What happens if?........

[Pack Man]

Driving home on Friday, it’s pouring down with rain, thunder, lightning, very, very frightening, Galileo! ,Galileo!.....

Thought to myself, mmn what happens if the old Elise gets hit with lightening?? Soft top and fibre glass can’t be a good mix!! Any one know?

Could ask Richard Hammond on Top Gear to test, bet he wouldn’t get the same results as the Golf!

[jig]

I'd have thought the opposite was true, since the car is non conducting, it's less likely to get hit unless it's the tallest object around. If it did get hit, it'd probably melt!

I saw a demo of a Volvo getting hit by artificial lightning once, they'd fitted a roof rack to take the hit and protect the paint and anti static strips to conduct the charge to earth and prevent the tyres from melting...

[tom_burnley]

Roll Cage - its big its metal and it gets electricty closer to the ground quicker then your body...

worst - your car is isolated from the ground by tyres so the lightning probably wouldn't bother - but if it did - then you'd be OK - not sure about your radio/ECU.

[jfrf]

youre actually safer in a car when it comes to lightening


something to do with the principle of a faraday cage

[[K]ar|]

I suppose the aluminium structure of an Elise would act in the same way (Faraday cage) but the fibreglass would probably be badly scorched at least.

I once saw on the 'net a photo of an Elise that had been TWOC'ed then torched. It was literally just a puddle. I can just imagine someone driving along, then a flash of light, and all of a sudden they are sitting in a puddle of molten Elise with a slightly bemused look on their face!


[k]



>> Edited by [K]ar| on Wednesday 25th August 14:40

[Rik A]

I'm fairly sure that you'd reset all the fault codes in the ECU and probably loose the pre-sets in the radio too.

[S Works]

Rik A said:

I'm fairly sure that you'd reset all the fault codes in the ECU and probably loose the pre-sets in the radio too.

Too right - you'd probably have to go thru the palaver of resetting the alarm/immobiliser and EVERYTHING. Hope I don't get struck by lightening anytime soon.