Mackenzie

Saw recently a study about the benefits of side air bags and even more interesting head curtain air bags.

i love my 993 c2 but i think safety has to be a high priority.

so i was looking into the 996 but there are no head/curtain bags on this car either.

so i have 2 questions. first any thoughts on this topic in general, and second my initial thought is to get a BMW m3 2002 or newer.

i know many of you have M3s ....my only issue with this car is all the complicated electronics (especially the smg ones) that could go wrong. the more electronics you put in the more that could go wrong. which is why i love the 993.

thx....i probably will have to sell my 95 993 (polar silver w/ 40k miles end of the year which is just painful to think about....but less painful i guess than a side hit from a suv)

thx

Rick Lee

How old are you now? You've made it that many years in one piece without side airbags. Have you owned any older Porsches without ABS too? I've never felt unsafe in any car, except maybe a ZIL I rode in in the Ukraine or a Trabbi in East Germany. No side airbag will save you from a soccer mom in a Navigator who spills her latte on her lap while anwering her cell phone. Enjoy your 993 and drive safely by passing SUV's at every chance. Let me know if you want to unload your 993 - know a few locals who are looking.

Agro1

If you sustain a drivers side T-Bone by an SUV while driving an M3, the side curtain bag isn't going to be much help. The side curtain bag may help a bit, but a direct hit from an SUV in the side of a MUCH smaller, and more importantly, lower car, is going to be nasty. Watch some slo-mo crash test footage and you'll understand what I'm talking about. If you wanna be safe in a world of SUV's, get a G500

Randy M

That's why I bought my wife and family a Tahoe. I wish everyone drove around in lower and lighter cars but they don't. So I had to go out and get a family crap hauler that is just as big and gluttonous as the next guy on the block. I think they're going to get even bigger as time passes.

swftiii

Mack,

Yes, safety is important, but if we all were overly worried about it, Volvo would be the only successful car company on the planet. Others have a good point, getting slammed by a SUV in anything with only 2 doors, you are going to lose, with or without side airbags.

Yes, the studies have shown that in a specific type of accident they will help, but how many of these planned accidents are the ones experienced on the street.

Enjoy the car you want to drive and don't live life scared (this doesn't mean be crazy, but I refuse to live scared).

-Skip

ceboyd

you know, it's interesting to discuss because I managed to talk my mom into selling her perfectly fine 1985 VW Jetta which was replaced with a 2002 Jetta TDI with lots of nice safety options that the 85 never had like:

ABS brakes
Driver and passanger airbags
Side Curtain airbags
Seat airbags
Side beam strengthened

..and many other safety features that just weren't around back in 1985. I felt it important overall since she isn't getting any younger and more cars out there had better braking ability, etc.


But there such a thing as being too worried IMHO.

If you are really that concerned about safety, you could always just get a full roll cage installed into your 993 and then you'd be safer than a normal car in a side impact or rollover...

Livefreeandrive

This might be an inexpensive compromise:


http://search.ebaymotors.com/search/...%3D1&gotopage=

laurence '97 C4S

The 993 is an extemely safe vehicle in an accident. I am constantly amazed at the passive safety of the vehicle as witnessed by pictures of destroyed 993's where the occupants walked away unhurt. Add in the active safety aspects of the 993 (ie brakes, handling, etc.) and you are driving one of the most safe vehicles on the road IMHO.

Rezal

If you look at the 993 brochure issued circa 94/95, there's a picture of a 993 with a large concrete block being swung into its sides. Good enough for me!

Mackenzie

Thx for the thoughts. I agree you don't want to live in a bubble (which is what owning a volvo is) but i also want to take practical steps like taking advantage of technology to help with safety. So i am going to have to balance that.

thx. and if i do decide to sell my car i will keep Rick, and silver bullet aware. i know everyone keeps their 993 in good shape, and i have to say mine runs like it new...so i would love to give it a home to someone who would appreciate it.

STLPCA

OT, but not true unless you're fully restrained & helmeted. Otherwise, your head impacts the cage & it's lights out.

The study to which Mackenzie refers is, I assume, the recently publicized
IIHS Side Impact Crash Tests (link). That test is a 31 mph (50 km/h) perpendicular impact into the driver side of a passenger vehicle. The moving deformable barrier that strikes the test vehicle weighs 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg) and has a front end shaped to simulate the typical front end of a pickup or SUV. The side airbags reduced head injuries, although it's unlikely that people in real-world crashes as severe as this test would emerge uninjured. But with good side impact protection, people should be able to survive crashes of this severity without serious injuries.

Note that most SUVs & full size PUs weigh considerably more than 3,300 lbs and 31mph may be a relatively slow speed.

The new test was a response to these statistics: In crashes with another passenger vehicle, 51 percent of driver deaths in recent model cars during 2000-01 occurred in side impacts, up from 31 percent in 1980-81. During the same time, the proportion of deaths in frontal impacts declined from 61 percent to 43 percent.

Mackenzie's concern is valid, depending on one's assessment of the likelihood of a side impact by an SUV/PU at a low enough speed (as in the testing) that doesn't make all airbags irrelevant. Given a choice of the car I want w/side bags, I'd pay for them. Unfortunately, my chosen car is an aging 993 w/1990s safety gear. At least I'll go automotively content.

Jeff 993TT

Hey Mackenzie, you've got a lot of good opinions on safety. I'd like to add mine, fwiw...

I think that to feel safer in your car, probably the best thing is to become a better driver. Be more defensive, more alert. Take few defensive driving classes, etc.

I don't understand the argument that "I bought a Tahoe to feel safer".. Well, that's great for you, but what about the other guy? Pretty soon, we'll all be driving semi trucks if that mentality continues. It's a bit selfish to drive a big car like that in the name of safety, imho.

I commute about 2 hours every day in a little car. The stuff that I see everyday is shocking. Tailgateing, overly agressive driving, useless lane changes, cell phone talking, makeup application, eating, etc. Probably the biggest way to increase safety for everybody is to slow down.

I think a lot of our recent driver aids ( abs, roll stability, traction control ) makes people worse drivers. They feel invincible about braking around a corner in the wet with ABS. But they shouldn't have been doing it in the first place. Oh, well, somebody cut out in front of me. Well, were you really going 25 mph in the first place?

I agree that air bags and side curtain bags are good things and save lives. But does having those things remove the respect that we all should have for the road and respect for the speeds we are travelling at?

Sorry for rambling.

Robert Henriksen

Here's your answer.

http://www.disastershelters.net/index.html

Anir

Mackenzie,

Actually, I think your concerns are very valid. However, as someone who has wrecked his 993 at high speed, I can assure you that our cars are incredibly safe for their size. The 993 was ranked as one of the safest of all cars produced in 1996 - second only to the GMC Yukon if memory serves.

I do understand the SUV argument, as selfish as it may appear. Two weeks ago, my wife was rear ended while sitting stationary at a stoplight. The offending driver in a 1988 Mustang was pretty banged up, and his car was toast. My wife's Range Rover was completely unscathed except for a damaged rear bumper and tailgate, and one crumpled muffler. No buckling of either rear quarter panels. My wife and kids were fine, and that means a lot to me.

Obviously, I play both ends of the size spectrum with a tiny 993 and a larger Range Rover, but I don't subscribe to the argument that folks should not drive SUV's simply because they are dangerous to smaller cars. If you carry that argument to its nth degree, semi-trucks should not share the highway with passenger cars. Of course, folks that drive SUV's should have the skills (and concentration) needed to pilot these beasts. It's currently up to them to decide if they do.

solsrch

Lots of lucid comments on all sides but, personally, I don't think of my 993 as "tiny". My old MR2, a Spitfire or old MG Midget, bugeye Sprite, that kind of stuff is tiny. This is actually one of the larger vehicles that I've ever driven on a regular basis - so my "perspective" is probably unusual.
As some others have stated, my favorite safety features in vehicle design are handling, braking and acceleration. Of course, I've been the guy who has been hit while stopped on a few occasions. So I realize, no one can compensate for some of the inattentive clowns who obtain a drivers license and have access to a car.
As far as Porsche build and safety, I had a woman in a Honda CRV in an oncoming lane cut left in front of me in my 930. Her car rolled 270 degrees and was hauled onto the wrecker in a lump. She wasn't wearing a seat belt and was banged up and very shaken. My engine, transmission, power windows, power top, etc, everything worked fine. Only the front end and front suspension were damaged. With just a seat belt, I had no evidence of even being in a wreck. I feel that these 911s are solid and well built. With the ABS and front airbags, I feel, perhaps naively, relatively safe.
For a family car, sure, we used to have a Suburban and downsized for DC traffic to a minivan (with side air bags) but that is a slightly different issue.