backwards, wrong, and rusty

"MonkeePuzzle" (monkeypuzzle)
11/25/2013 at 10:01 • Filed to: None

that's weird, a 928 in the Denver Museum, and who are those creepy flat faced guys?

aroo! is that a rear engined 928!?

and rear steer? Bet that makes parallel parking a cinch!

oh my, rusty, and perished rubber, so... just exactly how one expects a 928 to look then

DISCUSSION (5)

E30Joe drives a Subaru > MonkeePuzzle
11/25/2013 at 10:09

Those are the mythbusters, have you not seen this episode? They argued the car was more aerodynamic facing backwards than it was forwards.

Übel > MonkeePuzzle
11/25/2013 at 12:05

I usually like the Mythbusters, but they really screwed this episode up. They used a competition between a forward facing 928 and a backward facing one to determine their verdict. The fact that they used two completely different cars alone was enough to irritate me, since differences in maintenance and use would be enough on their own to completely change the outcome. Then, if memory serves, they used Adam and Jamie as the test drivers. Two non-professional drivers with vastly different driving abilities. There were more variables in those tests than there were constants.

MonkeePuzzle > Übel
11/25/2013 at 12:09

agreed. If you read the article I listed the popular mechanics guy said easy "throw it in a wind tunnel both ways and measure" but that doesn't make very good television. A simple scientific measure could be used (and likely is prior to filming) for many of their experiments.

I do agree though, do a bunch of testing on the one 928, THEN cut it up and reverse it. The differences between one 928's engine to another must be astronomical!

Übel > MonkeePuzzle
11/25/2013 at 12:21

I think they did do the wind tunnel early in the episode, but as you said, doesn't make good TV. Even if they did the same testing, flipping the body around probably significantly affected the weight and other characteristics of the car. Usually they do a pretty good job of maintaining some form of scientific integrity within the context of the show, but this one was just bad.

MonkeePuzzle > Übel
11/25/2013 at 12:26

valid point. they'd have to conduct the inital tests with a bunch of steel tubing sitting in the trunk and cabin area to account for its later addition once the car was swapped around.

perhaps just doomed to failure from the start, as far as maintaining scientific integrity.