Does driving at top speed damage the vehicle

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I was watching a YouTube video a few days ago where 2 arab guys decide to do some drifting at 150mph(240mkh) and by the end of the video you notice nearly every warning light on the dashboard is illuminated. Does driving at such speeds cause damage to the vehicle or did they just use a crappy car.

(For the your safety and the safety of those around you please do not try this at home)
 
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I guess its only these who can afford to trash a Lexus just for the hell of it.....once its done, Daddy will buy them another :eek:
John :)
 
Very likely at least the second time they've done it, run the oil too hot, and buggered a few other bits as well.
 
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A lot depends on the circumstances. Some of those lights will be ABS / ESC / Traction Control and the like - because when drifting, the front and rear wheels will be turning at such different speeds and for so long, that the ECU wil lthink there's a fault. They'll probably clear themselves on the way home. Others might be because it's cooking its transmission fluid / engine oil, etc. Again, they might go out when it cools. It's not just the fact that it's been thrashed, I imagine the ambient temperature is quite high too. In general, car manufacturers test their cars FAR harder than we ever do. A good thrash now and again is positively beneficial. Often, the cars that have most faults are those that have been driven very gently and end up with sooted-up inlet manifolds and choked EGR valves. As long as the engine oil is good and regularl ychanged, and it doesn't overheat, I wouldn't be too worried about running one at or close to max power for several minutes at a time.
 
If you're drifting you may be getting oil surge in directions that weren't envisaged and the oil pick up is sucking air instead of oil
 
Im sure most of the lights are related to ABS/traction/stability control. at 3:12 you see the real speed, and the speedo drop off and then the speedo never reads again (bare in mind it's not connected by a cable to the gearbox but is entirely electronic from wheel speed sensors via an ECU)

Nozzle
 
If you're drifting you may be getting oil surge in directions that weren't envisaged and the oil pick up is sucking air instead of oil

Seen quite a few engines let go on trackdays due to prolonged high speed left or right hand corners where the oil has been forced away from the pickup.

With drifting the engine is constantly hitting the rev limiter, abs and traction control will presume fault conditions due to abnormal wheel speed differential (as said above).

No need and a waste of a good car imho.
 
On the question if "Does driving at top speed damage the vehical", manufacturers chuck quite a lot of engine saftey strategies into the ECU.

"Normal" prolonged fast driving the car will run much richer air fuel ratio to quench/ cool the combustion chambers to avoid detonation and piston heat seizure etc. They will also pull back ignition timing based on execssive coolant/ engine block/ air temp etc.

Most Dual Clutch gearboxes will force the ECU into limited power mode if oil temp gets too high (as said above).
 
No, if anything might do it good, if its driven correctly at high speed.
Most engines don't like just tipping about all day every day.
 
There is some very explicit footage on YT of Arab drifting crashes, including fatals with lost limbs etc... I found out by accident.

Do yourself a favour and don't go there.
 
All of the "super" cars tend to be very fragile and have very limited life for certain parts and are not really high endurance.

A Lexus, which is just really a Toyota, would be expected to have much better endurance, but drifting puts strain on items that would not normally be subjected to prolonged extreme use.

Doing say, 90 down the M5 to Devon in a Ford, would not (/does not) damage it.
 
The guys do not care.
They are the new Al Kaida brigades.
 
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