OEM carbon fiber driveshaft???

[Chris Semple]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: quattro-admin at audifans.com
> Behalf Of james accordino

> Yeah, I'm really amazed when I see or read some of the
> crash ratings or reviews of Audis.  What are they
> looking at.  Was this a flat front hit?  Any guess as
> to the speed?  I'm reading this thinking that ALOT of
> energy was absorbed in the bending/breaking of these
> components.  Was the firewall/footwell crushed?  At
> all?  Somewhat?  Reason being is this is one of the
> major reasons I do drive my "junk" '89 200.  Having
> seen an aniliated type 44 where the occupants walked
> away, I'm convinced this is quite a safe car.
> Jim Accordino

In this particular 90q's case, it was a textbook dead-on-the-nose job. My
old professor did accident analysis for NHSP, so we did pick up a few tips
from him when looking at this stuff. No deformation of the brake lamp
filaments indicates he/she wasn't on the brakes at the time of the impact,
so it was a "surprise". Speed would've been in the 55-70mph range, closest I
could guess without seeing the scene/reports. Putting that together with the
lack of other vehicle paint/material tells me it was a single-vehicle/off
road type of incident. Tearing down the remains of the nose revealed
tarred/pressure treat type wood fiber embedded in the crank pulley, signs of
a phone pole or highway barrier post. Perhaps nodding off for just a
second...

Visualizing a 5cyl layout, the tbody was back into the battery tray, and
dist back to the brake booster. No damage to the footwell area, but firewall
deformation around the battery tray area, by the coil mount. Most/all the
force was diverted "down" through the engine to prop to tail. When I got it
the shift linkage was shortened a good ten inches, and it wouldn't take
neutral even with the clutch down. It did give a nice leather interior
though :)

The Audi's are safe in a "strong" way, with a resilience to major damage,
yet affording full passenger protection. The Vw's(G/JIII and IV come to mind
here) are safe in a "soft" way. The entire car deforms to absorb the decell
force, and it's not unusual to find a minor hit Vw with both front doors
buckled and the roof kinked. Hence more Audis are repaired/rebuilt vs Vw's.

Cheers, and safe driving wishes!
-Chris Semple
Concord NH
'coupla q's
 '93 E350 Club w/ '98 Classic trailer
    '96 Int'l 4700 carrier