Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

[James]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Oh Yeah? 4pt seatbelt eh...and here I thought I was all smart wearing a full chainmail suit every time a drive...

[Cordialtea]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

ROFLMAO

James you totally made my Day thanks.

Judy

[Khyron]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

A 4 point harness in a normal passenger car is not only unsafe, I'm pretty sure it's illegal unless your car is equiped with a roll cage. If your car rolls and the roof is crushed even moderately, with a 4 point harness/race seat you have no where to go except be driven into the road like a nail. With a normal three point, your head/body can be pushed to the side as the roof crushes.

Sudden stop impacts are the big threat - trees, lampposts, head-ons and again, you want as much time and distance to slow down as possible. Check out the crush padding on some road dividers, or collapsing lampposts that grab your car to slow it down gradually. At 70 mph into a dead stop impact, with a hummer or a smart, you're both equally dead.

Khyron

[Kor]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

I agree somewhat that insurance companies and car companies compromise on safety and only make cars "safe enough" so that they do not get sued and can make the maximum profit (even if there are a few fatalities along the way)

Otherwise, ask yourself these questions

- Why are there better aftermarket tires available than the ones that come with the car

- Why are there better brake pads available than the ones that come with the car

- Why arent the brakes bigger and/or more effective at stopping the car

- Why are seatbelts crappy: nevermind four point, the two point ones are often badly designed

- Why isn't traction control standard

- Why isnt a system like on-star standard

- Why no HID or high brightness headlights

etc

For just me, I can live with some compromises. But if I had a family I would definitely upgrade things like tires, brakes, and even suspension and lighting as much as I could to make a safe car safer.

[Khyron]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

And really, the "safest" car you can make would cost millions.

That was the whole debate to even making ABS required - I can't see ever driving a car without it, but you can still get em without it and save 500 bucks.

Some idiot SUV driver that backed over her kids is trying to have reverse video camera/monitors manditory for all new vehicles. I don't want that crap, so why should I pay for it?

Khyron

[Cordialtea]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

I agree somewhat that insurance companies and car companies compromise on safety and only make cars "safe enough" so that they do not get sued and can make the maximum profit (even if there are a few fatalities along the way)

Otherwise, ask yourself these questions

- Why are there better aftermarket tires available than the ones that come with the car

- Why are there better brake pads available than the ones that come with the car

- Why arent the brakes bigger and/or more effective at stopping the car

- Why are seatbelts crappy: nevermind four point, the two point ones are often badly designed

- Why isn't traction control standard

- Why isnt a system like on-star standard

- Why no HID or high brightness headlights

etc

For just me, I can live with some compromises. But if I had a family I would definitely upgrade things like tires, brakes, and even suspension and lighting as much as I could to make a safe car safer.

Ok I want Brighter Headlights what do you recommend and how much will it set me back? What do recommend for SNOW TIRES? That I can buy at local Tire shop like Kal Tire, Ok tire etc... Is it worth it to buy tires from Crappy Tire or COSTCO?

Cordialtea

[Mr. Burns]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

I bought my winter tires from costco.... Michelin Arctic Alpins. Got them for a really good price. They perform quite well, and I would purchase them again. Other options to consider are Bridgestone Blizzaks, Nokians, Hankook Icebear, etc.

[Mr. Burns]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Oh Yeah? 4pt seatbelt eh...and here I thought I was all smart wearing a full chainmail suit every time a drive...

The way you drive all the safety precautions in the world would be useless. LOL

[Kor]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Well you can help your headlights with just bright bulbs... unfortunately HIDs are prohibitively expensive since they do not come with many cars in north america.

For tires I always recommend to my friends and family that they should buy a set of dry/wet summer tires and snow/winter tires... for winter I like Blizzaks but Alpines are probably good too... it snows a fair bit up in Edmonton so probably more important than in Calgary.

[Cordialtea]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Can you get the Blizzaks in Costco or do I need to go to Tire store or Crappy Tire?

Yes I'm a bit parnoid about the Snow as you can tell. Did I ever tell the story of my Geo Metro doing a 180 on Pembina Hwy in Winnipeg, 1998 when I hit some slushy snow and it started to pull my car. I hit the brakes too fast and did a complete 180 across one lane of traffic and an off ramp end up on embankment. i didn't hit anyone else but freaked the crap out myself and my husband. I then jumped out of the car handed him the keys and said that is it I'm not driving anymore the keys are yours.

YES I need a winter driving course!

I learned after that to pump my brakes to slow down if it going the wrong way in the snow.

My Golf Well I gear down in the Auto to 3 or is it 2 and that slows it right down.

I'm not sure how the antilock brakes would work in winters out here.

Cordialtea

[Khyron]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

YES I need a winter driving course!

I learned after that to pump my brakes to slow down if it going the wrong way in the snow.

My Golf Well I gear down in the Auto to 3 or is it 2 and that slows it right down.

I'm not sure how the antilock brakes would work in winters out here.

Cordialtea

If you have a mk4 they all have antilock brakes now. If you have antilock brakes, you never pump them (the anti-lock system "pumps" them about 20 times a second). If you pump, you make it far worse. A professional driver can threshhold brake slightly better than an anti-lock system but it's by a very small percentage. Good snow tires are the biggest factor.

Khyron

[James]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Pfft, you think driving a car in the winter is tough?

Take a look at my winter beater:


Its stopping power leaves something to be desired.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Who cares when you have those glasses though

[Russell]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Who cares when you have those glasses though

Hahahaha

[Mr. Burns]

Re: Help looking for photos of Smart and SUV

Pfft, you think driving a car in the winter is tough?

Take a look at my winter beater:


Its stopping power leaves something to be desired.

HAHAHA. That post gave me some deja vu.