Bullbar and Airbag Compatibility
Submitted: Saturday, Feb 22, 2003 at 23:45
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CC
Hi,
Has anyone heard of, seen, or experienced any issues during vehicle collisons involving airbag-equiped vehicles fitted with non-airbag compatible bullbars ?
For example, did any airbags deployed prematurely ? Late ? or not deployed at all ?
I am really curious to find out whether it is hype or reality with the significance of airbag compatibility for bullbars.
Can anyone enlighten me on this topic ?
Cheers,
CC
Reply By: Michael - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 10:23
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 10:23
Hi CC, i posted about this a few days ago, i hit an EA falcon in the side, rear quarter panel at 50 kph, the air bag DID NOT open. My GU is fitted with a genuine steel bar, the falcon was so badly bent, none of the doors would open, creased the roof and pushed the quarterpanel in about 500mm, towards the middle of the car. MY Patrol, broken headlight, side light assembly and slight bend on the bar, I tow truck driver for the other car said it was pretty normal for the bag not to go off with bull bars,,Cheers Michael
AnswerID:
13768
Follow Up By: Cc - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 11:18
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 11:18
Michael,
You mentioned your bar is a "genuine steel bar". Is that made by Nissan and airbag-compatible for GU ?
CC
FollowupID:
8176
Follow Up By: Michael - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 15:04
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 15:04
Yep CC, genuine, had it put on before delivery,, I actually think ARB make them for Nissan,, i could be wrong, Michael
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Reply By: Bob - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 10:40
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 10:40
Depends on the air bag triggering system.
F250 for example use a type of decelerometer that detects very quick stops. Also shuts off fuel supply to engine.
In theory you could have a railway engine buffer in front and the air bags will still activate.
Have a look at the genuine Ford F250 bar, it'd knock a semi off the road.
Bob
AnswerID:
13769
Follow Up By: Thepublican - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 11:46
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 11:46
Similar system on Ford Explorer , switch on each main chassis rail ,needs x amount of force in x millisecond ,system allows slow constant pressure to be applied without airbags deploying.
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Reply By: Redjack - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 14:20
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 14:20
CC,
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Reply By: Redjack - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 14:30
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 14:30
CC,
My understanding is that the airbag system requires an the vehicle to de-celerate in excess of a given rate for the airbag to trigger. My guess is that in Michaels case the Falcon absorbed most of the impact, which means the crash pulse in the Patrol was not sufficent to require the airbag to fire. If you hit a more solid object the pulse would have been more severe and triggered the airbag. Airbags are designed to be a supplement to the seatbelts and only go off in a very severe crash.
Richard.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Michael - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 15:06
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 15:06
Your right Richard, unfortunately the crumple zone is the passenger car!!!!!!! Michael
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Reply By: marcus - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 18:15
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 18:15
CC,It seems that some vehicles may have different triggers to activate the air bag.My new arb steel bar has crush cans where the bar bolts to the chassis and only if the impact is significant enough to crush these cans will the air bags go off.I hope i never have to
test this system to give you the full report.It is curious to know if say hitting a roo will set it off or does it have to be a heavier impact.
regards marcus
AnswerID:
13785
Follow Up By: Michael - Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 20:37
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003 at 20:37
Marcus, that what worried me on my first trip up through the middle and into the middle of Qld. We did a lot of night driving and at some stages in the night we were doing 50 kph, weaving our way through the kangaroos dozing off in the upright position on the road. After i hit the EA Falcon some time later, i realised there is no need to worry, you do really need extreme force to set it off. If you hit a roo, the car does not slow down and the roo is reasonably lightweight, so the impact is lower than necessary to set the bag off.
Well, thats my theory, Michael
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