Discussion
This is why I think the euro NCAP is slighty suspect. It gives the impression that all modern cars are orders of magnitude safer than older cars.
However when I used to have a morris minor and even subsequently a 323i BMW I would have thought nothing about standing on the roof or bonnet. I once spent a night sleeping on top of my 323i bmw.
If you tried that in a modern car the tissue paper metal they are made from would deform immediately.
Now there is a point where you want the deformation to absorb the forces involved but this photo shows how its all got a bit silly. If cars are getting progressively heavier and yet the metal is getting thinner and thinner then you have to wonder that the only thing making a car safer today is that they are twice the size of old cars. Its not really clever engineering
However when I used to have a morris minor and even subsequently a 323i BMW I would have thought nothing about standing on the roof or bonnet. I once spent a night sleeping on top of my 323i bmw.
If you tried that in a modern car the tissue paper metal they are made from would deform immediately.
Now there is a point where you want the deformation to absorb the forces involved but this photo shows how its all got a bit silly. If cars are getting progressively heavier and yet the metal is getting thinner and thinner then you have to wonder that the only thing making a car safer today is that they are twice the size of old cars. Its not really clever engineering
For sale, Rare Peugeot 2008 convertible, one owner, low mileage, needs new drivers seat.
Anyway, how much is a roll cage because i think i suddenly really want one.
Sadly roll cages are not legal on the road but this is quite scary. It reminds me of a few weeks when i watched an Audi GT3 car suffer a catastrophic brake failure into a heavy braking zone. It went straight on and into the wall. I've since been back on track and am now slower through that corner because its in the back of my mind.
I suppose thats just the risk taken to strap into any vehicle weather on the track or motorway.
Anyway, how much is a roll cage because i think i suddenly really want one.
Sadly roll cages are not legal on the road but this is quite scary. It reminds me of a few weeks when i watched an Audi GT3 car suffer a catastrophic brake failure into a heavy braking zone. It went straight on and into the wall. I've since been back on track and am now slower through that corner because its in the back of my mind.
I suppose thats just the risk taken to strap into any vehicle weather on the track or motorway.
Edited by AussieFozzy on Wednesday 22 May 08:37
Wow
Absolutely nothing you can do in that situation, it would all happen far too quickly for you to react. As for the strength of the roof in that situation? I very much doubt any manufacturer tests for that eventuality. The kinetic energy from one of those wheels heading towards you at 50mph+ concentrated in such a small area is huge. Imagine if that had been a car with a panoramic glass roof, virtually nothing solid to stop the wheel going through the whole car!
Absolutely nothing you can do in that situation, it would all happen far too quickly for you to react. As for the strength of the roof in that situation? I very much doubt any manufacturer tests for that eventuality. The kinetic energy from one of those wheels heading towards you at 50mph+ concentrated in such a small area is huge. Imagine if that had been a car with a panoramic glass roof, virtually nothing solid to stop the wheel going through the whole car!
AussieFozzy said:
For sale, Rare Peugeot 2008 convertible, one owner, low mileage, needs new drivers seat.
Anyway, how much is a roll cage because i think i suddenly really want one.
Sadly roll cages are not legal on the road but this is quite scary. It reminds me of a few weeks when i watched an Audi GT3 car suffer a catastrophic brake failure into a heavy braking zone. It went straight on and into the wall. I've since been back on track and am now slower through that corner because its in the back of my mind.
I suppose thats just the risk taken to strap into any vehicle weather on the track or motorway.
Since when are rollcages not legal on the road. plenty of track focussed cars have them as standard - 911 gt3 rs, Megane R26r to name two...Anyway, how much is a roll cage because i think i suddenly really want one.
Sadly roll cages are not legal on the road but this is quite scary. It reminds me of a few weeks when i watched an Audi GT3 car suffer a catastrophic brake failure into a heavy braking zone. It went straight on and into the wall. I've since been back on track and am now slower through that corner because its in the back of my mind.
I suppose thats just the risk taken to strap into any vehicle weather on the track or motorway.
Edited by AussieFozzy on Wednesday 22 May 08:37
julian64 said:
This is why I think the euro NCAP is slighty suspect. It gives the impression that all modern cars are orders of magnitude safer than older cars.
However when I used to have a morris minor and even subsequently a 323i BMW I would have thought nothing about standing on the roof or bonnet. I once spent a night sleeping on top of my 323i bmw.
If you tried that in a modern car the tissue paper metal they are made from would deform immediately.
Now there is a point where you want the deformation to absorb the forces involved but this photo shows how its all got a bit silly. If cars are getting progressively heavier and yet the metal is getting thinner and thinner then you have to wonder that the only thing making a car safer today is that they are twice the size of old cars. Its not really clever engineering
You may have a pointHowever when I used to have a morris minor and even subsequently a 323i BMW I would have thought nothing about standing on the roof or bonnet. I once spent a night sleeping on top of my 323i bmw.
If you tried that in a modern car the tissue paper metal they are made from would deform immediately.
Now there is a point where you want the deformation to absorb the forces involved but this photo shows how its all got a bit silly. If cars are getting progressively heavier and yet the metal is getting thinner and thinner then you have to wonder that the only thing making a car safer today is that they are twice the size of old cars. Its not really clever engineering
many years ago I had something similar with a large sheet of wood and a Citroen BX on the M25, it smashed the screen and dented the roof, but was repairable.
Unlike my trousers!
AussieFozzy said:
Sadly roll cages are not legal on the road but this is quite scary.
I was about to say they're just fine on the road, but then I clocked your username. I assume this is another example of Oz's attitude problem with cars? It always amazes me that Australia seems to maintain this image of easy going, freewheeling, she'll-be-right kind of attitudes, yet whenever I see anything relating to motoring law, it comes across as just an irritating, interfering, top-down, computer-says-no approach to everything.
NoAdverseDevelopments said:
Wow
Absolutely nothing you can do in that situation, it would all happen far too quickly for you to react. As for the strength of the roof in that situation? I very much doubt any manufacturer tests for that eventuality. The kinetic energy from one of those wheels heading towards you at 50mph+ concentrated in such a small area is huge. Imagine if that had been a car with a panoramic glass roof, virtually nothing solid to stop the wheel going through the whole car!
I don’t know, but I suspect a pano roof might actually be stronger than that normal roof. Absolutely nothing you can do in that situation, it would all happen far too quickly for you to react. As for the strength of the roof in that situation? I very much doubt any manufacturer tests for that eventuality. The kinetic energy from one of those wheels heading towards you at 50mph+ concentrated in such a small area is huge. Imagine if that had been a car with a panoramic glass roof, virtually nothing solid to stop the wheel going through the whole car!
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