Airbags (for safety) installed in a GN?

[agent007kimball]

I know this question may sound odd, but please dont flame me....

I was wondering, is there or are there any kits or possible ways to install a driver airbag in a Grand National?

Do any companies make a kit or are there any shops on the east coast which could do such a thing?

Any ideas of what it would cost or if it is even possible?

I know it may sound silly but I would really like to know.

Thanks!

 

[Cleaner13]

hey
I dont know if this helps or not but

my father owns an autobody and from experience an airbag itself is in the 2-3K range(not that costly when you consider it saves your life, but still)

if someone was to offer a package it would have to be a phenominal amount of money

the airbag itself being at 2-3K
you would need a larger deeper steering wheel
you would need a new computer to be able to run the airbag and sensors throughout the entire car to "feel" and impact should one occur

I would think something like this would cost upwards of 5K+

just thought I would make you aware of it

hope someone can help you, and no its not a bad question
if I could change something on my car it would be that

 

[Rogue Leader]

youd probably be able to nab the setup from an F-body it would "theoretically" fit. .. but the ECM is differnet and the airbag system is controlled thru there, plus theres 3 sensors that must be functional or the system disables itself, an teh wiring for the idiot light that tells you if those sensors are bad...

not worth it IMHO....

 

[zam70]

UGH...misinfo
Here's the facts
ECM would have to be from an early GM SRS equipped car...mainly for diagnostics. Things will work without one though.
Airbag - $500.00 - $1200.00 each
Airbag steering wheel $?
SRS Steering column $?
SRS Clock Spring $50.00 - $200.00
SRS controller. $300.00 - $1000.00 (would be best to get one "tuned" for the car...or you could get one with similar characteristics and weight...probably be close enough)
Wiring harness (this is independant of others)
sensors (1 to 5 of them, depending on the system used...anywhere from 40.00 - 300.00 ech)
Parts would have to be from a pre seat belt sensor car OR replace the seatbelts with compatible ones ($250.00+each)
install..? who knows. But I'll bet you'll find exactly NO ONE who will touch a project like that.
The worst part about the whole shebang is you won't have any idea if it'll work.


Buy the way - I hate airbags and think they should be outlawed.

 

[bishir]

Another thing...

What happens if you mess up and the air bag inflates while you're approching a group of boy scouts helping an elderly women cross the road with her 27 puppies! There would be a lot of blue hair, badges, and cute puppies all over the road!

Oh, but if you do decide to try this may I suggest Jiffy Pop? It's the air bag system featured on Saturday Night Live. It inflates the air bag with popcorn because the only thing worse than a car crash is one without something to snack on while help arrives!

Glad to help,

James

 

[UNGN]

For the cost of putting in one driver side airbag you could put in a full roll cage and a five point harness that will protect you more than an airbag could ever dream of. The airbag's ability to save a properly seatbelted driver is highly overrated.

It does save a lot of unseatbelted idiots from themselves, however.

 

[zam70]

Originally posted by UNGN
For the cost of putting in one driver side airbag you could put in a full roll cage and a five point harness that will protect you more than an airbag could ever dream of. The airbag's ability to save a properly seatbelted driver is highly overrated.

It does save a lot of unseatbelted idiots from themselves, however.

AMEN

 

[agent007kimball]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. It appears that the airbag installation would be an astronomical price. Any other solutions to make a GN safer?

Some of you seem to be against airbags entirely. Could you tell me exactly why you feel they are overated or useless as safety devices?

Say you have a head on collision. Can a rollcage and 5 point belt protect you in the same way an airbag can?

 

[azgn]

not if the car folds up on you....I don't think a cage would save you from a frontal collision....they are designed for rollover protection

the 5 point harness would do a lot of good......you prolly wouldn't get big time head injuries, but a lot of broken legs and such....I suspect a good 5 point harness would be as effective as any old airbag...assuming it was on and tight....oh, you'll need the crash helmet also

then good to go......

 

[UNGN]

Originally posted by agent007kimball
Thanks for all the feedback so far. It appears that the airbag installation would be an astronomical price. Any other solutions to make a GN safer?

Who said GN's were unsafe? No car guarantee's you are going to survive a crash, but a hardtop GN in a head on collision with another car is as safe as any subaru or Honda in the same collison.

NHTSA tests cars by crashing them into walls. The odds of you crashing into a wall at 35 mph is pretty low. The reason they crash into walls is because it simulates the exact make and model of the car they are testing crashing from the other way at the same speed.

So you get a subaru on subaru or a honda on honda. Do you see how this makes little Foreign cars seems much safer than big american cars and trucks when its buick vs. buick or Dodge Ram vs. Dodge ram?

If NTHSA were to have Buick or Dodge Ram vs. subaru or Honda, I'm guessing you wouldn't be feeling too safe in your current ride.

Remember that Honda and subarus aren't used very often as stock cars or in demo derbies.

 

[gn85]

I'm sure there are plenty of people that would chime in about Buicks being safe in a head on or other types of collisions. I myself haven't been in a head on collision, but I did have accident with the side of another vehicle at that speed (35 mph) in my GN... IMHO I'm so glad that I had my GN instead of a smaller car... I was still able to drive the car home from the nationals in Ohio. The accident itself, I recieved NO injuries. It felt like I bounced off. I imediately jumped out of my car to make sure the people in the other car were OK, but I had ZERO problems. That would have just been an expensive airbag going off for an unnecessary reason. Plus airbags only go off in FRONT collisions, not side impacts unless you have one of these newer cars that SURROUNDS you in airbags.

I'm not AGAINST airbags. But they do have their side affects as well. Including, abrasions to the face, possibility of a broken nose, 2nd and 3rd degree burns to the fingers and hands as well as temporary or possibility of permanant hearing loss. I remember WAY back in the day when I was first learning of how these things work... it's essentially a bomb in front of you, controlled by a bag. When it goes off, it's basically gunpowder pellets or similar detonating product that inflates the bag rapidly. The exploded gases are vented out ports behind the steering wheel. Since your hands are on the steering wheel, they may get burned from the escaping gas.

Also, I don't think there are any aftermarket companies doing this for many reasons. Probably including liability and engineering. The engineers at these auto companies have to figure the exact inertia values for that bag to go off as well as what size the bag is per the distance to the windshield and occupant, and millions of other factors.

In short... interesting idea, but REALLY a far cry to reality.

Plus you don't want something like what used to happen in the early airbags. Now airbags only go off if above 12mph, but back in the days, you could literally KICK the front bumper of a car that was parked and it would go off.

 

[GNVAIR]

You also have to consider the GN was designed at a time when domestic manufacturers had the proverbial guns to their heads to make cars safer. This all started with Ralph Nader's book Unsafe at any speed back in 1965. Because of that book things started to change dramatically with the American auto manufacturers.
Here is a brief time table for GM:
1966- Seat belts and driver side rear view mirrors standard
1967- collapsable steering columns, padded dash boards, hazard flashers, dual reservoir master cylinders
1968- front seat shoulder belts standard
1969- front seat head restraints standard
1973- 2 or 5 mph bumpers and disc brakes and side impact bars in the doors on most models.
1986 Third/high mounted brake lights
1990 Passive driver side restraints became mandated by the federal government. This meaning a device that is either automatically armed and/or worn. Higher end models got air bags and lower end models got automatic seat belts.
By the mid 1990's, many manufacturers had also made anti lock brakes standard even though they were not mandated by the government.
By 1978, downsizing became the norm. Between the 1977 and 1978 model years, GM removed between 600 and 800 pounds of weight from the cars. To make them safer, most of the 78-88 A/G body cars came with 5 mph bumpers mounted on fluid filled shocks. Heavier impact beams were added to the doors. The frames were made of thinner gauge steel and are designed to collapse under a high impact collision. Most manufacturers started designing their cars in basically the same way around the same time. The reasoning was that making a car collapse and absord the impact gave a better chance for the occupants to survive.
Its funny, because GM, Ford and Chrysler had been playing around with air bags and anti lock brakes since the 1960's.
Cadillac had offered air bags in some of their cars as early as 71-73. Chrysler had offered anti lock brakes on the Imperial in the 1960's. Ford had offered seat belts as early as the mid 1950's (even though Preston Tucker was the first to incorporate the idea on his cars).