Re: [T3] crash test on a type 3

["Jim Adney" <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

On 16 Mar 2002, at 21:50, SIR.LANCE . wrote:

> did VW or anyone else ever do a crash test on a type 3?
> 
> or has anyone ever been on one themselves?
> 
> im always in arguements with people about it, they think that since the 
> engine is in the back, that any front end hit will kill me.....i dont think 
> thats so, because of the way the back of the bumper is up against the front 
> end...

Most people think that a front engine will absorb crash energy, but this really 
isn't true. Crash protection depends on energy dissipation, not strength, so 
you don't want to ask how strong things are but rather how much energy 
they will absorb as they crush. An engine is pretty much a rigid object, so 
that designers want the engine to get pushed under the passenger 
compartment in a crash.

Having the engine in the rear really isn't a hazard either, because it's so low.

This leaves a lot of crush space in the front of a type 3. Unfortunately a lot of 
that is gas tank. The gas tank is a mixed blessing: It all depends on whether 
you drive your car into a tree or someone drives into your rear end. A tank on 
either end is a hazard.

-
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Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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