Noble crashworthiness?
Discussion
Don't want to think about it - there are no beams in the doors for side protection and as for a potential frontal collision - well it'd be a bit like sitting behind a paper bag!!!
Don't want to alarm, as many cars models are in the same "boat" but unless Noble gets a few £M in the bank to fund a crash protection program (and why would they?!) I can't see this changing much!
Don't want to alarm, as many cars models are in the same "boat" but unless Noble gets a few £M in the bank to fund a crash protection program (and why would they?!) I can't see this changing much!
amg merc said:Sorry - that's just not true.
Don't want to think about it - there are no beams in the doors for side protection and as for a potential frontal collision - well it'd be a bit like sitting behind a paper bag!!!
Don't want to alarm, as many cars models are in the same "boat" but unless Noble gets a few £M in the bank to fund a crash protection program (and why would they?!) I can't see this changing much!
There have been some terrible smashes in Nobles already, including almost full on at 100+mph into armco (one of the original cars driven by, I think, the son of the owner of the company that makes them in SA) and they have all held up extreemly well.
Whilst not undergoing specific crash tests, Lee did tell me that a significant part of the structure was designed to dissipate energy in the event of a crash. The M14 apparently is taking it to another level.
If you look at the chassis on the PH review www.pistonheads.com/noble/default.asp?storyId=3561 then they, to my untrained eye, show significant structures on the front and sides, the the whole concept of the passenger "cell".
J
joust said:
Don't want to think about it - there are no beams in the doors for side protection and as for a potential frontal collision - well it'd be a bit like sitting behind a paper bag!!!
Don't want to alarm, as many cars models are in the same "boat" but unless Noble gets a few £M in the bank to fund a crash protection program (and why would they?!) I can't see this changing much!
Sorry - that's just not true.
There have been some terrible smashes in Nobles already, including almost full on at 100+mph into armco (one of the original cars driven by, I think, the son of the owner of the company that makes them in SA) and they have all held up extreemly well.
Whilst not undergoing specific crash tests, Lee did tell me that a significant part of the structure was designed to dissipate energy in the event of a crash. The M14 apparently is taking it to another level.
If you look at the chassis on the PH review www.pistonheads.com/noble/default.asp?storyId=3561 then they, to my untrained eye, show significant structures on the front and sides, the the whole concept of the passenger "cell".
J
Justin, I was aware of the SA crash but thought it wasn't a car-to-car incident. My point wasn't that the M12 isn't solid, more that its so low that in the potential event of running into a car you'll submarine underneath and the contact point will be the dash right in front of your face!
All academic chit-chat I hope!
amg merc said:
Justin, I was aware of the SA crash but thought it wasn't a car-to-car incident. My point wasn't that the M12 isn't solid, more that its so low that in the potential event of running into a car you'll submarine underneath and the contact point will be the dash right in front of your face!
All academic chit-chat I hope!
It's not that low, and no worse off than an Elise, MR2, MX5 or any other car that's out there? I've seen a few photos of crunched Nobles that apparently hit other cars and they seem to stand up pretty well - I've certainly not heard of anyone being seriously injured after a crash. Remember that glass fibre, like carbon fibre, is actually an excellent crash structure. The fact that it splinters into squillions of bits is very very good from a energy dissipation point of view - there was an article by Lotus some time ago that gave a balanced view of how GRP stood up in crash tests (and of course the Elise is fully crash tested).
If you think about the physics it's actually quite hard to get "under" another car. The moment of force that keeps things stuck down (commonly known as gravity) is a significant force. 9m^2 is a significant force accelerant - remember that in 6 seconds a body freefalling reaches 120mph, twice what the average car can achieve.....
However, aiming for the side of a truck really wouldn't be the most sensible thing!
J
>> Edited by joust on Saturday 25th September 21:23
joust said:
It's not that low, and no worse off than an Elise, MR2, MX5 or any other car that's out there?
If you think about the physics it's actually quite hard to get "under" another car. The moment of force that keeps things stuck down (commonly known as gravity) is a significant force. 9m^2 is a significant force accelerant - remember that in 6 seconds a body freefalling reaches 120mph, twice what the average car can achieve.....
However, aiming for the side of a truck really wouldn't be the most sensible thing!
J
On the other hand, in America, where every other vehicle is a huge, 7000+ lb gross vehicle weight SUV driven by a mother of 2-3 screaming kids, who, BTW, can barely see over the steering wheel, yet would rather talk on her cellphone than try....
The Elise doesn't even make it to the top of the hood on many of these SUV's, and my old MR2's roofline barely crested the bottom of the side windows of these vehicles. I'm guessing the Noble will be similar. Thankfully, by being aware, many accidents can be avoided, especially with the Noble's excellent handling.
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:As far as I know, the entire rollcage was replaced on the Noble that Martin Short's team was racing - the standard cage is not upto FIA spec by a margin.
Lee races his M12 so he obviously has faith is his product. Does anybody know whether the roll cage in that car has been modified or had extra bars put in?
You didn't read above then?
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