Wow, that's pretty coo...(sees the weight on the rear bumper)....oh well.

This is one of those moments where you think something like " If I put a bunch of weights on my rear bumper, I could do a wheelstand from every stoplight..."

And then you kill someone and go to jail.

Physics people, please enlighten me:

For simplicity, let's say the front of the car weighs about 1,000#. Now let's assume the distance from the rear axle to the engine is 10'.

So in order to lift the front end up in the air, the engine would have to create 10,000 lb-ft of torque, right?

So is it all just rear-end counterweights for show? Or is my math way off base?

@Meat Farley: At least it wasn't hydraulically activated like the first movie.

WheelStand? I thought it was wheelie.

Because we all know that wheelstands add like 1000 HP and shave 10 seconds off quarter miles times!

I sure hope they'll be adding in the neon in post-production, because that doesn't look very FatFy to me.

@Ash, Cash, or Grass: Never seen 10,000 lb feet of torque in a car, but I have seen legitimate wheelstands...

I want to see the M5 do a wheelie. Or a FWD. That would be sweet...

JC Whitney has recently announced a new line of "Fast and Furious Wheelie Kits" With easy instructions and just a few short hours, you too can transform the family ride into a wheelie machine. Kits include brackets, skid pads, ballast and instructional video on how to pull the coolest wheelie on the block. Kits for front wheel drive applications cost extra.

@JSmith53: I'm not sure of the exact definition, but I've always believed a wheelie is something you do with a bike. Also, it sounds like you're a little girl when you say the word "wheelie." "WheelStand" sounds somehow more technical -- more macho.

A WheelStand sounds like something you'd see on the showroom floor of Wheels-r-Us.

It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile wi....,ah fuck it

if you put enough weight in the nose of a Citroen DS, set the suspension height corrector to the max and hit it in reverse you can do a wheelie backwards. I can't wait til they do that in "Fast and Furious: Crossiant Edition."

More Faster More Furiouser AGAIN.

Lessons learned from FnF:

1) NOS. Always.
2) WheelStands make your car go way faster.
3) You must have a laptop in your car with a ridiculously fake graphical interface.
4) There's always a girl who is hot, cool and can drive ten times faster than the arrogant prick in a 240SX (Murilee?)
5) If you're not caucasian, your best bet is to come in 2nd or be a hilarious (read: ethnic) sidekick.

Was this in the movie, or was that just a shot of Michelle Rodriguez driving to the Koo Koo Roo on lunch break??

That isn't a Dodge Charger...looks like a Chevy...

Does that mean FWD cars can do endo's?

wait...i'm sorry...4th installment??? someone thought there should be a 4th movie in this series?? jesus h, gas is $4 a gallon, we are in the 5th year of a war in the middle east, and fast & furious films are still being green-lit. all we need now is a plague of locusts before we all run for noah's ark

Great...just great! More douchebags will hook up their crappy cars with mufflers that make the cars sound like lawnmowers.

Ahh, I thought it out some more.

The wheelstand isn't about twisting the front up into the air--it's about the inertia of the rear of the car trying to "accelerate out from under the front". Obviously 10,000 lb-ft would be ridiculous and you'd never get traction.

What I mentioned above would be true if the rear wheels were bolted to the ground or something.

oops...my bad...just have to read better.

@Buckster: Fastestest & the Furiosestest

I wanna see a stoppie.

ps...BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

@Ash, Cash, or Grass: 10 ft is a LWB German sedan, for a old muscle car it's probably more like 8 ft. Still, 8,000 FT/LBS is still 10 times more than some wheelstand capable drag cars are making.

I think it might have something to do with momentum taking the weight off the front wheels and shiting it to the rear wheels.

@Ash, Cash, or Grass: So clearly, this makes your car at least 5 seconds quicker.

Paul Walker still owes me a 10 second car.

@beercheck: You better say StopStand before Wert calls you a little girl. This is the best I could (quickly) find:

+ Watch video

10,000 lb ft is actually not that far off the mark, when you take gearing into account.

500 ft lbs X 3:1 first gear X 4.30 rear gear gives you 6,450 ft lbs of torque!

So... they're racing in a parking garage??

Wheelies and stoppie are for little girls on pink Barbie bikes with training wheels.

@Vintage Racer: Why not. They were drifting in a parking deck in the last one.

Physics? Reality? what the hell is that?

That guy in the blue car redlit on the 2nd take.

\\gots nothing.

@Ash, Cash, or Grass: You're also talking about the torque at the rear axle, which means you have to factor in the torque multiplication from the gearbox and rear end ratio. So you're not actually talking about the torque the engine puts out. But yeah, there's more dynamics going on than just a straight torque balance around the rear axle.

Thanks for the insights...I had forgotten to account for the gearing.

Sounds like it really is a combo between pure torque transfer, wheel traction, and the rear end sliding under the front under acceleration.

Oh, and I'm sure the rear counterweights help.

@teargas: I think I have a new project. Thanks.

@Ash, Cash, or Grass: You got part of the equation right, Ash. In your example, 10,000ft-lbs of torque would be needed to lift the front end. So, if you clamped the rear wheels to the ground and hit it, you'd need a BF engine to lift the front.
Fortunately, cars can move, and this helps the engine to more for less.
When the car accelerates forward, the weight of the car no longer "points" "straight down"; it "points" more toward the rear of the vehicle.
In a car, the Center of Gravity (CG) is actually closer to your keester. When you're sitting still, your weight "points" straight down. When you accelerate, you press into the seatback, so your weight "points" down and to the rear of the car.
This reduces the distance from the rear tires to the line that "points" in the direction of your weight, and this reduces the amount of torque that the engine needs to do a WheelStand.
(You can test this with a yardstick. Hold the yardstick in front of you at a 45 degree angle (like you're sportin'...a yearstick). Then, try to twist it to vertical with only your thumb and index finger...Ouch. Now try this again, but start running forward. The yardstick will "feel" lighter because it's weight is "pointing" closer to your fingers. If you can accelerate to 1G, your fingers will not need to supply any torque to keep the yardstick at 45, you will just be supporting 1.41 times the weight of the yardstick. If you can accelerate greater than 1G, the yardstick will do a WheelStand without you having to supply any torque at all! Woo-hoo! Physics is Phun!)

So Where was the M5 in that?

I live my life 45 feet at a time...

@MotownWonker: Nice writeup. Thanks

@elwood: Good call, on the gearing. Sheesh. You and Ash got it all figured out while I'm goofing around with yardsticks.

@Corvette_Thunder: The orange one

@MotownWonker: Nice job explaining this. I was just about to go dig up Mr. Wizard.

@Corvette_Thunder: the M5 is the Halloween kitted acura TL look-alike! hahah

@MotownWonker: Jalopnik shur haz a buncha smart peeple, huh.

I hope they include that hot new Tony Stewart Edition Camry...

In this case, they are bunch of cheaters...
Center of gravity is near or behind the rear.

I'd love it if the bad guys car was a sleeper that had all excess weight stripped out, and had proper engine and suspension tuning, instead of blinged up crap with 10,000 watt amps, spinners, NAWS, and bouncing shocks or whatever they're called, it would probably blow the avera