Fifth Gear Crash Test Next Week

[alsner]

Originally Posted by cjard

Sure?


I'd take the bike

Based on that pic I'd say bike 1 - peugeot 0. I wonder how far the rider flew?

Ali

[bob13]

Originally Posted by cjard

Note; the fifth gear test wasnt trying to prove that volvos aren't safe, just that modern cards are safer than old cars!

I dont mean Volvos aren't safe i think we all know they are. It is just when my friend was working there it was in the 740/760 days. And lets be honest if they had a Volvo the same age as the Renault i know which one i would be in if i had to !!!!!

[cjard]

Originally Posted by alsner

Based on that pic I'd say bike 1 - peugeot 0. I wonder how far the rider flew?

Ali

Aye.. object lesson; dont pull out in front of a bike - being narrrower, it's much harder to judge the speed of a bike. This is a plea to all car drivers (cause we know how bike riders whine on about Volvo drivers) from a biker.. Please, dont pull out in front of them! Wait just that little bit longer for them to pass, for your legs' sake!


As to the rider.. looks like a nice soft field behind.. He might have made it!

"The most dangerous part of a car/bike is the nut holding the steering wheel/handlebars! "

[Clan]

[QUOTE=dodgyken;287823]

There is a lot to learn from the test, and if it sheds some of us of the "Volvo shall conquer all" attitude towards crash safety then that is important.

QUOTE]

The point is , NO car is safe , just that some cars are less unsafe than others that's all .... a point worth bearing in mind !

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by swedish brick

There is no doubt that modern cars are safer, they are by miles. Old cars are alot stronger, just by the way they are made, they are designed to stay in one peice, energy obsorbtion wasnt even thaught about back then. Renault stand to do very well out of this result, the modus isnt the best selling car ever, so if they do a staged 'test' like that it boosts sales! That says it all really!

I too would like to see a rear end smash, on both cars. The Volvo would win hands down on that one. I read somewhere the new shape Micra can be written off at only 10mph in a rear end shunt!
The full head on would be good too, again the Volvo would win easily.

I dont think all this safety equiptment would ever tempt me to buy a modern car, my old 244 is so big and hard you dont need half of that stuff.
The 940 isnt really old enough in my opinion, they should have used a proper old car for this!

I don't believe the majority of old cars are stronger because they are spot welded. Have you seen the full seam lazer welding on modern cars? This is the reason the paltforms now are so strong. My Golf Mk V welding was a work of art.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by CTCNetwork

Hi,

I think the early 940 bumpers were pressed steel and then given the plastic cover.

My V90 has a solid beam aluminium behind/underneath the cover..

That simple difference would have had an impact on the outcome.

However, no matter how well the renault came out on this, I STILL would never buy one..
Their PR stunt didn't work for me..

Des. . .

My 1991 945 TD had solid beam ally bumpers under the covers. The model crashed was later...possibley a 1996.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by cjard

You've clearly never been in an accident then; cars crash because people freeze when they panic, or they make the wrong decision in unfamiliar territory and a very limited time. The cars were offset crashed because that is the most common kind of collision; disclaim it all you like, but numbers have the final say - the offset crash happens after the swerve or brake has taken place!

If you think that bigger tyres, bigger brakes and/or ABS make a car stop quicker, you may be mistaken there too i'm afraid:

Bigger tyres, on a dry road, sure.. On a wet road, they have a much harder job of shifting all that water out of their way.
Bigger brakes, again, they might resist fade a bit longer due to physics, but most brakes are capable of locking the wheels, so the size isnt going to have any significant effect if even the smallest brakes can grip harder than the tyres can ahdere to the road
ABS, perhaps the biggest misconception of all, has only one purpose; to maintain directional controllability under heavy braking situations. When a wheel locks, it becomes useless for turning. Whatever angle you set with the wheel, you carry on in a straight line. As the braking effort is removed by the system, to keep the wheel turning, you really are braking some way behind "as hard as possible". In situations where there is a loose material lubricating the road surface, ABS causes a problem by not allowing the loose surface (grit/snow) to plow up into a wedge, assisting stopping effort. With ref to the only beneft of ABS being maintaining directional control, see the panic/freeze point above. ABS or not, most people panic and simply press the brakes harder, not doing anything with the steering. ABS in this rather moot in such a situation..

The Volvo XC90 has ABS Version 8.1 which overcomes the problem earlier versions of ABS had on snow ice and loose surfaces. Stops faster than a car with or without the old ABS versions in those conditions.

[Velorum]

While we're on the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOFY2kT5LqA

posted before I know but worth another look.........

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by cjard

"The most dangerous part of a car/bike is the nut holding the steering wheel/handlebars! "

"Sir,

Someone once told me that the most dangerous part of a car was the nut behind the wheel. Taking their advice I removed the nut behind the wheel and then imagine my suprise when the steering wheel came off in my hands on a busy dual carriageway......

Mr A. Northern General Infirmary"

Credit to Viz circa 1992

[RichardK850]

Originally Posted by cjard

Sure?

I'd take the bike

I don't think anyone will have come off "well" out of that one. But it's worth noting that 3 door 205s (that's a 106, I know) used THREE welds to hold the rear 1/4 panel on. The rest was glued. Local garage loved fixing them, said they were like airfix kits.

I doubt the 106 moved things on much; PSA are awful for cost-cutting their cars; I used to love Citroens until I owned a late-model XM, and having owned a Peugeot 306 Cabriolet (French design made by Italians, so I know I was asking for it), you couldn't give me a new Peugeot now.