Yet another reason to drive safely on the street...

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by Landshark

the SVX gives no clinics on handling - its heavy, has mediocre brakes, skinny tires, and plows around corners.

i felt much more confident in a Porsche at 155mph than i did in the SVX at 115mph - its all relative.

I've done some stupid stuff. I've seen 155MPH in a 65 Dodge A-100 VAN!!

I SOLD it the next week, to the first guy that drove it.

The only thing between you and the tree in an A-100 is the bumper and the tin.... I thank God, The Powers, Whoever you believe in that I didn't KILL myself in that van!

I now have a 'nice', safe, Wheelstanding 413 powered A-100 that won't DO 155 mph, but will pull a 'sled' further than any 'non-tractor 2 wd.

As you said,, relative...

I've done 'hot laps' in a porsche, seen 165 MPH in a Hemi Roadrunner, 200 MPH in a 63 Dodge drag car.

We used to take bets on who was going to kill themselves NEXT during the 'muscle car' years.

The results are IN. 1960 Hillman convertable, 1 fatality, 1972 MG Midget, 1 fatal, 58 Chevy bel-air, 2, Honda CRX,3, Barretta GT, 3, Camaro/Firebird, 15, Corvette, 4, Dart Swinger, 1.
Notice that there were NO fatals in most of the stuff that is 'pegged' as 'performance' cars.
The 'Chevy' products mentioned are only here because there were so many of them that the 'law of averages' dictated that there would be more wrecks, due to the NUMBERS.

These numbers are based on the funerals I attended. There is NO scientific stuff going on here. (I attended a lot of funerals that were related to druged and drunks killing my friends, but that wouldn't fit here).

(My wife was injured 18 years ago by a drunk in a Ford Courior)

In those cases, what they were driving/riding in had no bearing except for the 'resistance' of the chosen car to crashes.

'Performance' cars are not the problem.. The 'performance' of the driver can kill in a Yugo!

[pavanbabut]

Originally Posted by Landshark

yes, but you're comparing an SVX to an SRT-4 - same difference.

you shouldn't be driving at 140mph anyway.

I am not comparing SVX to SRT4, its just an example like how u feel differently in different cars at those high speeds. When I did 140 on SVX it felt safe to me compared to other cars I drove even at 100mph. In my Alfa I did 145mph and didnt even felt car going light and out of control and it stick to ground amazingly. But, I can't compare them anyway.

-Pavan .

[SSSVX]

Originally Posted by Chiketkd

A teenager made this video after driving recklessly and crashing his SRT-4. Some images are graphic, but all are 'work safe'.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p...edium=text_url

Be safe out there!

-Chike

Thanks for the good links, Chike.

It's a good reminder to the careless drivers.

[Chiketkd]

Originally Posted by SSSVX

Thanks for the good links, Chike.

It's a good reminder to the careless drivers.

You're welcome. My only intent in starting this thread was to remind members of this board to drive safely. The teenager in the video was lucky to be alive, but not everyone is as lucky as he was.

[SVXyGirl]

I worry more about other drivers. Then again, I was in a bad accident because of a stupid driver.

I worry about the SVX because people tend to head towards something they're staring at.

I'm scared!!!

Funny clip from Family Guy...

[pavanbabut]

Originally Posted by Chiketkd

You're welcome. My only intent in starting this thread was to remind members of this board to drive safely. The teenager in the video was lucky to be alive, but not everyone is as lucky as he was.

Thts correct. I can say almost 95% of people in that kind of accidents see themselves in a coffin... this guy is really lucky to say not the least. But he did a gud thing making an informative film and let others know how it would be if you are in such a situation, I hope atleast 10% of those kind of drivers come to know what kind of situation they are going to be in .

-Pavan.

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by SVXyGirl

Funny clip from Family Guy...

... and they're shopping at a Subaru dealer

[It's Just Eric]

Hmm...Im gonna have to make an interpretation on tom's post to make a valid response to this...

Companies should make their proformance cars SAFER than the standard moidel, as well as faster. In the case of the srt-4, it's structurally identical to the neon. Would you feel safe in a neon going 120 mph? Probably not.

They make theese economy cars as light as possible, so the car can move itself with a smaller, more fuel efficiant engine. sadly, this means less material around you to help you ...um..not die.There's less wheel apron, less fender, less door, and less reinforcment in the a,b,and c pillars. usually saftey equipment is omitted for weight savings as well...Like, that car didnt appear to have ANY airbags, other than the drivers.

so..economy cars are light weight...proformance cars happen to be better the lighter they are..so somewhere in the evolution of the automobile, some jackass decided the only diffrence between a cheap, stipped out econocoffin and a full fledged race car was the motor and the suspension. they kindof forgot saftey

so, back to what tom was on about..I think any company selling a hopped up version of their lightweight econboxes should do something for passenger saftey as well, possibly reinforce the pillars, add soem door reinforcments, and up the strenghth of crumple zones, assuming the impact speeds for front end collisions will be higher than whats normal. Sure, a few hundred pounds might be added on, but it's not like they can't jsut give the thing an extra 10-20 hp more to compensate

[pavanbabut]

Originally Posted by It's Just Eric

Hmm...Im gonna have to make an interpretation on tom's post to make a valid response to this...

Companies should make their proformance cars SAFER than the standard moidel, as well as faster. In the case of the srt-4, it's structurally identical to the neon. Would you feel safe in a neon going 120 mph? Probably not.

They make theese economy cars as light as possible, so the car can move itself with a smaller, more fuel efficiant engine. sadly, this means less material around you to help you ...um..not die.There's less wheel apron, less fender, less door, and less reinforcment in the a,b,and c pillars. usually saftey equipment is omitted for weight savings as well...Like, that car didnt appear to have ANY airbags, other than the drivers.

so..economy cars are light weight...proformance cars happen to be better the lighter they are..so somewhere in the evolution of the automobile, some jackass decided the only diffrence between a cheap, stipped out econocoffin and a full fledged race car was the motor and the suspension. they kindof forgot saftey

so, back to what tom was on about..I think any company selling a hopped up version of their lightweight econboxes should do something for passenger saftey as well, possibly reinforce the pillars, add soem door reinforcments, and up the strenghth of crumple zones, assuming the impact speeds for front end collisions will be higher than whats normal. Sure, a few hundred pounds might be added on, but it's not like they can't jsut give the thing an extra 10-20 hp more to compensate

This is exactly whats happening in auto industry these days. Every car company starts marketin each of their models starting from base model to high performance (maybe I have to say high power) fast cars using the same platform and body shell while sometimes shredding off those extra material which you get even in base model. There are many people out there who are desperate to buy these models at a lot cheaper prices compared to actual performance cars. If you see the car after the accident, you can definitely say that the C-pillar is not strong enough to sustain that kind of accident, I am sure he might not have tht much head and neck injuries if it is strong enough. This is what happens when u build a fast car based on normal street car chassis/body. You wont see this kind in WRX STi (just an example), since it is from rally bred and even though they stripe off all those door inserts and sounds proof material to keep it light, they keep their body shell upto the mark. I wonder when the car companies realize that weight is not the only factor that spoils performance of a car... which has been proven as wrong in case of Ferrari F430 coupe and convertible.

I would like to see NCAP or whtever organisation that does those crash tests in USA, should consider a different approach and even different crash tests for "so-called" performance/fast cars.

-Pavan.

[pavanbabut]

Here is another incident of how life will be if u r in such bad accidents... (I am not sure about the accident details and what the cause etc etc). Looking at the list of injuries, I can say its not a normal accident. But if u go thru the injuries he had, thts enough to make u think there is no meaning in living in that condition .

www.help-suresh.org/

"Some of the injuries from the accident include: Both Lungs Collapsed/ Punctured, Lacerations on his head, Broken right collar bone, Broken right shoulder, Fractured C4 spine,Completely broken rib-cage ( fractured to an inch) , Laceration to his spleen, Liver damaged, Broken hip, broken left arm, broken right ankle, Anoxic/Hypoxic injuries to his Brain. -- Major ( Lack of oxygen to brain due to initial blood loss and lack of breathing ability)."

-Pavan.

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by pavanbabut

Here is another incident of how life will be if u r in such bad accidents... (I am not sure about the accident details and what the cause etc etc). Looking at the list of injuries, I can say its not a normal accident. But if u go thru the injuries he had, thts enough to make u think there is no meaning in living in that condition .

www.help-suresh.org/

"Some of the injuries from the accident include: Both Lungs Collapsed/ Punctured, Lacerations on his head, Broken right collar bone, Broken right shoulder, Fractured C4 spine,Completely broken rib-cage ( fractured to an inch) , Laceration to his spleen, Liver damaged, Broken hip, broken left arm, broken right ankle, Anoxic/Hypoxic injuries to his Brain. -- Major ( Lack of oxygen to brain due to initial blood loss and lack of breathing ability)."

-Pavan.

18 years ago, we were slammed from behind by a drunk in a Ford Courior. I heard the tires bawling and slid down into the seat. My wife turned to look out the back window. I emerged un-injured. My wife was thrown around like a rag doll and STILL lives on pain killers and muscle relaxors.

We were in the 47 440. The truck only recieved $1,500. in damages, since the baby Ford wrapped itself around my 'class 3, Reese trailer hitch, to the point that the right front headlight hit the bedside and pushed it into the passengers side of the cab. The cab pushed the seat about 4 inches forward, furthur damaging my wife's back.

Our lives have been 'altered' a lot since that day.

When I walked back to the truck that had hit us, he said" Why don't we pull around the corner and 'settle up'?. I pulled around the corner and he TOOK OFF! I ran 1/2 a block to the intersection where he was waiting for the passing cars, reached into the window and GRABBED HIM by the NECK!

He said that " I don't want to fight about it", I told him that he was getting ready to, so he better shut it off before I drag him through the window and KILL him on the SPOT"!!

he blew a .38. The cop told me that he had NEVER seen numbers that high!

At least where an ambulance was not required to 'save' the person.

He drank himself to death before we could get him into court.


PS I had met the guy 5 years before when he was driving a GASOLINE truck for the oil company that I rented my first shop from!

SHUDDER to think that a drunk was hauling gas for a living!

[Crazy_pilot]

In the aviation world to fly a plane that has higher performance levels you need a high performance rating on your license. Easy to do with aircraft, as they are notoriously hard to fly without someone having your name attached to it. To insure that plane you must have the minimum standards on your license. Unlike cars, where high performance mearly means you pay more, but are not excluded if you were born with half a brain. The problem with cars is that the person driving it does not necessarily have their name attached to the car in any way, and therefor this system has a problem. It's virtually imposible to enforce. If I were the owner of a high performance plane, I wouldn't lend it out to a friend for a quick trip unless he was also licensed and endorsed to fly it. A car, on the other hand, could be as simply as dad letting Jr. take the Beemer to the corner store.

I would love to see a high performance license system, but I don't think it's a feasable idea in the real world.

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

In the aviation world to fly a plane that has higher performance levels you need a high performance rating on your license. Easy to do with aircraft, as they are notoriously hard to fly without someone having your name attached to it. To insure that plane you must have the minimum standards on your license. Unlike cars, where high performance mearly means you pay more, but are not excluded if you were born with half a brain. The problem with cars is that the person driving it does not necessarily have their name attached to the car in any way, and therefor this system has a problem. It's virtually imposible to enforce. If I were the owner of a high performance plane, I wouldn't lend it out to a friend for a quick trip unless he was also licensed and endorsed to fly it. A car, on the other hand, could be as simply as dad letting Jr. take the Beemer to the corner store.

I would love to see a high performance license system, but I don't think it's a feasable idea in the real world.

They could use Auto-X results!!! That speaks VOLUMES about ability.

[SubaSteevo]

Perhaps it is my apathetic nature coming out, but the kid gets no sympathy from me. There are traffic regulations for a reason. While I don't agree with all of them, and I think most speed limits could be increased at least 15mph safely, I know they're there. If I choose to ignore them, I know there may be consequences. Usually these consequences are speeding tickets, etc, but there is an inherent danger in risky driving.

Convince me that this kid didn't know that it was dangerous to drive the way he did, then I *might* feel some sympathy for him.


You can't fault the manufacturer for giving people what they want. If the cars didn't come turboed, etc. people would do it anyway (take the Civic as an example). At least with a factory tuned car you get factory safety tests and tuning. Usually (although not in all cases), the factory tuned cars also have upgraded brakes, suspension, etc for better performance/safety.

[AlcyoneDaze]

wow, that movie was intense. defintly going to make me internalize the debate of gas v. brakes next time i take a corner. I feel safe in my SVX, but metal gets very flexible at those speeds regardless