# Who'd win a tank drag race? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209 "2009-07-25T07:24:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/1 "2009-07-25T07:24:23Z")
Suppose you had examples of the world’s main battle tanks - the Challenger 2, the Leopard, the Abrams, etc - lined up on tarmac. They’re all fully crewed and loaded. Which one would win a 1 mile drag race? What about a 5 mile drag race? Brucie bonus: what about racing around a dirt track? So you’ve got things like cornering and braking to also consider. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/2 "2009-07-25T12:47:23Z")
No idea whom would win (does the Abrams have to leave it’s governor on?) but man does that sound like _FUN_! Take it a step further: Demolition Tank Derby! Minus the guns, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/3 "2009-07-25T13:31:44Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Suppose you had examples of the world’s main battle tanks - the Challenger 2, the Leopard, the Abrams, etc - lined up on tarmac. They’re all fully crewed and loaded. Which one would win a 1 mile drag race? What about a 5 mile drag race? Can the competitors shoot at each other? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/4 "2009-07-25T14:03:47Z")
Dunno, but something tells me that the microsecond-quick reaction times of he driver to the “Christmas Tree” aren’t going to be all that important in this race. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/5 "2009-07-25T14:28:46Z")
I couldn’t find any “zero-to-sixty” statistics but wikipedia gives top speeds. Type 99 (China) 50 mph Leopard 2 (Germany) 45 mph Arjun (India) 45 mph Leclerc (France) 44 mph Type 90 (Japan) 44 mph M1 Abrams (USA) 42 mph C1 Ariete (Italy) 40 mph K1 88 (South Korea) 40 mph Merkava (Israel) 40 mph T-90 (Russia) 38 mph FV4034 Challenger 2 (UK) 37 mph Sabra M60T (Turkey) 36 mph So if these figures are accurate, it looks like China’s taking home the Guderian Cup. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/6 "2009-07-25T14:39:38Z")
But how long do they take to get to those speeds? Hence the 1 mile and 5 mile issue. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/7 "2009-07-25T14:57:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I couldn’t find any “zero-to-sixty” statistics but wikipedia gives top speeds. > > Type 99 (China) 50 mph > Leopard 2 (Germany) 45 mph > Arjun (India) 45 mph > Leclerc (France) 44 mph > Type 90 (Japan) 44 mph > M1 Abrams (USA) 42 mph > C1 Ariete (Italy) 40 mph > K1 88 (South Korea) 40 mph > Merkava (Israel) 40 mph > T-90 (Russia) 38 mph > FV4034 Challenger 2 (UK) 37 mph > Sabra M60T (Turkey) 36 mph > > So if these figures are accurate, it looks like China’s taking home the Guderian Cup. Slight dispute with your cites: I’ve consistently beaten Leo II’s with an M-1 in a 1 mile+ drag on pavement. Although I will admit they did seem to do a bit better off-road. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/8 "2009-07-25T15:06:24Z")
1 mile may be a long enough track for possibly slower acceleration rates to be overcome by the tanks with the faster top speeds. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if the faster ones also have faster acceleration. The wiki article on the Chinese tank gives some idea of the initial acceleration, and they say “only” as if it’s notably quick (relatively speaking): > [@](#): > > The maximum speed on road is 80 km/h and 65 km/h cross country. Acceleration from 0 to 32 km/h only takes 12 seconds. The transmission provides seven forward and one reverse gears. 0 to 20 in 12 seconds … it can probably outdrag a Yugo … ETA: OK, **Ex Tank** , is 0 to 20 in 12 seconds quick acceleration compared to an Abrams, or any other you have experience with? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/9 "2009-07-25T15:19:16Z")
The Merkava has a good chance of winning the dirt track - it’s not the fastest track on flat ground, but its suspension was designed for rough terrain, and it’s been known to cross obstacles at greater speeds than other tanks of its class. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/10 "2009-07-25T15:27:05Z")
I have to assume that most (all?) modern tanks have a rpm/speed governor on their engines? I know that when I was in the USAR, I often talked to tankers that said the M-1 could do 60mph with the governor removed. It’s scary to think that something that weighs 64 freaking TONS could possibly travel that fast. Presumably any other tank with a governor on it could go quite a bit faster if it was removed as well. Or maybe the tankers were blowing smoke up my ass. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/11 "2009-07-25T17:39:18Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > 1 mile may be a long enough track for possibly slower acceleration rates to be overcome by the tanks with the faster top speeds. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if the faster ones also have faster acceleration. The wiki article on the Chinese tank gives some idea of the initial acceleration, and they say “only” as if it’s notably quick (relatively speaking): > > 0 to 20 in 12 seconds … it can probably outdrag a Yugo … > > ETA: > > OK, **Ex Tank** , is 0 to 20 in 12 seconds quick acceleration compared to an Abrams, or any other you have experience with? Never bothered the check it; we were just faster or slower than what we were up against. The Type 99 and 3 more forwar gears than an M-1 series, probably accounting for it’s superior performance; but the M-1 has 2 reverse gears. The U.S. Army probably figures it’s good to be able to back out of a fight at least half as fast as your drove into it. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I have to assume that most (all?) modern tanks have a rpm/speed governor on their engines? I know that when I was in the USAR, I often talked to tankers that said the M-1 could do 60mph with the governor removed. It’s scary to think that something that weighs 64 freaking TONS could possibly travel that fast. > > Presumably any other tank with a governor on it could go quite a bit faster if it was removed as well. > > Or maybe the tankers were blowing smoke up my ass. No, they weren’t blowing smoke. The M-1 has two governors, a mechanical and an electronic. The mechanical is fairly easy to fiddle with, but only yields ~5mph increase in performance. I never did find the location of the electronic governor, but figured it was a programming “soft switch” in the ECU (Engine Control Unit), accessible with one of the diagnostic tools mechanics had that could plug into the ECU. The big problem with increased performance is increased track wear. I was told that an M-1 could go 60+mph, but only if you didn’t mind a better-than-even chance of the track assembly disintegrating under the stress. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/12 "2009-07-25T17:48:49Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > It’s scary to think that something that weighs 64 freaking TONS could possibly travel that fast. Trains and planes manage that all the time, or am I being wooshed? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/13 "2009-07-25T17:56:28Z")
> [@](#): > > I have to assume that most (all?) modern tanks have a rpm/speed governor on their engines? I know that when I was in the USAR, I often talked to tankers that said the M-1 could do 60mph with the governor removed. It’s scary to think that something that weighs 64 freaking TONS could possibly travel that fast. A cousin of mine is a tanker (American, so M1), and he’s never in his life used any form of transportation at less than its maximum possible speed (Grampap used to say that he never learned to walk; he just started right away with running). He says he’s gotten his up to over 60 MPH; I assume his first priority on joining was to make friends with a mechanic who knew how to disable the governor(s). ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/14 "2009-07-25T18:00:23Z")
> [@Struan](#): > > Trains and planes manage that all the time, or am I being wooshed? :dubious: Maybe I should have clarified: Planes, trains, ships, etc all weigh a lot more, but are also generally a lot bigger and/or longer. It’s just amazing to me that something that’s relatively small by comparison packs so much mass (and weaponry) and yet can travel as fast as it does. I used to walk near or behind them at the tank range in Grafenwoehr as they approached their lanes to have a firing run. They are impressive in a scary way. The ground rumbles, the heat generated by the turbine engine…hoy shit. I never felt like such a little kid. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/15 "2009-07-25T18:17:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So if these figures are accurate, it looks like China’s taking home the Guderian Cup. You might think so but, when those cheap little plastic controls just snap right off, a Chinese tank goes right out of commission. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/16 "2009-07-25T18:20:31Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Maybe I should have clarified: Planes, trains, ships, etc all weigh a lot more, but are also generally a lot bigger and/or longer. It’s just amazing to me that something that’s relatively small by comparison packs so much mass (and weaponry) and yet can travel as fast as it does. > > I used to walk near or behind them at the tank range in Grafenwoehr as they approached their lanes to have a firing run. They are impressive in a scary way. The ground rumbles, the heat generated by the turbine engine…hoy shit. > > I never felt like such a little kid. Ah right, yes fair enough. 😃 Tanks are impressive as you say. I’ve only seen one in motion - a Challenger II at a show - and it was like a moving castle. I can’t imagine what facing a whole armoured brigade of those things in full effect would be like. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/17 "2009-07-25T19:12:21Z")
Against tanks? The A-10 wins. 😃 Go Air Force! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whod-win-a-tank-drag-race/504209/18 "2009-07-25T20:07:09Z")
Everyone remember this little event in San Diego in 1995? Here’s a glimpse at the destructive power this much rolling mass of armored machine can do, without even firing a shot. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UcnQ5jVGEds/hqdefault.jpg "Destroyed in Seconds- Tank Terror") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcnQ5jVGEds)