Pharaohabq Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 (edited) Generally that hood will buckle according to the curve, but a lot of that depends on your pins and their shear strength. Eitherway it's unlikely that the hood could make it through the windshield. More likely if those pins pop, the hood would slide up the windshield and over the roof. that or it'll hit offset to one side and skip up one of the "A" columns. Granted there's a chance it could come through, but I would think it's unlikely mainly due to the windshield design. Look at that photo of the 30MPH frontal, the hood buckled at the shock towers and again mid hood while it never dislodged rear. That tells me it's intended to fold in a wreck. I doubt you have much to worry about decapitationwise... I'm sure Tony has something to add to this. Edited August 27, 2013 by Pharaohabq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Look at the photo in Post #33, there are some sheetmetal structures in the hood reinforcement that will crease at a defined point. When we hit the Neon, our hood looked similar, we had a SINGLE pin where the stock latch formerly went---why? Because we were cheap! Single Autozone or PepBoys hood pin suitably mounted. Later iterations of "The Brown Turd" used the stock rubber bumper mounting holes to mount two pins at back. It doesn't take much crushing on the front of the hood to buckle the hood there. As long as the back is secured with large-washer decent hood pins it will buckle the hood before it shears or tears out the pins. They tend to deform and move backwards in an accident anyway.... It takes some beating to access them and get them to give up their pins to pull the hood off the car so you can start repairs. Now, you buy some no-name China made crap replacement hood.... I'd look REAL CAREFUL to see where those crease points go. Two years or so ago, some of the European Car Manufacturers bought some 'copy parts' and 'copy cars' from China Market. Suffice to say decapitation and total vehicle debasement in crash resulted. They may LOOK like a BMW 7-Series, but they don't CRASH like one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 OK - I've owned either an S30 or S130 since 1986. I daily drove the cars in the Dallas-Ft Worth area traffic which, although not as crazy as the Boston area, is still a challenge because of it being a melting pot of drivers from all over the country and world. In that time - and over 150,000 miles in the Z's I did not have a single accident. I should have but I didn't because I DROVE the car, I didn't just steer it down my lane. My Navy pilot training taught me to continually scan my surroundings and my instrumentation. That's how I jumped the car out of the way of two different guys that were about to rear-end me at speed or when I got out of the way of the girl putting on her eye make-up and talking on her cell phone while driving with her knees and following me in the high speed lane. The crazies are out there but good "defensive" driving will keep you safe. As far as safety equipment goes the Z has seat belts and the 5 mph crash bumpers but it's most important safety device is the attentive driver behind the wheel. Eyes on the road & mirrors and not the fiancee. Turn the cell phone off and you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duragg Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Thanks all. My particular inquiry is with respect to a track-only application where a malee (sp?) with a stopped car or hard object at much higher speed and with less options is contemplated. My hood pins are those neat push-button ones, and I've actually weakened my hood around the Post #33 bending point to make extra room for camber plates so it should be an easy bend. This is the video that prompted my queery: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=564922293570661 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Green the Great Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 A bad day at Black Rock.....but no injuries (5-point harness and Cobra racing seats) 324.jpg325.jpg this broke my heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Yeah, you notice in that video (not a Z) that the hood didn't actually come loose from it's latch, and it folded as it was supposed to. So not really an issue. Another thing to point out on the S30s is that the front of the hood is still tied down at both front corners. So for it to intrude, you'd have not only pop the latches, and stop the hood from bending or skipping up the windshield/A pillars, but you'd have to crumple the front end far enough that the hood could get pushed in enough. Pretty much that's NOT going to happen, not impossible, but if it did, I think you'd have a lot bigger worries. Now There's a lot of rusted out Z's out there, so what' we'd need to do is to setup a fund (kickstarter whatever) and buy these junkers on their their way to the crusher and do some crash testing. That would be fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Phantom drives the car as Nissan Publications say it was intended to be driven. Paraphrased: At Nissan we believe a car should be able to avoid any potential hazard by having the ability to drive around and accelerate out, away from potential hazardous situations. It drives me bonkers to overhear a "Driving Instructor" use brakes as the FIRST, LAST, AND ONLY method of "accident avoidance"... I was involved in a swoop-n-squat that, had I been going as fast as the "witnesses" said I was going, I would have been 320' beyond the driveway where the swoop-n-squatter was positioned. Had I simply laid on my brakes and stayed in my lane, I would have rear-ended him HARD! But I went into the oncoming lane to avoid the rear-ender (pulled into the street and hit his binders jacking up his rear end!) and started accelerating...resulting in him flooring it and taking me into the ditch by turning into the right side of the car. I should have never touched my brakes, had I stayed on my gas, never lifting, and instead floored it, I would have cleanly overtaken him and been on my way. Insurance defrauding SOB... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Tony - been there. That's why I have the 400 HP and the improved suspension. I found out a long time ago that I'm more likely to get in extremis using my brakes than using power and the inherent maneuverability of the Z. That said I also have a 4 pt roll bar and, if I was going to be racing regularly, I'd have a full cage. My car is built to be a "spirited" daily driver, not a full time track car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 As Post #10 pointed out, this has been covered before, I was being tangentially-polite in my prior contributions. Having your head on a swivel, and learning to DRIVE your car is the BEST safety YOU can provide for yourself. If you depend on a mechanical device to provide your safety, it will fail, and you WILL be disappointed. To a man, almost everybody I have talked to after an accident can review something in their driving they could have done leading up to the accident, to have avoided or lessened it's impact to a great degree. EVERYBODY needs to learn to drive in a 1960's VW Microbus. You learn patience. You learn NOT to tailgate. You realize it's YOUR legs hanging out there between nothing, and the most substantial axle beam on the planet, and you rearend someone....you better reach enlightenment and levitate in the Lotus Position BUT QUICK if you want to keep your legs attached. Everybody thought hippies were into Eastern Religion for esoteric reasons, I can attest, you did it as 'accident mitigation' training driving to and from The Dead concerts! Tony, a DeadHead? Who would''a guessed? He's dead right about those VW Micobuses and your legs. Even mounting a spare tire up front would be of no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 (edited) "Just call me Gor..." "Search, noob, lest I cleave your Head with that axe right there..." Edited August 31, 2013 by Tony D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkster Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 (edited) OK - I've owned either an S30 or S130 since 1986. I daily drove the cars in the Dallas-Ft Worth area traffic which, although not as crazy as the Boston area, is still a challenge because of it being a melting pot of drivers from all over the country and world. In that time - and over 150,000 miles in the Z's I did not have a single accident. I should have but I didn't because I DROVE the car, I didn't just steer it down my lane. My Navy pilot training taught me to continually scan my surroundings and my instrumentation. That's how I jumped the car out of the way of two different guys that were about to rear-end me at speed or when I got out of the way of the girl putting on her eye make-up and talking on her cell phone while driving with her knees and following me in the high speed lane. The crazies are out there but good "defensive" driving will keep you safe. As far as safety equipment goes the Z has seat belts and the 5 mph crash bumpers but it's most important safety device is the attentive driver behind the wheel. Eyes on the road & mirrors and not the fiancee. Turn the cell phone off and you'll be fine. Like Phantom I drive the car... I was paying attention when the two police officers decided that they were going to pull over some hapless grandmother, and for some reason decided they had to block 4 lanes of highway to do it. I then saw my doom coming in the form of a tailgating Chevy 2500HD and a speeding white F450 who was not watching the traffic in front of him. Fortunately I saw the police stupidity evolving in font of me a 1/4 mile ahead and had slowed down enough to get about 3 car lengths of space in front of me. So while I was watching the traffic in front of me with one eye and the other eye glued to the rear view, I see the guy in the white F450 was not paying attention and is coming up FAST on the chevy. So I shift to 3rd and trounce on the throttle about the time the F450 hits the chevy. I swear that chevy missed me by inches. After the impact and my successful getaway I am heavy on the binders to avoid hitting the truck in front of me. I had no other out because of traffic on either side. Thank god for 420hp and big brakes... In a million miles of driving I have never had an accident. A couple of close calls. One due to my stupidity and a bit of lucky last moment maneuvering saved me, and a few dodging stupid people. After all that I have come to rely on myself to get me out of bad situations and I wear a seat belt and keep my head on a swivel and drive the car. No phones, No texting when I am in the left hand seat I actively drive the car and that is the only thing I am doing. A lot of that modern safety crap that they weigh cars down with now is to protect stupid people who should not be driving a car in the first place. Edited September 1, 2013 by Kirkster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duragg Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I'd guess that many of the people on Hybridz (by virtue of selection of this forum) indeed drive quite well. But there are things well beyond any of our control that are a major concern. I too have several thousand hours of flying over 20 years and am humble and happy with the results so far. That said... when your lips involuntarily say "o-shit" real fast and 1000hp feels like a brake pedal... That is the time when attention to details on safety may help. I was really shocked going through the process of making my car compliant with NASA (www.nasaaz.com) road racing rules at just how inadequate most passenger cars are. The really new stuff is a lot better (M3 over the cliff at Tortilla Flats is an example). I certainly don't want to die in a car or plane crash. And I REALLY don't want to have my pelvis smashed and my head crushed and live the rest of my life under professional care. And so I see some of the younger people I know out doing mid-night drag races and... well maybe I'm just getting old. Tj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 "A lot of that modern safety crap that they weigh cars down with now is to protect stupid people who should not be driving a car in the first place." Amen. I refer to it as the "Anti-Darwin Legislative League" it's purpose is to counter Darwin's theories by legislating both vehicular and behavioral laws which prolong those who shouldn't be driving in the first place from meeting their justified evolutionary ending. Hopefully before they breed and pass on to another generation their terrible habits. The first law was mandatory legislated use of baby seats, our only hope for retroactive poor habit pass on prevention... Some may say my views are a bit...extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutantZ Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 "A lot of that modern safety crap that they weigh cars down with now is to protect stupid people who should not be driving a car in the first place." Amen. I refer to it as the "Anti-Darwin Legislative League" it's purpose is to counter Darwin's theories by legislating both vehicular and behavioral laws which prolong those who shouldn't be driving in the first place from meeting their justified evolutionary ending. Hopefully before they breed and pass on to another generation their terrible habits. The first law was mandatory legislated use of baby seats, our only hope for retroactive poor habit pass on prevention... Some may say my views are a bit...extreme. Agreed, i don't think there is an amendment to the constituion about owning a vehicle and driving one. Yet everyone gets to own a vehicle despite the fact they really don't possess the faculties to do it. I've met more than a few people who say they hate driving, which makes me cringe thinking there must be a lot more non-drivers out there in this world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Ownership should not be restricted, access to the roadway should! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 There's a lot of safety crap in new cars that make a ton of sense. Seat pusher blocks, increased rollover protection, repositioning of fuel cells, better fuel line attachment, and a lot more. Accident survivability has increased by an order of magnitude since 1970. How is that a bad thing? How is saving your wife, your parents, and or your kids lives when they make a mistake a bad thing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Shift Interlock for starting the car. An etching that warn me objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Passive Restraints Excluding Trucks from a coordinated vehicle safety standard so they turn into Behemoth Battering Rams compared to daily fuel efficient mandated small cars. The inability to use Kei Cars... People are going to die in auto accidents. Rather than making safety cars where people can blithely blast along clueless about the surroundings, restrict the roadways to those who demonstrate proficiency at the driving task. Civil Libertarians may not like it, but that will save more lives than burdening everybody with more costs, heavier vehicles, with complexities that can not be serviced easily by the average guy. If you don't know how a car works, you really shouldn't be driving one. While advances in safety are fine...and I can see the same thing overseas.... But the nannystatism angle is onerous. Do people who aren't smart enough to know sitting too close to the airbag can result in your death and adjust their seat as instructed in the owner's manual someone we really want alive and procreating? Ralph Nader was wrong. We should not dumb down Automotive Driving. People SHOULD be responsible for READING and COMPREHENDING the OWNER'S MANUAL. We went down the 'save you from yourself path' with Nader and his contention that reading the manual was asking too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens1088 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Having good visiblity can drastically help out if you plan to drive at night. I've had atleast a handful of customers call me and tell me they were able to avoid wildlife in the road because of the dramatic increase in visiblitiiy from their headlights. Seriously though.... it makes a world of difference lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonmreiss Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 ^^ shameless......lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens1088 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 ^^ shameless......lol LOL. it's true though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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