Re: Crash Test Results for Older Audis, and a Dodge Colt

["Jeff Goldberg" <jeffgold@erols.com>]

My first Audi ( the $1700 car that got me into this craze), an 86 4KS was
hit broadside by a big, heavy, powerful Lexus that was accelerating from a
stop, coming off a small side street, attempting to make a left turn across
a 3 lane divided highway. That long winded explanation was to indicate just
how _on the gas_ this guy was. Well, he explained that he did not see me at
all and hit me major hard on my two passenger side doors. I was sent into a
spin and ended up on the other side of the divided highway, in the far right
lane, 180 degrees from the direction I was traveling. He hit me _really_
hard and took the bumper right off his car. My doors were crushed in against
the side of the passenger seat (thank G-d there was no passenger present),
however, I believe passenger impact would have been moderate.
The door post was moved inward which was all that really gave way, as the
door beams were clearly outlined in the mangled sheet metal, and not altered
in any way. When I replaced the doors, I removed both beams, which proved to
be perfectly straight and absolutely not compromised. I challenge any car in
this size class to take a hit better than that 4KS. I drove the car home -
totally bummed - but the car tracked and ran perfectly.  I use the 4KS as a
spare and it is still a great car.

Jeff
86 4KCSQ Daily Driver
86 4KS      Spare
----- Original Message -----
From: Buchholz, Steven <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>
To: 'qlist' <quattro@audifans.com>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 3:13 PM
Subject: RE: Crash Test Results for Older Audis, and a Dodge Colt


> >
> > No bars like late model cars. The side molding was reinforced
> > with some kind of
> > alloy metal. They didn't do much good though. I have seen
> > some 44's hit bad in the
> > side.
>
> Remember that accidents are horrific events, and the whole idea in current
> cars is to sacrifice the car to keep the occupants as safe as possible.
> Side impacts are the most difficult to protect from as there is so little
> buffer between the occupants and the outside.  While the car may look
awful,
> you can imagine it would have looked much worse without the beams in the
rub
> strip.  The final pass/fail exam is how did the passengers fare.  I've
seen
> some badly twisted Audis that had occupants who were not seriously
injured.
> Perhaps the most amazing one was an '84 4kQ that went sideways into a
Giant
> Sequoia ... with four occupants who learned a lesson about cars not being
> toys and lived to tell others about it.  Even though there was intrusion
> into the passenger compartment I was impressed to see how the propshaft
> tunnel compressed to absorb some of the impact.  The door beams looked
> pretty wimpy IMO, but they did deform without breeaking and kept the door
> from getting pushed in farther.  The occupants walked away from the
> accident.
>
> Personally, I think that placing the door beam inside the "rub strip" was
a
> novel idea.  I don't know that Audi though up the idea or if other
> manufacturers do the same, but putting the beams as far away from the
> occupants as possible gives you the maximum amount of buffer.
>
> Steve Buchholz
> San Jose, CA (USA)
>