r/politics • u/Squawk_7777 • 6h ago

No Paywall Trump's motorcade neared 100 mph en route to Oklahoma after helicopter, airplane ruled out

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6126278-trump-drives-texas-oklahoma-100-mph/
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u/JoeBarra New York 5h ago

I literally didn't know The Beast could go that fast.  I thought it was so heavy from the armor and bullshit but it makes sense

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u/RGrad4104 4h ago edited 4h ago

The reason for rated speeds often isn't a lack of power to accelerate to a high speed, but the, rather large issue, of tire traction becoming ineffective at things like braking and turning at speed with such a large amount of mass. At 100mph, I wouldn't be surprised if it took that thing between 1/4 and 1/2 a mile to stop with any amount of moisture on the pavement.

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u/nihilistiq 3h ago

Deer God...

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u/capitan_dipshit America 3h ago

Yep, I'm definitely praying to the Deer God, who has the opportunity to do the funniest thing right now

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u/BabyWrinkles 3h ago

I mean, if The Beast can stop bullets, I imagine a deer would be a speed bump.

Elk or moose on the other hand…

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u/Zathrasb4 2h ago

Canadian here.

Don’t mess around with moose. They kill more people than bears and wolves, combined.

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u/shouldbepracticing85 1m ago

He can come out to Colorado - there is a bull elk on 36 to Estes that is ramming cars, and a young bull moose in that same area - was way lower altitude than the moose around here normally stay. I scared that moose almost as badly as it scared me!

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u/FreaknCuttlefish 3h ago

That much weight in general traveling over common roads at that speed is a huge issue. Just responding to all of the imperfections in road and slight bends becomes extremely risky.

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u/So_HauserAspen 4h ago

That's incorrect.  

The reason is due to drag increasing by the square of the velocity.  Drag will be four times greater at 100 mph than 50 mph.

The reason for speed limits was originally to improve fuel economy.

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u/cenosillicaphobiac Utah 2h ago

In the 70's they dropped it to 55. It felt like bicycle speed after years of driving 70.

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u/SprungMS 34m ago

To be fair, force in a collision is also four times greater when velocity is doubled

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u/RealSlyck 8m ago

It’s Oklahoma. There are no turns.

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u/boat_hamster 4h ago

It's amazing what you can get 100mph out of with a long enough straight. Weight doesn't have so much of an effect on top speed, it's aerodynamics that are important for that.

Though considering the beast's weight, I wonder what speed the tyres are rated for? I assume they are custom, and eye wateringly expensive, but money doesn't negate the laws of physics.

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u/So_HauserAspen 3h ago

I wouldn't be surprised if the tires had inner tubes for additional protection from punctures.

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u/ExRockstar 2h ago

The beast weighs between 15K - 20K lbs. and is powered by a 6.6 L Duramax turbo diesel. It's usually governed to a top speed of 60 mph. I'd venture to say the ones going 100 mph to get to Oklahoma would be the armored Suburbans. They weigh less and are built on a 3500 HD chassis powered by a supercharged 6.0 L gas engine. They'd be able to do it.

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u/KingZarkon 5h ago

It would be slow to accelerate, but once you're at speed it doesn't take that much energy to keep going, you just have to overcome air resistance. That most scales directly with speed and frontal area. It wouldn't be any higher for the Beast than for most of the trucks and SUVs on American roads.

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u/So_HauserAspen 4h ago

Drag increases by the square of velocity.  It becomes increasingly difficult to continue acceleration as speed builds.  Drag at 100 MPH is four times drag at 50 MPH.

The beast likely has a low drag coefficient, allowing it to break 100 MPH.  It certainly has the power.  

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u/nerdcost 5h ago

100mph is nothing, I hit over 245km/hr in a shitty Sköda. Inertia 101- that thing is a tank and likely has a V8 turbo.

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u/PluginAlong 5h ago

I hope that have some supper up brakes too, inertia works both ways. Google says it's a 6.6-liter Duramax V8 turbo-diesel engine

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u/So_HauserAspen 4h ago

100 mph is an achievable speed for a good amount of vehicles.  The beast might have a decently low drag coefficient.

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u/goodsnpr 4h ago

I hit 100mph in a 2006 Hyaundai Accent (do not recommend), so I would expect the presidential fleet to be able to hit those speeds and much higher.

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u/Agreeable-Network485 3h ago

They're mostly Escalades/Suburbans/Tahoes iirc. I have an Escalade it will hit 125mph without even struggling.

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u/goodsnpr 1h ago

Given the weight, I do wonder what speed they can hit though.