1. I'm pretty sure that this might of had some reason for them doing that :P
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project

It was a cart race at mis. I was there. Pretty graphic stuff.
Datsun---- classic import tuner

John,
I do not want to question your expertise in the field of z cars.. but do you reallythink .. most enzo's you see her ... snapped in half by coinsedance?
but here is some quick proof.. http://www.a2zracer.com/page33.html
I can go on and find a million pictures of gtp lemanscars that split apart like this...
nascar completly diffrent structure.. hence the breaking off impact differently.
lol can you see the guy looking and think .. hmm that would do well in my car :)
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's

Curmudgeon! LOL
Yes, SCTA rules specify that the vehicle have "Sufficient Structural Integrity" which I would interpret as "NOT" breaking apart in a crash.
Loose your outrigger wheels? Sure?
Break in half? HELL NO!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"

Read the rules, not a dictonary, dude!
The rules SPECIFY that the monocouque protect the driver, and that major components MUST be restrained IN CASE OF SEPARATION!
Meaning, they should not separate---the reason they use tethers is because thy design the things so light they can't HELP but fracture, and THEREFORE must be RESTRAINED!
The Monocoque does NOT break apart it is NOT designed to break apart! Especially not in HALF!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"

They are tethered to keep spectators safe, true.
They are NOT "designed" to "break away"---the attaching members are designed to withstand the force vectors encountered in driving. If you hit the structures from other vectors, they FAIL as they are NOT DESIGNED to withstand forces in those directions.
Consequently, knowing the possibility of inappropriate force vectors being encountered in a shunt, the only responsible answer is tethering the larger outboard components to prevent them going into the crowd.
Like John says, some of you guys need to learn a LOT about race car chassis design. The a-arms are NOT a 'crash structure' they are a WHEEL SPINDLE HOLDING AND LOCATING device!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
Post Edited (Mar 1, 3:59pm)

That is the wreckage of a 917 Porsche, taken in the early 70's.
Look where the seat is---not exactly the era of "Driver Safety Monocoque"
What happens is that the mounting points of the engine cradle (as said above in the post to Brainn 510) to the Monocoque (or frame) are overstressed by force vectors not DESIGNED to be encountered in normal driving.
Almost ALWAYS these involve the car doing Endos (Not Enzos, ENDOES---as in front back front back of the car flipping lenghtwise) or SHEAR (uh, like the telephone poll).
This puts enormous strains on the chassis. The engine in an F1 Car is a STRESSED MEMBER of the vehicle. If you will notice in the F1 Crashes, the engine BLOCK usualls fails when the unit separates from the chassis.
This is not a DESIGNED response, it is a failure of the component because force vectors exceeded the limits, or occurred in a direction other than designed!
A designed breakaway would involve scores cast into the engine mounting structures, whereby a engine would break in a predictable way, away from the monocoque.
You will NOT find those photos! They don't exist...
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"

You are in the wrong boat on this one!
Show me the photos of the "designed breakpoints" on the block and engine mounting points of ANY vehicle!
In F1 and GTP, the engines may or may not be a stressed member of the chassis. If they were "designed" to breakway, you would see CLEAR and REPEATABLE fractures in the same or VERY similar places in each accident.
What you guys are doing is generalizing about LARGE PIECES breaking away in what APPEARS to the untrained eye as THE SAME failure, but in fact it is NOT!
No engine is designed to break away from the chassis. Structural integrity is paramount in EVERY racing class. When someone looses and engine---when it separates from the chassis, the team is PILLORIED in technical inspection because of it.
Major components like the engine are NOT supposed to come free from the chassis.
When they do, it is a failure of an engineered mount, that will be redesigned in the next chassis.
Take a look at chassis revisions to Swift DB-Series Chassis, and you will see over and over their work towards chassis and component INTEGRATION, not DISINTEGRATION!
The Engine is NOT a "crash structure"!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"

After the chassis splits in half and the driver's section is careening down the road, what's going to happen to the driver if there's a second impact at the point of separation? There's no more crumple zone to dissapate energy, just a carbon or aluminum bulkhead about .125" thick. Any idea what would happen to the driver if a following car hits that bulkhead at speed? Any idea what would happen to the race car builder if lawyers found out the car was designed to fall apart?
Has any one bothered to read the FIA F1 technical spec document I posted a link to?
You would have learned that side impact test uses 780kg object traveling at 10 meters per second imacting the chassis as its bolted to the test floor, not sliding after impact, but bolted so that all the impact energy is transferred to the chassis. The car has to stay together, absorb the impact, and transfer less then a specified G load to the driver.
Front and rear impact tests require a 780kg impacting at 15 meters per second while the chassis is bolted to the floor. All front and rear impact structutural damage in these tests must be contained before the front wheels and behind the rear wheels.
- John

*yawn*
Yet again another posted flooded out with Tony D's books...
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project

Tony... sorry but you are wrong on this one... The 917 isnt exactly a modern car... but you get the picture.. the enzo is designed, like most gtp's to loose the tail like lizard... That is not initially but when the going gets tuff.. that is the weak point.... not the drivers compartment... Saturday ill take you to a speedshop of my friend who used to be on several F1 teams, and now builds dakarcars... he will explain... as on this one i am right... GTP's are a WHOLE diffrent ballpark than other cars... And im not talking about a arms or whatever .... just what they are meant to do when crashing..... in these two cases with the enzo... it is ubercrashing... resulting in snapping... liked it was meant to do !
Or do you think the enzo's accidentally all break off there ?
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's
Post Edited (Mar 1, 11:59pm)

SEPARATION is DESIGNED into the chassis!
That way, with the same force vetors acting on the two bodies, they will take TOTALLY different paths!
That way there is NEVER ANY CHANCE that the "designed breakaway engine" will ever run into the back of the driver going in the exact same direction!
(Sarcasam Off)
Anybody ever dump a bike, or snowmachine? You ditch, you jump OBLIQUELY from the direction of the impact---you don't and you will have (in short order) whatever you jumpeed off of quickly running YOU DOWN!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"

The separation you get is due to an overload of the chassis.
Show me a Porsche Engineer who would EVER say the chassis should break apart IN FRONT OF the driver (as in the photo you posted) leaving the driver's feet hanging out there?
The photos you refer to are merely examples of failed components, nothing more. OVERLOADED STRUCTURES FAIL! They fail at the weakest point.
Read what I said above about "designed breakpoints" at the chassis mounting points, you WILL NOT FIND SUCH STRUCTURES.
What happens is the two main rigid structures simply fail at the weakest point and separate into their major component assemblies. The engine and transmission is fairly rigid, the monocoque is fairly rigid, the fasteners and mounts holding the two together are reasonably rigid in the designed direction of normal stress.
Overload them 90 degrees from that, and the weakest point between the two major components will fail. It is not DESIGNED TO FAIL, that is simply the weakest link, and always will be. You can't mill a bulkhead out of Titanium Like they do on commercial aviation designs!
By your "failure analysis" you are saying a commercial airliner is DESIGNED to break up into the area in FRONT of the wing spar, and the parts in BACK of the wing spar. This is ridiculous---it is not DESIGNED to break apart there, the wing spar is merely the STRONGEST PIECE, and the other two pieces just happen to snap off there---fore and aft!
Follow that explanation?
85ZX is a simpleton who has trouble stringing more than one or two syllables together at one time, now he will go "run to mommy" while us adults discuss the intracicies of F1 Chassis Design.
As an added aside, READ the tech section John Coffee referenced above. I didn't, but know some of the FF and other lower series chassis engineers, and can say even in FF or FV, the design criteria is the same as F1, as it is similar in many other open-wheeled classes!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"

Putting tethers on things is not because they were "designed" to separate, it's because the engineers realize it's impossible to design them to remain attached!
Don't think inevitability of overload is a design feature!
I mean, if the engine / drivetrain is designed to separate, why is there a provision for a steward activated "Neutral Clutch Disengagement"---shouldn't that portion of the vehicle be gone...?
Hmmmmmmmmmmm?
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
Post Edited (Mar 2, 12:48am)

Whatever man, I was the one who posted the information about F1 technology in the first place you dolt.
Who are you to talk anyway? Everytime you post you just flood sh!t out making 3-5 posts all after each other and each post being 1000 words long ruining the thread entirely for any sort of decent conclusion. Information overload man, and you do it every time aswell! Learn to summarize, you crap on way, way too much. Half the time your posts just get scrolled over and never read by anyone because you waste so much space on a page :P Get off your high horse tool...
85' 300ZX NA
86' 300ZX Turbo
88' 300ZX Turbo
89' 300ZX Turbo
300ZX Turbo Project
Post Edited (Mar 2, 1:37am)

85zx: No chit man! Some people on here are a wealth of information, but tend to go over the deep end explaining it in such detail the majority of the people skip 95% of the post itself. Alot of people on here feel their Datsuns are some kind of super special performance cars also and get really tied up in their postings.

Tony we will discuss this this further on Saturday, when we are at the shop of a guy that builts these things, desings these things ( to fail) and has worked for several F1 teams...
He will explain you exactly why .. ... But Im right on this... Guys ill update you saturday!!!
Tony you are so wrong on this !
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's

hehe my datsun would disintergrate when i would hug a pole at 162MPH
You can sleep in your car, but cant drive in your house
if you are fully in control, you are not driving fast enough!
79 ZXR 46K!
81 ZXT EURO 2+2
83 ZXT
All fine Fastback winnabego's

That is funny.
Forgive me if I can relate WHY I say the things I do, and you....uh, you incorrectly point out erroneous information...
Definitions, mostly.
Like you said: "Whatever---it's not my fault you are some sort of ADD-HD Rattled Individual"
(Rolls Eyes)
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
Post Edited (Mar 2, 9:33am)