Supercar Fires

[NSXType-R]

As a car fan that loves to look at pictures, I go through www.wreckedexotics.com a lot. I've noticed many car fires involving Corvettes, Lamborghinis of all kinds, Ferraris and Maseratis of all kinds and some other high performance cars from many manufacturers. My question is, if you shell out the money for those cars, why do car fires happen so frequently? They're almost always burnt to a crisp also. I know that car fires happen also for lower priced family cars, but shouldn't something that costs as much as a Ferrari or a Lamborghini should have the engineering behind it to prevent these things? Any thoughts on this matter?

[clutch-monkey]

well i suppose supercar's engines run a lot hotter than usual (the GT3 has habit of starting grassfires...) but surely thats been accomodated for for quite some time now

[NSXType-R]

Well obviously not if it happened to a 599 GTB and a 612 in this thread.

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ad.php?t=28486

They're the newest offerings from Ferrari yet they still burn to a crisp. With that money why should I buy their products if these things happen?

[LotusLocost]

well i suppose supercar's engines run a lot hotter than usual (the GT3 has habit of starting grassfires...) but surely thats been accomodated for for quite some time now

Lol.. grass fire where do you drive the GT3??

And I think clutch is right, supercar engiens run a bit hotter, and are often driven a bit harder than the usual family car to

A nother fact is that many supercars have new and high-tech solutions when it comes to electronics in the car, wich often can go wrong..

And supercar brands have unfortunately not the same production numbers as the usual family car.. so the accidents stands out from the regular pug 205 fires and such

[clutch-monkey]

Lol.. grass fire where do you drive the GT3??

i didn't mean literally but in the manual there is an actual warning that says:
"Do not park car on dry grass as the heat from the exhausts and the engine can cause grassfires"
it is very noticeably hotter than my honda

[LotusLocost]

i didn't mean literally but in the manual there is an actual warning that says:
"Do not park car on dry grass as the heat from the exhausts and the engine can cause grassfires"
it is really very noticeably hotter than my honda

And the exhast is a bit lower on the 911 to
I have seen gras fire started by a muffler so I can understand the warning

[clutch-monkey]

And the exhast is a bit lower on the 911 to

well actually not really because of the 5 inch fart can i've put on the..... err, why yes you're right

I have seen gras fire started by a muffler so I can understand the warning

yes, but presumably engines have been in this state of tune with similar heat outputs for quite some time now so surely supercars would be made to cope with the added heat... unless the surroundings ignite first

[Sauc3]

well actually not really because of the 5 inch fart can i've put on the..... err, why yes you're right

yes, but presumably engines have been in this state of tune with similar heat outputs for quite some time now so surely supercars would be made to cope with the added heat... unless the surroundings ignite first

And with you around that's definately a big problem. We're still trying to put out the brush fires from last time you visited.

[2ndclasscitizen]

I think it's mostly that most of the supercars that have burnt out have been in really big, high speed crashes, and maybe the positioning of the fuel tanks in mid-engined cars makes them more vulnerable to being punctured or torn open.

[NSXType-R]

I see. Does the carbon fiber in super cars make a difference in a crash or is it just as safe in a regular steel bodied car?

[LotusLocost]

I see. Does the carbon fiber in super cars make a difference in a crash or is it just as safe in a regular steel bodied car?

Safe when it comes to fire you mean?
I don't think that CF makes difference, other than it totaly burn up, though the most rigid steel frames don't in a car fire..

If you get stuck in your car when it's burning, it doesn't matter I'm afraid

[The_Canuck]

Its because they're not made for safety. They're made for performance.

[Coventrysucks]

As a car fan that loves to look at pictures, I go through www.wreckedexotics.com a lot. I've noticed many car fires involving Corvettes, Lamborghinis of all kinds, Ferraris and Maseratis of all kinds and some other high performance cars from many manufacturers. My question is, if you shell out the money for those cars, why do car fires happen so frequently?

Have you considered that you may be seeing "so many" burned out supercars because you are looking at a website dedicated to showing pictures of supercars that have crashed?

It isn't really conclusive from that "evidence" that supercars catch fire any more or less frequently than any other type of car.

People tend to focus more attention on a burned Ferrari 599 GTB than they do on a burned 1983 Vauxhall Nova, but that doesn't mean that there are more 599s catching fire does it?

but shouldn't something that costs as much as a Ferrari or a Lamborghini should have the engineering behind it to prevent these things?

How many products/ structures are there out there that are "fire proof"?

Even 'planes - which you would hope would be amongst the safest things around manage to catch fire from time to time.

If a many millions of pound/dollar's worth of passenger plane isn't "fire proof", why would a supercar worth a tiny fraction of that be?

[NSXType-R]

You're right about the dedication of the website but it seems as if they happen quite often. It make you wonder how safe these cars really are. Even completely new cars, such as the 612 and the 599 shouldn't be burning up. They're completely new, fresh picked off the lot. You see my point there? There couldn't be any use and abuse. I'm just wondering about the quality of these cars safety wise.

I did say in my first post that regular family cars burst into flames as well. I was thinking in relation to cost and quality. If a car that costs more should increase in quality and safety, why should it still be burning up? I know accidents happen, but what could go wrong on a new sports car? They're supposed to the pinnacle of engineering. If they were the pinnacle of engineering they should be just as safe as they are fast.

[Coventrysucks]

Even completely new cars, such as the 612 and the 599 shouldn't be burning up. They're completely new, fresh picked off the lot. You see my point there? There couldn't be any use and abuse. I'm just wondering about the quality of these cars safety wise.

Well, I agree that cars shouldn't be spontaneously bursting into flames; but that is probably due to either an incorrectly specified component or manufacturing default.

There is only so much testing you can do, so undetected defaults are inevitable, and supercar companies cannot test as extensively as larger manufacturers, as each car they build for testing is a much bigger investment.

For example: if you had a £300,000 budget to spend on development cars; for BMW that could be 10 examples of a car, but for Ferrari only 2, and it will be much easier to spot potential defects with 10 cars than with 2.

However, I would guess that by far the biggest proportion of burned-out supercars that are seen are as a result of crash damage, in which case there is not much you can do.

Crash hard enough and some part of the fuel system will break, and after that all you need is a hot exhaust/brake disc/ spark of some kind and up it goes. It doesn't matter how new or not the car is - physics is physics.

They're supposed to the pinnacle of engineering. If they were the pinnacle of engineering they should be just as safe as they are fast.

Well, again: - how many "engineered" objects are actually 100% resistant to fire?

Yes, they are supposed to be a showcase for high technology and engineering, but mainly the emphasis is placed on the performance of the car on the track, not the BBQ rack.

Another example - if an I-pod is supposedly the height of engineering for MP3 players - would you expect it to work after you accidentally dropped it in the toilet, or would you expect it to have good sound quality?