Differences in USA vs Europe Airbag systems
07-02-2023, 06:00 AM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Differences in USA vs Europe Airbag systems
Does anyone know what the differences are between the USA and non-USA airbag settings on early cars?
My car is a 1998 Boxster, but since the part number on the airbag module is 996 i assume they are the same as early 996 cars so I believe this is relevant.
The car is a US import and as such the airbag is coded for a US car. However, I've removed the inner bumper struts/dampers and replaced them with light weight ROW solid ones. I assumed this could affect the airbag system and triggering, so I set the airbag system to non-USA with PIWIS. However, I'm second guessing this decision and would like to know more about the differences between the two systems.
My car is a 1998 Boxster, but since the part number on the airbag module is 996 i assume they are the same as early 996 cars so I believe this is relevant.
The car is a US import and as such the airbag is coded for a US car. However, I've removed the inner bumper struts/dampers and replaced them with light weight ROW solid ones. I assumed this could affect the airbag system and triggering, so I set the airbag system to non-USA with PIWIS. However, I'm second guessing this decision and would like to know more about the differences between the two systems.
07-02-2023, 07:39 AM
#2
Not entirely sure but it gives you something to research further. I believe US DOT or NHTSA required crash tests to be conducted whilst the occupants/crash test dummies did not wear a seat belt (don't know speed or barrier type).
The requirements wrt to limit injury without a seatbelt were or could have been met by deploying the airbag at those speeds. (That's the reason for modern US market vehicles having knee airbags whereas RoW don't).
Questionable whether they deploy when occupants wear their seatbelts but it might be a reason to code to RoW to make sure that you dont have to replace an activated airbag when the seatbelt you wore prevented injury by itself).
The shock absorbing US spec bumper mounts are there to meet low speed crash requirements that state that up to 7(?) mph no structural damage shall be done. They play no roll in frontal crashes at higher speeds when airbags are deployed as they will be compressed solid at impact and absorb too little energy too be relevant wrt airbag deployment.
Having said that I'd code it to RoW when having replaced the bumper mounts for RoW solid ones just like you did.
The requirements wrt to limit injury without a seatbelt were or could have been met by deploying the airbag at those speeds. (That's the reason for modern US market vehicles having knee airbags whereas RoW don't).
Questionable whether they deploy when occupants wear their seatbelts but it might be a reason to code to RoW to make sure that you dont have to replace an activated airbag when the seatbelt you wore prevented injury by itself).
The shock absorbing US spec bumper mounts are there to meet low speed crash requirements that state that up to 7(?) mph no structural damage shall be done. They play no roll in frontal crashes at higher speeds when airbags are deployed as they will be compressed solid at impact and absorb too little energy too be relevant wrt airbag deployment.
Having said that I'd code it to RoW when having replaced the bumper mounts for RoW solid ones just like you did.
Last edited by hardtailer; 07-02-2023 at 07:51 AM.
07-02-2023, 11:20 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Thanks for your informative post.
If anyone has more to add, please do.
As far as I can tell another difference is the belt receptacles. Based purely on studying the wiring diagrams the US ones are more complex and monitor open/closed states while the ROW only tracks the driver's buckle and only monitors one normally closed switch in the receptacle. It appears from the diagram that the passenger receptacle is unmonitored. Can someone with a ROW car confirm this?
If anyone has more to add, please do.
As far as I can tell another difference is the belt receptacles. Based purely on studying the wiring diagrams the US ones are more complex and monitor open/closed states while the ROW only tracks the driver's buckle and only monitors one normally closed switch in the receptacle. It appears from the diagram that the passenger receptacle is unmonitored. Can someone with a ROW car confirm this?