993,951,944

A very scary thing just happened.... In the C4S, I came
to a stop light at a freeway on-ramp and decided to rev
to 4-5K RPMS and drop in the relatively new clutch.
The car launched perfectly, even breaking loose the tires,
a launch that makes any driver grin...


Suddenly, I realized I was in trouble.
My vision started to fade like being under water and
my eye ***** were beginning to roll back into my head.
I felt an intense heat and ringing in my ears.
I couldn't believe it, this only happens in movies.
I was actually blacking-out from the G-force! I had to
quickly pulled over and spend a minute recovering.
I was really embarrassed.


The only thing I can think of besides the G-force causing the
near total black out was the fact I had skipped breakfast
and drank lots of coffee to recover from a slight hang-over
after having entertained some guests the night before at my
home. I rarely drink, and I consider myself to be in better
than average health, blood pressure and weight are normal.
Yes, like everyone else, I think about doing more exercise
more often, and I will continue to think about it in the upcoming
years... I have one of those new unused exercise machines
floating around if anyone wants it...


I wonder if any drivers were lost due to G-force black outs.

Has anyone else had a similar experience ?

I also wonder if the Twin Turbo is too dangerous to be in my
" wish-to-own-some-day " list.


All the best,

stefang

I think if you have trouble with the Gs generated by a street car launch you might want to see a doctor. Or maybe you were a tad more hungover than you thought.

Stef

John.

That sounds crazy to me....the most you might have seen was 1.2 g, probably more like 0.7 g. I would see a doctor. Generally it would take over 3 to even begin to experience what you did.

JackOlsen

It may have been from dehydration or low blood sugar or low blood pressure -- but it wasn't from a stock C4's acceleration.

gerry100

If that really happened to you in a street Porsche, we would see many passed out drivers coming out of the pits in CART and Indy cars, not to mention all the fighter jets going into the drink off carriers.

Toolmaster

Sorry to say, it was prolly a combination of dehydration and low blood suger. Of course, the heart pumping fun and wide grin prolly stole some much needed blood from the brain too though.

If it did happen, a Dr's visit is in order, or at least the knowledge that alchohol dehydrates, and caffeine does too.

WATER is the best remedy.

HTH!

Greg

For an accruate assessment, I think we need an exhaustive inventory of everything that was drunk the night before.

<img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

At least you didn't hit the pink elephant

M Fig

I do have to admit...one time I was in my 996 Twin Turbo and I nailed it coming from a dead stop (stop light) and had to make a sharp turn (turned on to the on ramp). Everything started to get black out of the corners of my eyes. I didn't slow down though. I kept it hammered and took the turn way too fast. As things kept getting darker I remember thinking keep it on the road, keep it on the road. The next thing I remember, I was laying in my bed. I don't even have a 911. that sucks. back to sleep.

Fig.

k9handler

I once almost blacked out due to the G's...but it was because I had the G-tech power cord wrapped around my neck!

Just had to laugh!

SEW QUIK

Very few things make a person "black out". As a vascular surgeon, I am constantly evaluating people with potentially decreased blood flow to the brain. The symptoms that you describe are not consistent with loss of consciousness due to G force, as this occurs usually above 3 G, and after sustained G's (remember the videos of the astronauts in the centrifuge).

There is more than enough cerebral perfusion to overcome the G forces associated with any land vehicle (remember that at a systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg, this is equivalent to 75 inches of water pressure at 1 G). If you assume the distance from the heart to the brain as 12 inches, the heart will maintain perfusion at about 4-5 G. My pilot friends tell me that the limiting factor is not pumping on the arterial side, but venous return. That is why they wear the squishy suit that actively squeezes different parts of the body to make sure that venous blood returns to the heart under high G forces.

Your symptoms are almost certainly due to dehydration (which mimics decreased venous return). The one thing to check out is arrythmias (abnormal heart rates/rhythms), and you should get a resting EKG done. If you have these symptoms with exercise, then a stress test (basically an exercise EKG) should be done.

Lastly, should this be due to the Porsche, I will need to immediately take possession of your C4S, and provide you with my lowly (and lesser accelerating) 87 3.2 coupe .

take care,

993,951,944

Thanks for the feedback.

The experience was a first for me. I returned to
the launch site again and launched again, when
the runway was clear. This time I had breakfast,
skipped coffee, and had no drinks from the night
before. I felt only a tiny buzz from that first launch
and I couldn't feel anything with the following ones
-just the thrill. As a result of the suggestions, I have
scheduled to see a doctor -just to be on the safe side.
I agree with everyone that a C4S shouldn't cause a
healthy person to have a near black out.


All the best,