Re: What car is most like a VW with airbags?
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:13 pm
I think there are a couple issues you will run into...
First of all, there's no guarantee airbags would save you in an accident to begin with...Putting them in a fiberglass car isn't gonna help much unless it was had a roll cage and the entire thing was designed to survive a wreck. And even then there is a ton of engineering and testing that determines the optimum placement for them. Don't take this the wrong way, but you are young and inexperienced with fabrication and driving..Would you really want to be driving something you built yourself? I am not so old myself, but I do know when I had just started driving I wanted something safe so if I had a wreck due to inexperience I would have the best chance to survive...
Secondly, none of those cars you are looking at can be separated from the floor pan like a VW...You could probably make something work, but it would take a ton of fab and probably look like crap. Not saying it couldn't be done, but it won't be easy or cheap to do correctly.
Even with all that said, when its your time to go its your time to go. If you get in a bad enough wreck, airbags or seatbelts won't make a difference in your survival...No matter what you are in.
The best bet is to drive a VW (or any car) defensively and make your peace with God early on... I have driven a Beetle on the interstate..It can be scary sometimes. But there is nothing like it either.
I say go to your mom, tell her you really want to build the kit car with VW parts and no airbags. Explain to her that you can't really add them safely but you would like to build it still. If she still says no then ask her if you taking a defensive driving course would change her mind. If not, then you could always take your time building it while you get experience driving something safer..Then in a few years you would have a really nice car and be able to drive it too...
First of all, there's no guarantee airbags would save you in an accident to begin with...Putting them in a fiberglass car isn't gonna help much unless it was had a roll cage and the entire thing was designed to survive a wreck. And even then there is a ton of engineering and testing that determines the optimum placement for them. Don't take this the wrong way, but you are young and inexperienced with fabrication and driving..Would you really want to be driving something you built yourself? I am not so old myself, but I do know when I had just started driving I wanted something safe so if I had a wreck due to inexperience I would have the best chance to survive...
Secondly, none of those cars you are looking at can be separated from the floor pan like a VW...You could probably make something work, but it would take a ton of fab and probably look like crap. Not saying it couldn't be done, but it won't be easy or cheap to do correctly.
Even with all that said, when its your time to go its your time to go. If you get in a bad enough wreck, airbags or seatbelts won't make a difference in your survival...No matter what you are in.
The best bet is to drive a VW (or any car) defensively and make your peace with God early on... I have driven a Beetle on the interstate..It can be scary sometimes. But there is nothing like it either.
I say go to your mom, tell her you really want to build the kit car with VW parts and no airbags. Explain to her that you can't really add them safely but you would like to build it still. If she still says no then ask her if you taking a defensive driving course would change her mind. If not, then you could always take your time building it while you get experience driving something safer..Then in a few years you would have a really nice car and be able to drive it too...
