iMagnusX

Im looking at this 1990 GXL and wondering if it is possible to install airbags into the car, at least onto the driver's side. How easy is this, and how much would it cost? Thanks.

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

it would proabbly be cheaper and easier to get a racing seat and a 5 point harness than to get an airbag. just belt yourself in nice and tight.

ddub

yah i think it'd be way to hard to put one in, lots of customization and fabbing

Mage

I think some verts had airbags mabe wap steering wheels and add the system contoler + sencers etc..?

else find another mazda that has the system and swap it in.


sounds easy to me but then again I did it in a accord (replaced airbag sys in a recked one) before.

Mage

eyeoutthere

Sounds kind of dangerous to me. An airbag that deploys at the wrong time (like wile you are installing it) could cause serious injury or death.

Plus the whole thing would cost you at least a few hundred dollars.

Not worth it IMO.
Just try to avoid hitting brick walls at 60mph.

YakATK

I beleive FD's came with airbags, could use an FD wheel maybe?

But as eyeoutthere stated, its a waste of time/money. Airbags really don't save you that much, hell my friend got more injured from his airbag then if it had not gone off when he crashed his car.

iMagnusX

Well, how much would it cost? This is gonna be professionally done too. I'm no good mechanically, yet...

RyoFC3S

iTrader: (1)

A lot more than its worth. Probably more than $200 or $300. But thats just a guess.

that would be easier and probably more affective than an airbag.

-Andrew

spunks

Try about 2000 dollars because the car wasn't originally equiped with airbags.New airbag alone is like $800.Then there is the sensors,controllers,steering column,and steering wheel.And don't forget you'd have to replace the cars computer too.

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

Racing seat and 5 point harness is my vote man. It'll be cheaper and much easier. Itll also give for better driving.

iMagnusX

OK so one person says more than 300 (say 500) dollars for airbag, another says 2000. what is it? show me some proof or something. What would a roll cage, racing seat(s) 5 point harness(es) cost, plus installation cost?

Psygnosis7

Airbags, while good, are over rated, and probably not worth the time, money, and effort to install them in a car that never had them. My guess is that it would easily cost around $1000 to have one put in. For that cash you could get improved breaks and a racing seat/harness which would probably be a lot more usefull in the event of an accident.

SirCygnus

iTrader: (1)

too hard. you would have to have sensors and everything, just get a harness.

wrxfan

Just put a pillow on ur steering wheel and get a 5-point harness like said above..

eyeoutthere

In most state there is a law that says when installing an Airbag into a car it must be NEW from the factory (which are probably around $800).

There is probably even a law that says you can not install airbags in a car that is not originally equipped with them (they don’t like you messing with safety equipment).

The cost of the whole thing is going to depend on what system you go with and your state laws.

If there was ever an FC with an airbag then you could probably get a Mazda dealer to do it using all factory parts. Otherwise you are going to have a hard time finding a shop that will even touch it for liability reasons.

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

these guys are right, but i think they're a little low on their estimates... i've heard plenty of stories of replacing air bag systems and computers in cars that the bags have deployed in costing upwards of 2000+ dollars.... and that's for a car that's equippied with them... then you'd have to factor in the custom work, the modifications, the aftermarket CPU to drive it, the shock sensors, and the labor.... i'd guess at least in the 3-4 k range....

and, personally, i don't trust air bags taht much... i've known a lot of people more injured than helped by them.. (of course, all of my friends wear their seatbelts, so you can make your own conclusions based on your habits.)

ycchan

You could add anything to a car. The question is if it is safe and legal

iMagnusX

Well its more a question of cost too. If the airbag thing will cost as much as the car, then its not really worth it. I will call a nearby Mazda dealer today and see what they say about putting in the airbags.
How safe are 5 point harnesses? Would I need to put in a roll cage too? Or just harness and racing seats? Is there some sort of study or proof of their effectiveness and safety, proving they are as safe/safer than airbags. Thanks a lot.

Thaniel

There are studys showing the effectiveness of manual 3 point belts, vs passive belts vs manual belts and airbags.

Basically the govment inspired pasive seatbelts are the least safe. So I would recommend atleast switching those out for the standard belts. Next best thing to do would be wear a crash helmet

the link below from the NHTSA website is to the Third Report to Congress:Effectiveness of Occupant Protection Systems and Their Use. I think you will find more information there.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/inj...n2e.html#sec2.4

The report is long and involved. I'll give you my favorite quotes from the report.

"The air bag plus lap-shoulder belt system provides the greatest injury protection, 60 percent (although the difference vs. safety belts alone is not statistically significant)."

"manual lap-shoulder belts, both with and without an air bag, provide significant overall injury protection at the serious injury level, compared to being unrestrained (about 60 percent reduction in serious injury risk for both systems). Thus, the air bag did not appear to provide additional protection to a driver who was using his/her belts for overall injury level."

"There appears to be a beneficial trade-off in moderate and serious injury risk between head injury reduction and an increased risk of upper extremity injury, especially for belted drivers protected by air bags. The addition of an air bag for a belted driver resulted in further reduction of moderate head injury but decreased prevention of upper extremity injury and lower extremity injury, and increased the risk of serious upper extremity injury"

There are preliminary designs out there for 4 point and 5 point seatbelts for passenger cars. Some of them look VERY good. I wish I had one in my car right now.

here is a link to one from volvo
http://www.autoweb.com.au/id_VOL/doc...wsarticle.html

Madrx7racer

Prices for all therse parts.........really cheap racing seats 175 bucks..........5 point harness 75 bux, rollcage 700 bux installed........those are all from my buddy's shop......no hook up though.......btw when I say cheap I mean APC seats........

Trav

Well, I pulled all of the airbag crap out of my 91 vert... pretty simple removal actually except for the one sensor behind the dash and some of the wiring that is in the existing harnesses. It's not deployed. If you want it, I'll get rid of it. Steering wheel and all. Only thing I want in return is a good steering wheel (or the money to buy it).

If you're interested, let me know (PM). I have no reason to believe it wasn't working when I removed it.

DerangedHermit

I'm going to have to go with the 5 point harness idea. Not to mention they look cooler . I would feel a lot safer with that as opposed to one airbag. 5 points would protect a passenger better in addition to you.

Even better would be 5 point and a helmet, but that's only if you're racing, or want to look really retarded going down the road. You might get t-boned, smack your head on door or window, but you'll be fine. Don't be a baby

ajsuper7

another thing to think about is that these airbag systems for 2nd gens are almost 14 years old, i would be very causious of installing 14 yr old parts for saftey reasons, what if you got it all installed, had a wreck and the bag wouldnt deploy...that would suck. i think the mouse belts would be just fine in just about any wreck you would survive, they are annoying but they do hold you where they are supposed too.

Digi7ech

iTrader: (1)

That's a nice safe enviroment until you roll over and lose your head!

The traditional seat belts are designed like they are because in the event of a roll over your body will shift inwards to the center of the car.

If you get a 5 point harness and seat then you prevent this from happening and your head is where the roof is now at when a roll over occurs. You won't be walking away from that injury.

YOU HAVE TO BUY A ROLL CAGE WITH THE HARNESS!!

DerangedHermit

Are you planning on racing (or doing stupid stuff)? If not, there's a small chance you need a rollcage.

As for the rolling with a standard seatbelt vs. 5 point. If the roof is going to collapse that much, there's not much difference between the two. Several inches, which is better sure, but good lord.

There's so many other things that could happen besides a rollover (much more common things) that can be fixed by doing numerous safety mods on the car. There comes a point where it's a race car rather than a street car. Since I don't see anything about him mentioning racing...

Not sure here, but wouldn't it depend on which way you're rolling. I'm just doing this off the top of my (extremely messed up) head. If you roll left (onto drivers side) wouldn't your body go towards the window/door due to centrifugal force/momentum? In which case, you wouldn't be much farther from the roof (the door denies the body leaning distance, thus, not much y-axis movement). Inch or two? And in that case, you'll probably smack the hell out of your head on the door/window.

That's probably wrong reasoning, but it sounds good to me .