Hey guys, sorry if this is a blasphemous question, but were crash tests ever conducted on thirdgens? If so, how did they perform? It's just one of those small things I always wondered about. Thanks!

 

http://www.internetautoguide.com/cra...625/index.html

 

I wonder if there are any crash test videos for our cars, because they seem to have them for every other car from late 80's to 90's

 

It happens. The Camaro above was my first. Kid hit me while I was parked at a light. He was doing 35-40mph, don't think he even hit the brakes. Both myself and my passenger walked away. If you look closely you can see the roof is buckled across the B-pillars. The doors wouldn't close completely after the hit. The bird was a tow yard purchase, it obviously took a healthy hit.

 

Uncle Sam might not of had to do any crash testing, as there were (and still are) plenty of 16 year olds out there doing the testing for them! :lmoa:

 

The only crash testing I have talked with anyone about first-hand involved the 1988 GTA Notchback option. I can't openly discuss specifics.... suffice it to say the option didn't pass on the first attempt.

 

4 stars frontal crash? not bad for an 80s era sports car. Then again, with a nose that reaches the horizon, you'd expect it to do well. Some videos would be nice. And Drew, those pictures sting. lol Sucks about your camaro though, but you were OK and that's all that counts. What was that kid driving? Was he hurt?

 

1989 Pontiac Bonneville? He was ok, he had insurance so I didn't have to kill him.

 

yes, this is the main reason i was allowed to drive one in high school.
lots of energy absorbsion in both front and back ends.
however, they did very badly in side impacts because of the large doors and extremely poor seatbelts. im glad the 4th gen belts swap so easily into our cars because the 3rd gen seatbelts are very unsafe.

 

Never heard about that before. How are the 4th gen seatbelts better? I always thought that a seatbelt was a seatbelt.

 

Thirdgen seat belts suffered from a problem with the 84-up style latch. The red plastic push button release wasn't very UV resistant. They tend to break down, the plastic gets flaky, and eventually they stop working as well.

If you've ever spent any time in the junkyard, front and rear end collisions on thirdgens are pretty common, and the carnage usually isn't too bad. On the other hand, hard side impacts are really gnarly. I've looked at more then one thirdgen with the rocker panel pushed past where the center console used to be. When that happens, the door goes right through the occupant.

 

its not just the release, the dual retractor system uses momentum sensors to lock the belt. its not very reliable and it doesnt tighten up well.
A common result of these defects was that on side impacts, the door opens and the occupants were ejected.
the 4th gen seat belts are a more conventional single retractor system and the release mechanism is more durable
fortunately, 4th gen seatbelts are easy to obtain

 

That sounds like a complaint that would apply more to the door-mounted dual-retractor belts like the W cars had.

 

Yeah that sounds more like the door mounted belt cars. I don't see why it should work in a frontal crash and not a side crash. Maybe I'm missing something. And those momentum retractors are pretty funky... on my car (91 t/a) they lock up when I floor the gas pedal, corner hard, or slam on the brakes.... I can understand the last two but the first one just seems unnecessary lol. But what I love about em is that the damn seatbelts don't constantly lock up on you like on the newer cars. Drives me nuts how the belt locks up and you have to bring it back all the way and latch it again. My Grandpa's 02 Rendezvous does that all the time and sometimes it seems like the car wants to asphyxiate you. Sorry I'm rambling but I thought I'd mention haha.

 

no it was the f-bodies too.
the momentum things never had enough pre crash tension on it and the door openings are big so it was easy to slip out sideways once the doors pop open. also, we all know how underreinforced the unibodies are on these cars, the side impact litterally bent the cars in half because of the big door opening and t-tops made it worse. I remember seeing crash videos showing this problem. wish i hadnt, made me really paranoid at intersections when i drove my dads 1984 berlinetta in high school.
certainly not the least safe car ive driven though.