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Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:33 pm
by Goldmember
I am looking at fitting a steel bumper, does anyone know if the airbag deployment will be impeded by this? I want a steel bullbar, but I want airbags too....

thanks

Re: Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:39 pm
by KaiV
Might be speaking under correction, but as far as I know the Airbag sensors are actually under the seat as well as in other places. They are not inside the bumper nor attached to it.

M2CW

Re: Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:06 am
by redvers
As far as I know, there is one sensor on either side of the radiator near the crumple zones. These are the front sensors. There is an ECU under the passenger seat and also one in the dask, if memory serves me correctly. one of these are for front airbags and the other for side impact.

As far as the bumper goes, I am not sure how this impacts the front sensors. Maybe Thunis can advise as he built his own front bumper and still has the airbags working. Most of the replacements are designed with airbags in mind

Hope this helps

Re: Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:03 am
by Goldmember
Thanks guys for the input! ;)

Re: Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 1:34 pm
by Gerrit Loubser
I am not an airbag expert, but I think the problem with aftermarket bumpers might be that they are much stiffer than the flimsy original plastic bumper and whatever steel bracket is behind it. This means that the vehicle as a whole will experience a much greater deceleration when the aftermarket bumper hits something solid (and brings the vehicle to a halt while not being damaged itself) compared to the original bumper hitting the same object (and absorbing energy by being deformed and bent). This might then trigger airbag deployment in situations where they wouldn't normally have gone off, which leads to carnage (and repair cost) in the interior that could have been avoided.

The so-called airbag compatible aftermarket bumpers have little simplistic "crumple zones" in the mounting brackets. These are typically little more than z-bends in the brackets to enable the mounting brackets to bend when hit from the front instead of resisting the load in plane. The nett result is that the bumper would be less stiff when bumped from the front, because the replaceable mounting bracket would deform, although the bumper as a whole remains intact.

Re: Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 5:28 pm
by RoelfleRoux
Goldmember,

If I remember correctly the 2001 would only have the two airbags in front, non of those little jobbies that deploy all over the place at different times and under different conditions. One can then (maybe) assume that the sensors will be pretty simple and basically be keeping an eye on the front crumple zones only.

To basically agree with the previous posts:
1)The airbags will only deploy once the sensors "see" the crumple zone contracting
2)If the solid bumper results in serious deceleration during impact before the crumple zone deforms, then the airbag is likely to deploy too late. This sounds like a less than pleasant thought. After crunching your face against the steering or dashboard, the airbags whip out and give a good old klap for good measure.

I think if you are serious about having correctly functioning airbags, you should do lots of research first. Maybe you get lucky and somebody here has already done so. Keep in mind that the airbag technology advanced rapidly over the last ten years or so, so do not accept that something from another model will be the same as yours.

Please keep us posted on the results of your research.
Roelf

Re: Steel bumper airbags?

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 6:42 pm
by 4ePikanini
I thought these may be relevant to the thread

gen1 vs honda
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gen2
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gen3
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gen3 5mph
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This is a gen4 that looks like the body bent more than the gen2/3 :o Yes more give = softer impact but the cabin must stay intact!
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Triton
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