Top 10 Things Fast & Furious Gets Scientifically Right and Wrong

#10: Lifting Fingerprints from a Bikini - RIGHT

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“Fast Five” (2011) In “Fast Five”, Dom and his crew decide to break into crime lord Hernan Reyes’ safe. But they need his handprint to crack it open. When Gisele is sent to acquire Hernan’s handprint, she puts on a bikini and lets the crime lord feel her up. His gross groping allows them to get the print they need. Although the sequence looks like an excuse to get Gisele in a bikini, it’s 100 percent legitimate. A 2011 research study conducted at the University of Abertay Dundee showed that handprints could be lifted from fabric. While the process of getting the print is complicated, Dom’s crew appeared to have the time and resources to make it work. Gisele’s risqué methods are scientifically sound.

#9: Getting a Nitrous Boost - RIGHT

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Various No “Fast and Furious” movie would be complete without at least one nitrous oxide scene. Throughout the franchise, drivers use this chemical compound to get an extra speed boost at crucial moments. But what really happens when Dom hits that red NOS button? When nitrous oxide is heated to high temperatures, it provides more oxygen to an engine. The increased oxygen allows fuel to burn faster. The quicker burn increases an engine’s horsepower and allows a car to speed up. Between its affordable price and easy installation, nitrous oxide is a sensible way to give a car a boost. While it may not give a car enough speed to jump over bridges or fly over gaps, nitrous will get you to your destination faster.

“The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” (2006) While “Tokyo Drift” isn’t the most beloved movie in the franchise, even its detractors have to admit the drifting stunts are impressive. Protagonist Sean looks badass as he drifts around winding roads and tight turns in souped-up cars. Although his technique looks too good to be true, a lot of what we see is real. The mechanics of how drifting works are fairly accurate. And behind-the-scenes interviews and footage confirm that professional drivers really can drift as well as the film suggests. Unfortunately, there’s no research that proves Sean could master this driving technique in such a short time. But with enough practice and determination, you could learn to drift as well as he does.

“2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003) When Carter Verone kidnaps Monica Fuentes, forces her onto his yacht, and sails away, Brian races after her. He launches his car off a conveniently placed ramp and crashes right into the boat. But his crazy gamble wasn’t possible. Let’s assume Brian was somehow able to predict where the moving boat would be when he launched off the ramp. His car’s speed would still be an issue. We see that Brian is traveling nearly 120 mph when he hits the ramp. Based on the angle of the ramp, how long the jump lasts and the distance between his vehicle and the boat, his speed would’ve caused him to sail right over the yacht instead of into it. Brian should’ve just called the coast guard instead.

“Fast Five” (2011) During “Fast Five,” Dom and Brian tow a vault full of cash at high speeds with two Dodge Chargers. But the weight would make that impossible. Harvard physicist Dr. Randall Kelley estimated that the combined weight of the vault and 100 million dollars housed inside comes out to around 14,000 kilograms. After factoring in the mass of the cars, friction of the road, and how long it took their cars to accelerate, the doctor calculated that they could only tow the vault together at a sad 2.3 mph. To make matters worse, if it hit anything, the cars would lose momentum and move even slower. You could literally jog faster than they would’ve been able to drive during this heist.

“Furious 7” (2015) “Furious 7” featured a scene where Dom drives through a skyscraper window so fast that he flies into the building next door. Shortly after landing, he speeds through another window, jumps to another skyscraper and leaps out the car at the last second. Physicist Lee Loveridge said if Dom had managed to accelerate the car to 100mph before the first jump and both the glass and wind offered no resistance somehow, the jumps just might be… extremely deadly. If the cars’ shock absorbers weren’t specifically prepared for this insane stunt, the car and anyone inside would be wrecked whenever it landed. And even if Dom jumped out that speeding car, he’d move so fast that he couldn’t stop himself from sailing out of the window.

“Fast & Furious 6” (2013) Scientists determine an object’s momentum by multiplying its mass and velocity. This formula makes one “Fast and Furious” scene utterly impossible. When Letty is standing on a speeding tank that crashes, she’s launched leftwards into the air. Dom matches the tank’s speed and launches himself off his car up and to the right. He proceeds to catch her while she’s traveling left and aims their bodies to land on a windshield on the right. Since they’re moving at about the same speed, Dom needed to weigh tremendously more times than Letty to overcome her leftward momentum. Unless Vin Diesel has enough muscle to defy the laws of physics, Letty’s momentum ultimately would’ve pulled them away from the path of the “safe” glass windshield.

#3: Brian Outruns a Falling Bus - RIGHT

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“Furious 7” (2015) Shortly after saving a captive hacker, Brian gets trapped inside a bus that teeters on the edge of a cliff. Just before it falls, Brian runs along the top of the bus and jumps to safety. The physics of his perilous run check out. Doctor Matthew Kleban said if Brian moves faster than the bus falls, he should be able to outrun the vehicle before it drops. Although he found Brian’s jump questionable, that can be blamed on the film’s editing. If you still have trouble believing the run was possible, behind-the-scenes footage showed a stuntman practically performing the stunt… with a few wires thrown in for safety. Both science and anecdotal evidence prove Brian’s legs are enough to defy gravity.

“Furious 7” (2015) Dom’s crew needs to get the drop on a convoy of villains. While the bad guys drive along a mountain range, the heroes get on a plane, strap parachutes to their cars and drop down into the road. Everyone except for Roman lands onto the road perfectly before taking on the convoy. Physicist Matthew Kleban said this stunt was completely feasible. He found that as long as the parachutes could support the weight of the cars and the wind was calm, they should have relatively little issue landing safely. However, Kleban did note that unless they were incredibly lucky, they’d all end up as off course as Roman did. Maybe the crew owes Roman an apology. Before we cruise on over to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Hijacking a Fuel Truck - RIGHT “Fast & Furious” (2009) Jumping from a Speeding Train - RIGHT “Fast Five” (2011) Dom’s Charger Does a Long Wheelie - WRONG “The Fast and the Furious” (2001) Driving Away from the Bridge Jump - WRONG “2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003) Driving Out of the Front of a Plane - WRONG “Fast & Furious 6” (2013)

#1: Chasing a Plane Down the Runway - WRONG

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“Fast & Furious 6” (2013) The award for the biggest franchise miscalculation goes to.. .the runway in “Fast & Furious 6!” In the film, Owen Shaw forces Dom’s sister Mia onto a plane and attempts to take off. Dom’s crew proceeds to speed down on a runway to save her. The entire sequence lasts for around 13 minutes. A plane moving fast enough to take off would be moving at over 100 miles per hour. If the plane was going that fast as long as the movie suggests, the runway needed to be over 25 miles long. The longest runway in the world isn't even four miles long. Either they build unnecessarily long runways in the “Fast and Furious” universe or the writers just didn't do their research.