How easy is it to upgrade to airbag

mike whiskey uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Yes.

How are you going to test it? Would it be too late?

Lee D

Well, it wouldn't be any worse than a non-fitted Disco 300 if it didn't work :-)

Cheers

Peter

Excellent point. and my main concern, but then, how does anyone know if their air bag will work? I was wondering if it was a case of fitted for, but not with, as the model year (96) they appear to have been dependent on trim level.

MW

IIRC Airbags need triggering devices, crush cans on the front bumper, so you'd need to fit those, no idea if there's anything else involved. You need to bear in mind that the airbag, when it goes off, can injure you badly especially if you're too close to the steering wheel when it does go off. If you c*ck up the fitting and the bags fire then you could end up in a lot of trouble, have a google for "airbag injuries".

Bear in mind that as long as you're wearing a seatbelt then an airbag is very much less of a concern, airbags were invented for the U.S. market where seatbelts are not commonly worn. They're useful but you're driving a vehicle much stronger than most on the road and if you're wearing seatbelts, trying to jury-rig an airbag system yourself is probably asking for trouble.

I

It must be safer to assume that they don't work !!!!

On or around Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:08:59 -0700, mike whiskey enlightened us thusly:

yes. just wear the bloody seat belt. At least you don't get your arms broken or get suffocated by the bloody thing.

airbags were AIUI principally invented to save those to daft to wear a seat belt when travelling at high-risk speeds from their own stupidity. Not that I approve of compulsory belt-wearing, there are some situations where it makes little difference.

Drivers are being taught in America to hold the wheel at 25-to-5 position so as to avoid broken arms from the airbag when, not if, they're involved in an accident. It'd be far better to avoid accidents in the first place, than to have ever more devices to ensure that you can survive them.

I fitted an ARB winch bumper on my d2, which has airbags. I was expecting to find "crush cans" wired in somehow as the bumper was airbag compatible. Couldn't find any, but they may be behind the bumper fittings.

Crush cans were on early incarnations. Modern ones use crystal that are disturbed by a collision. The crystals on my 300 V8 (97) are under the cubby box ... i.e. in the centre of the chassis rails.

unless the bugger went of unexpectedly and unbidden that could spoil your day. Derek

Neil Brownlee uttered summat worrerz funny about:

.....anything to declare?

Yeah , theres some Crystals under the cubby box. - I've heard it all before ;-)

Bit of an urban myth, airbags deflate fractions of a second after they fire. Hmmmmmm......what broke my arm? the collision or the airbag? People who weigh less than about 35kgs (I think) are vulnerable to the force of the airbag inflating - hence no kids in front seats (especially not standing on their mother's lap).

Just an additional safety feature which is only effective when a seat belt is worn.

They are just one in a long line of design improvements that the motor industry have built into vehicles - collapsing steering columns, safety glass, tubeless tyres, fuel tanks, seat mountings, anti burst doors, crumple zones front and rear, side inpact intrusion bars in the doors, side impact air bags.....

See if you can get a copy of a GM film called "They dont meke 'em like they used to" which films barrier crash tests at 30mph of old and new vehicles. The old vehicles "kill" all of the test dummies - steering column pushes driver into back seat, engine enters passenger compartment, doors fly open and rear "passengers" exit, front passenger goes through windscreen, fuel tank ruptures, non safety glass spears the dummies for good measure.......etc etc.

Modern car hits barrier, bonnet crumples, air bags inflate, engine goes under the vehicle. Doors can be opened, passenger compartment remains intact. Whilst sore, occupants of a 30mph accident survive if wearing seat belts in a modern vehicle.

Current designs for steering wheels are intended to be held at the 10 to 2 position, hands should be above the spoke(s) NOT below which is a recipe for a broken thumb if the steering wheel moves rapidly. No wonder the Septics kill so many on their roads when they do stupid things like that..

Agreed, but designed vehicle safety features have done more to reduce the road toll than improved driver training (sic).

I think the septics have beefier airbags due to the high number of them that don't wear seatbelts. Not 100% certain though, some part of my memory is whispering these things in my shell-like.

On or around Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:23:00 GMT, "Roger" enlightened us thusly:

provided no-one forgot to put the holes in it...

See the metal boxy things that fit inside the two humps on your front bumper?

Them's your crush cans, they are.

IIRC the US style of airbag is different from the UK one. UK design assumes the driver/passenger is wearing a seatbelt, and the airbags are small (ish). The US ones are massive and designed to hold back an unrestrained 30-stone Zeppelin full of junk food.

They're useful but

Agree with you there. I would leave well alone.

It was 12.57 am and all was quiet in the D_Family crib.... until I sprayed the keyboard and monitor with Damson gin!

Lee D

5:31pm in the EMB hovel and much the same has just happened with a Heineken.

Sorry, chaps - I'll try to sort you out a new one at the next unofficial.

In article , Roger writes

US Fatalities (broken necks from driver airbags) in 1997 an 1998* were

18 and 14 respectively, with a cumulative total (to 2007) of 91 for drivers and 180 for child front-seat passengers. These numbers are airbag-specific fatalities, although they include people driving without belts, and, incredibly, at least one case where the dead child was on the lap of the _driver_ at the time of the accident!

The number of driver fatalities have supposedly dropped to near zero now, as the US DOT since 1997 now requires real-world testing ("sled certification") and has changed the rules to allow bag deployment at lower accelerations (presumably meaning bags now deploy with the human further away than previously). We don't collect stats on this here that I know of, and I don't know either if the US changes were applied to the European market (one can but hope).

It's apparent that when the technology was introduced in the US they knew the risks and considered them 'statistically acceptable,' Were they then forced to revise the specs in response to consumer disquiet (and a steadily growing pile of bodies)? Mind you, it's the same system that allowed the Ford Pinto to get as far as customers!

The stats also are a bit 'light' in the field of airbag-specific injuries. My wife isn't tall and she sits very close to the wheel. if the airbag ever deployed it could possibly kill her, but even if it didn't she'd be months in plastic surgery whilst they repaired the lacerations, burns, etc.

I tried (and failed) to get the main dealer to disable our main car's airbag (it was bought from them), but was stonewalled. In the USA there are kits which I think manufacturers are required to make available.

I can see both sides of the argument, but I still think we should have the right to choose, and not have these things foisted on us. If you told people they would be driving along with an explosive charge less than two feet away, aimed at their head, how many cars would have airbags fitted by choice?

Regards,

Simonm.