Wow...that is some really scary stuff. I'm w/ Dave that the car is def. made to crumple like crazy. The more a car crumples, the SAFER it is. During an impact, the less force you absorb, the less damage to you (your person/body).

My physics is hazy, but IIRC, you're dealing w/ the impulse (change in momentum from the crash). The force of the impact is defined as impulse over duration. The objective is to decrease the force of the impact, thus causing yourself less harm. Since they have an inverse relationship, the larger the duration of the accident/impact, the smaller the force.

In plain English, the larger the crumple zone, and the more area you have to crumple, the longer the impulse will occur in, thus decreasing the overall force you're taking. Benz's are notorious for this. Very safe, a gazillion and one crumple zones, but because of this, their repair costs for even minor accidents are simply through the roof. But can you really put a price on your safety?

As for the SUV, I'd love to just drive an H1 all over the place, but you're a liability to other people. You're more liable to run right over another car, and crush it's occupants, and come out w/ a ding or two. If all you care about is your own life, well, go live on an island lol. Social responsbility is real important. Heck, the people you run over could be friends or family that you were following!

 

One of my buddies said he read the RX-7 had the highest mortality rate of any car in 1993.

 

Heck, there have been a couple of people recently that have had thier cars totalled on these forums and walked out fine, this is due mostly because of the front end which crumples very well.

 

Tell him I said
If anything, I can believe that too many people own FDs that aren't qualified to handle it's power and capabilities (me included lol). I don't think the car itself is unsafe per say (in collisions, that is). Rather, it's that drivers are basically novices being thrown into a full fleged and definitely not very forgiving track beast.

A lot of people wrecked their WRXs when they first came out, and they're AWD! Doesn't mean the car's unsafe...

 

Originally posted by dgeesaman:

Yes indeed. I read an article a few years ago (in Consumer Reports, I think) that discussed the crashworthiness and passenger safety of vehicles. It was pointed out the the FD did very well with respect to death and injury based on insurance institute data gathered from actual accidents, especially compared to other cars in its class. And if memory serves me correctly, I remember a comment in the article attributing this to its monocoque construction.

I had always wondered about the FD's saftey, but after reading that article, I felt a lot better about my chances [in the FD].

FWIW

 

Ditto...but unfortunately, all that goes right out the window when we're doing our 150mph+ runs

 

wow, big word, monocoque. what does it mean?

 

You bum...look it up! lol

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-b...oque&x=15&y=17
Main Entry: mono·coque [img]/images/audio.gif[/img]
Pronunciation: 'mä-n&-"kOk, -"käk
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from mon- + coque shell, probably from Latin coccum kermes -- more at COCOON
1 : a type of construction (as of a fuselage) in which the outer skin carries all or a major part of the stresses
2 : a type of vehicle construction (as of an automobile) in which the body is integral with the chassis

 

"A body structure that derives its strength and rigidity from unitized construction, rather than a framework of thick members."

 

Those stats were in 1993/94 when the car first came out and not to many kids had 35,000 burning a hole in their pocket. My buddy is a no BSer so I know he read it somewhere. The car is a tin box go push on the body work and tell me what happens. (Not to hard or you'll blame me for the dent... lol)

 

Oh I thought about the age issue, but honestly, I don't think it matters (much). Younger guys are prob more likely to wreck their FD while doing something stupid, and prob sooner than older guys...but I think older guys are prob still very prone to wrecking, be it for simple reasons such as not knowing better than to boost through a turn, or to take it super easy and not boost at all when it's raining, etc. Stuff like that. The car just isn't very predictable unless you've dealt w/ something like it before, and something that has such explosive power so suddenly at that.

I didn't mean to say your friend is a BSer. I should have worded it more carefully. I think what he READ was full of BS. If the FD was that bad in it's first year, it wouldn't have lasted the next two years. Also, we woulda heard about it being a death trap in various magazines. It woulda gotten a rep as a grave digger, not a gold digger

No comment about pushing the body work. Been there (by accident), and was very VERY pissed off. Wimpy stuff. But again, I'm sure it's designed to crumple in such a manner to absorb the impact. I mean, think about how many FDs we lose a month on this forum, but (thank God) we very rarely hear of losing forum members or them having serious injuries.

 

Which, if you think about the fact that the FD didn't exactly sell like hotcakes when it came out, would make for a statistic built up in just one year that would surely get the attention of NHTSA. I never heard of such a statistic.

 

I'll ask him where he read it and see if I can get the info.

 

There will always be cars at the bottom of the list and the top, all they have to do is past the standards.

 

$20 says it's the Supra or Z06 forum LOL jk

 

Exactly! The more work that is done by the bumper and crush zones the more energy from the impact that is absorbed. This means the occupants are more likely to walk away from the accident.

 

sure they are safe. more performance ability to get you out of a trouble situation.

just don't hit anything and you'll be fine. it's not the speed that kills, it's the sudden stops.

 

creepy thread guys

 

I wrecked my first Fd and walked away with nothing more than a cut on my hand from the air bag going off. I was going left at a light at 45mph, when some bitch pre jugded the oppisite light and ran a red hitting me in the front corner at about the same speed. The car was a mess because the front end shifted over about a foot and on the impact I spun around and hit the other car with the rear section where the gas fill is. I would say the car is incredibly safe because the cabin area of the car was not affected at all, the doors open and closed like the car was never hit!!

 

For jokes with all the mention of SUV's
I'd say the pick-up truck did pretty good here !!!

lol

 

I've always held that the H2 was a huge POS... I'd love to see an H1 in such a collision tho!

 

 

^ That says it all...

 

i remember reading someones post about wrecking in their fd and being ejected through the rear window... thats the kind of stuff that scares me

 

I belive the seatbelts solves that problem...