How well do MB's survive getting rear ended at high speeds? - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TheDon · #46 01-08-2006, 10:52 AM

gotta love how people get lift kits for their suv's and pickups drasticly raising little of a bumper they have then all you see in your rearview when that chevy 2500 with the dixie flag flying is a front differential coming through your rear window.. you shouldnt be allowed to lower or raise your vehicles certian heights.. come to my school parking lot.. all the trucks their all of their lifts combined can make them as tall as a ten story building when on top of each other.. or higher

t walgamuth · #47 01-08-2006, 11:36 AM

but the bumpers of everything from kia to cement truck should all be a common height so a car can't slide under a truck.

this is so basic even a legislator should be able to understand it.

while i am thinking about it, the bumpers should be tall enough that a car under braking will still match bumpers with the car in front that is under braking.

i have seen many rear ends where the car behind simply slides right under the car in front because they both are nose down and rear up under heavy braking.

tom w

lietuviai · #48 01-08-2006, 03:23 PM

This is why I started this thread. I wanted to bring to the attention what could happen if someone was on the wrong end of a SUV collision. My interest was seeing what the opinions were if should one of these behemouths run into our cars.

t walgamuth · #49 01-08-2006, 03:43 PM

the cars are designed to receive the blow on the bumper. any other place will be more dangerous.

tom w

H-townbenzoboy · #50 01-08-2006, 03:51 PM

Since we're on bumpers now, how do you feel about people switching to Euro bumpers from the big US spec bumpers?

t walgamuth · #51 01-08-2006, 04:02 PM

on my 84 280e.

they look very cool, are about 100# lighter total, but they offer very little protection to your car here in the land of back til i hit something drivers.

on mine, the front one bent back til it dented the grill. no problem.

so if you want max performance and lightest weight go for it. if protection seems important stick with the us bumpers.

tom w

#52 01-08-2006, 05:20 PM

If you look underneat (front and rear) on most US spec. older benz bumpers there is a LOT of crumple zone (even into the unibody aside the engine before the front suspension).

I would go with euro bumpers but safety is a number 1 safety factor for me. As long as the chrome looks good I'll stick with my US bumpers

The euros look cool but the rear just looks TOO tiny on a w126...I dunno...

68882 · #53 01-08-2006, 05:21 PM

A friend of our lost his 87 300SDL due to a rear-ender, he lent it to an employee to pick something up. The car was hit by a 60's caddy as he stopped at a highway traffic slowdown. We guess the caddy owner was doing 50-60 mph, never saw the traffic had stopped. The impact actually broke the driver's seat in two, toss the fellow in the back, then into the front into the air bags as the car was pushed into the back of the cars in front of the vehicle.

Although the fellow was brused & sore I believe he was fine, went back to work. The caddy driver ended up in the hospital for an extended stay...

#54 01-08-2006, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 68882

A friend of our lost his 87 300SDL due to a rear-ender, he lent it to an employee to pick something up. The car was hit by a 60's caddy as he stopped at a highway traffic slowdown. We guess the caddy owner was doing 50-60 mph, never saw the traffic had stopped. The impact actually broke the driver's seat in two, toss the fellow in the back, then into the front into the air bags as the car was pushed into the back of the cars in front of the vehicle.

Although the fellow was brused & sore I believe he was fine, went back to work. The caddy driver ended up in the hospital for an extended stay...

Damn now THAT is impressive...

50-60MPH to zero impact by a pretty heavy car. I've had my seats apart so I can imagine the force necessary to snap those things...I'd be going in for a good looking over (whiplash, etc.)

Airbags probably saved him on that one...one of their useful times.

bobbyv · #55 01-08-2006, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Anderson

I've wondered if anybody has thought what would be good to put in a trunk to help in an accident.

With the gas tank situated behind the rear seats, I place my tire iron cross in a vertical position against the wall, held against it by some other stuff I keep in the trunk. If you place it flat on the floor, a rear collision can make this puncture the gas tank. And that goes for any object that's hard or sharp enough to puncture the gas tank wall.

I wouldn't worry too much about a rear-ender from an SUV - there is enough crumple room there, especially if the rear seats are usually left unoccupied (now that's a reason why not to carpool!).

What I worry about is a side-impact from an SUV, due to the high impact point on the side of the car, aimed directly at one's ribcage. This is especially a concern on my side-airbag-less car. The B-class Benz has the passengers about 10cm higher than normal, helping to address this problem.

#56 01-08-2006, 07:18 PM

I think I'll get a Unimog, so I don't have to worry about people rear ending me

lietuviai · #57 01-08-2006, 09:26 PM

I used to own a '51 Cadillac coupe. It came with huge chrome bumpers that had bumper guards on them like missles. The previous owner demolished a parked VW bug with it. No injuries but it sent the bug to the junkyard. The Caddy only suffered a bent bumper bracket and slightly pushed in grille extension.

t walgamuth · #58 01-08-2006, 10:58 PM

the crumpling subframe structures in the front extend all the way to the firewall. there is a squarish tube that runs from down underneath, which we all put jacks under, all the way to the place the bumper shocks bolt on. the entire motor assembly and front suspension bolts to this. it actually has crenelations in it (corrogations) to make it bend and crumple easier. i have observed this cause i bought an 81 240d that had the entire front end bent over like a pug boxer's nose. i personally borrowed a body jack and straightened all the sheet metal that i could and hammered the major stuff around with a big short handled sledge til i could bolt all the stuff back on. i also took it to a frame place and watched while they put measuring devices on it and hydraulically jacked stuff around 'til it was alignalbe.

in the rear the squarish tubes run from the bumper shocks up to the corner of the inner fender well. i believe there is also a tube that runs between them. all of this is designed to crumple and absorb the shock. the tank is above the axle in the most protected place possible. a benz will take a hell of a hit and allow the occupants to walk away, and the doors to open and close.

i have had two of my kids heavily rear ended and walk away with very minor stiff necks. my son was hit at 40 or 50 by a narcleptic who was not supposed to drive a car but of course was and fell asleep. he was at a light and the car was pushed into the two in front of him.

both cars were totalled and i bought them back and had them repaired using parts i had lying about and some bought used or new.

it was and interesting education about how benzes are made.

any benz that is rear ended and there are wrinkles in the rear fender lip area will be totalled unless pretty new.

oh yeah, nice caddy. i had a 51 hearse with 40k miles and a 51 convertible that was very rusty and i sold it off to a doctor who could afford to invest 30 or 40 grand in rebuilding it. very stylish and well built cars. no crumple zones though. the crumple is in the victims of their collision with one.

tom w

#59 01-08-2006, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lietuviai

I used to own a '51 Cadillac coupe. It came with huge chrome bumpers that had bumper guards on them like missles. The previous owner demolished a parked VW bug with it. No injuries but it sent the bug to the junkyard. The Caddy only suffered a bent bumper bracket and slightly pushed in grille extension.

Good god man!!!...get your priorities straight and keep your beautiful cars!

t walgamuth · #60 01-08-2006, 11:32 PM

you know, i got tired of caddies.

also they became too valuable to keep driving around whenever i felt like it. at least that is what i thought at the time.

the caddies were the first cars that i ever hobbied on and made any money. it felt so good i started thinking it was a good idea.

tom w