Turbo Boost

reverber · Post by **reverber** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 7:32 pm

My question is is turbo boost as shown in the show physicaly possible i know in the show they used ramps and stuff but cud it be done in real life. in the right hands it could save lives for instance no more pile ups on motor ways every one would jump over it.

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 7:39 pm

If there was a big shiny button in your car that said "Turbo Boost: FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY", do you really think people would wait until a deer jumped in front of them before they pressed it? I know I wouldn't!

In theory, we probably have the basic technology to simulate a turbo boost in a car, But it would be so outrageously expensive and explosively dangerous that I doubt we'll ever see it on a real car.

reverber · Post by **reverber** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 7:41 pm

true but what about a one off concept car. it could be a smart car and know when danger was ahead i suppose that would be safer.

Handzus' Stupid Fro · Post by **Handzus' Stupid Fro** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:41 pm

The car (assuming its not KITT

), would be demolished after like 1 turbo boost, maybe 2 depending on the height of the jump etc.

reverber · Post by **reverber** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 8:43 pm

not if it was built to take the impact.

citizen_x · Post by **citizen_x** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 9:45 pm

It's very possible! but in order to survive the impact, the car must have a very durable and unique alloy embedded in the car's chassis (just like in the show). but unfortunaly, i don't think that this kind of sophisticated technology exists right now.

and let's not forget The second part of the turbo boost - SPEED! the high speed can be achieved with NOS (Nitrous Oxide).

And there you go... perfect "home-made" turbo boost

Handzus' Stupid Fro · Post by **Handzus' Stupid Fro** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 9:47 pm

not if it was built to take the impact.

Ok. How? Like a dune buggy?

FuzzieDice · Post by **FuzzieDice** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 9:47 pm

There was a Pontiac commercial somewhere where they did a turbo boost jump onto a ferry. The beginning of the commercial said the cars were modified specifically to do the stunts in the commercial. You can find the video for the commercial here:

http://www.pontiac.com/stuntmen/index.j ... &cmp=sm1tv

I wouldn't turbo boost in my car. I couldn't even go over a speed bump without busting a frame mount in two.

cloudkitt · Post by **cloudkitt** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 9:49 pm

i watched the little documentary on how they did that commercial, it was sweet! So Knight Rider-ish, but no one mentioned KR.

reverber · Post by **reverber** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 9:53 pm

ok so the landing can be done now 20 years on from the original show. nitrous for the speed, but how would you propel the car into the air in the first place? i was thinking using moded suspension any other ideas

R.J.1984 · Post by **R.J.1984** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 10:54 pm

I can think of one that just might work. the way they do the air ride suspension at the car shows where they get the car to bounce on it's wheels. If they gave the suspension the right amount of pressure at just the right time - would require split second timing - I think that you could have a vehicle that would be capable of performing a turbo boost. How ever there is the danger of it malfunctioning and exploding rather than activating properly. If they could hit the nos and the air suspension at just the right time it should make for a unique turbo boost - may not get to far off the ground but it just may work for say 5 - 10 feet off the ground.

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 2:39 am

reverber wrote:in the right hands it could save lives for instance no more pile ups on motor ways every one would jump over it.

What if the car gets into the wrong hands? What then? If KITT himself got stolen or reprogrammed in the series, what about in real life? Would it be worth it then if criminals have this kind of technology? It is a sad fact that criminal organizations have a way of acquiring the latest in gadgetries and the like. Would it be worth it?

Another thing to think about is...what will the occupants of the car be like after performing a turbo boost? Stunt men always wear safety gear and are strapped good in their seats. Will civilians be able to abide by this? What will their condition be after the landing? If a car company manages to make a car that can perform this stunt on a regular level, will the person or persons in the car be able to take the punishment on a regular basis too? Specially when pile-ups on motor ways seem to be common nowadays?

MrPayner · Post by **MrPayner** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:42 am

If you look back through season 1 there's an episode [name escapes me currently] that Michael hits the Turbo boost button to get away from the copper that's trying to make his ticket quota..

Therefore, "turbo boost" wasn't specifically designed just for jumping which i'm sure you would have figured out. It's exactly that, a boost of speed.

AP

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 6:18 am

So what's your point MrPayner? The original topic in this thread is about KITT's (or other car's) ability to jump over obstacles without the use of ramps. We all know about the sudden burst of speed (as in eluding the cop that you mentioned), but KITT's most spectacular ability/stunt involved "turbo-boosting" through the air and not just outrunning or outspeeding something.

Handzus' Stupid Fro · Post by **Handzus' Stupid Fro** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 11:57 am

There was a Pontiac commercial somewhere where they did a turbo boost jump onto a ferry. The beginning of the commercial said the cars were modified specifically to do the stunts in the commercial.

I saw that! It was pretty sweet. Very KRish with the all black GTO and all.

Lost Knight · Post by **Lost Knight** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 1:43 pm

If turbo boosting were possible in commercial cars, I think by law they would have to have a collision avoidance system or some type of safety device to make sure it would be safe to do something like that. In the show, obviously K.I.T.T. would know if doing a turbo boost was safe, in fact there's a few times Michael and K.I.T.T. couldn't turbo boost because there were too many pedestrians near by, etc.

As for NoS and turbo boost...the turbo boost alone is unsafe, imagine having NoS in there and landing! I would think they'd be picking your remains up with a sponge. NoS is illegal for a reason, so to get sudden bursts of speed, car companies would simply just increse the horsepower, as they seem to be doing more and more with commercial cars. Of course for drag racers that would never be fast enough, but that's racing, we're talking about commercial cars.

reverber · Post by **reverber** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:12 pm

ok so for extra speed we wudnt use nos maybe limit the car at say 600 revs then when turbo boost was engaged maybe a shift to 8000 revs max. and i fully agree that it would need a collision avoidance system but as their are cars now that can drve themselkves its not to big a leap of the imahination that they could detect a danger.

reverber · Post by **reverber** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:15 pm

also in later series kitt had spm so the need for turb boost was pretty much for jumping as spm was enough speed to get away.

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:12 pm

I think we underestimate how much force it would take to shoot a 3000 lb car just 10 feet in the air (KITT could go even higher.) Oddly enough, it doesn't matter how fast the car is going; whether it's travelling at 100 mph or standing still, it takes the same amount of force to lift the car off the ground. And it would take a remarkable explosive force to do that (even if it's just an explosion of compressed air.) I'm not sure you could fit a 'turbo booster' into the frame of a regular car; you might have to build some completely custom box car that would look nothing like a normal automobile.

The other problem is control... Even with precisely-calculated ramps, cars don't always land where or how the stuntmen want. Hitting a real-life turbo-boost would be a complete crap-shoot as to what kind of landing you could expect.

knightshade · Post by **knightshade** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:15 pm

I wonder if you could use some very scaled back version of the Short Take Off Vertical Landing technology used in the Harrier and similar jets to make a car jump? Just a thought.

Post by **Michael Pajaro** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 6:41 pm

The problem with today's STOVL technology is that it takes a while for the engines to power up. A turbo boost feature would need the energy burst at any given moment. In order for a STOVL engine to be able to do that, they would have to already be running at low power waiting to be suddenly throttled up. Unless you replaced the back seat, trunk, and probably most of the engine with fuel tanks, the STOVL engine would run out of gas before you pulled out of the driveway. Almost.

I do NOT want to see this in the movie, but it is interesting to think of KITT hovering up to an office window using those knid of engines... It would be an interesting visual, looknig out your window one night and seeing a floating red scanner. (with Michael J. Fox behind the wheel?)

cloudkitt · Post by **cloudkitt** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 6:48 pm

lol, I agree it would be kinda corny, but on the other hand, that's some great dramatic effect, especially at night, where all you could see is the scanner.

knightshade · Post by **knightshade** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:02 pm

As long as he's not tapping on the window, like the vampires in Salem's Lot.

R.J.1984 · Post by **R.J.1984** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:23 pm

Michael Pajaro wrote:I think we underestimate how much force it would take to shoot a 3000 lb car just 10 feet in the air (KITT could go even higher.) Oddly enough, it doesn't matter how fast the car is going; whether it's travelling at 100 mph or standing still, it takes the same amount of force to lift the car off the ground. And it would take a remarkable explosive force to do that (even if it's just an explosion of compressed air.) I'm not sure you could fit a 'turbo booster' into the frame of a regular car; you might have to build some completely custom box car that would look nothing like a normal automobile.

The other problem is control... Even with precisely-calculated ramps, cars don't always land where or how the stuntmen want. Hitting a real-life turbo-boost would be a complete crap-shoot as to what kind of landing you could expect.

No exactly - you see if the car is standing still - it won't go anywhere with the system that I mentioned. However if the car is moving it will go a distance no matter how fast or slow. The speed of the car will determine the distance the car will go once you hit the air ride controls. it isn't just lifting the car up and off the ground that you need to think about. It is the speed that you have obtained as well as the shape your air ride system is in. the correct amount of pressure in the system wil give an acurate lift for the jump however it must be measured properly or you risk explosion.
but it is possible

trooper TK-WHA?? · Post by **trooper TK-WHA??** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:14 am

I would think that landing the car would be just as important as launching it.If I remember correctly,on the bonus disc of season 1,Jack Gill states that he now has a titanium plate in the back of his neck as a result of his spine getting compressed and whiplashed from the impacts of all the jumps,even with all the safety restraints.

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