Elan Safety?

[garyeanderson]

Side intrusion can be delt with but it costs you. Don Tingles C-production car it had a tube in the sill and another just below the door handle and another pair of verticle tubes connecting the upper and lower side intrusion bars.





Well it ain't a beemer but its got an interesting intrusion cage, maybe something like that.

http://bringatrailer.com/2009/07/14/pur ... #more-1905

[Davidb]

PLEASE tell me he put a hard top over that lot?

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

OMG that's ugly, he could enter Caterham races without being detected.

[chicagojeff]

speaking of bmw's, note the roundtail 2002 in the back of the shop in the roll cage picture?

My daily driver is an E30 325is, and it's also a sometimes track car. Mostly when I feel that driving the Elan to the track puts me in more danger on the road getting there than at speed on the track. And that mostly from SUVs being wielded by cell phone/ texting morons.

I second the idea of driving like noone sees you, and also mounting some higher brake lights.

I do think that an E30 is pretty fun, but it aint anything like the Elan.

[jimbo]

Jimbo

It is perhaps not suprising that many BMW owners I know also own an Elan...

The latest M3 V8 is quite an extraordinary machine I had one of the 4 door press cars for a week's use and was mightly impressed in all aspects except for one to get the driving thrills I find so readily in the E30 M3 in the 70 to 100 mph zone one has to add on a further 30 mph - 100 to 130 mph to feel the edginess that I enables one to be involved in the experience!

There is also the not inconsiderable loss in depreciation - while the E30 M3 is actually gaining considerably in value...

Still a very fine car indeed and if one lived in Germany would definately be a must have...

I never push the M3 at all. Driving it is a constant exercise in self restraint ... especially given the noise as the needle rips towards 8k ! It's a hugely capable car with pace, practicality and build quality to spare. True it doesnt reward in the same way at low speeds as an Elan, Elise or Caterham but its a great place to spend time and suits my needs perfectly. Shame about the fuel ecomony - it's significantly worse than my previous Beemer which was a 2004 CSL.

Depreciation wise they are firming up quite well now the initial over supply has gone. I believe they are now on build to order. Not that it is a concern for me right now as I run my cars for at least 3 years.

OMG that's ugly, he could enter Caterham races without being detected.

Hey, I raced a Caterham for a while with a full tall roll cage and it wasnt as ugly as that! Ok, correction it was already ugly so the cage didn't make it look that much worse. That just looks SOOOO wrong on something as pretty and delicate as an Elan!

[garyeanderson]

I have lots of Ugly roll over bar photos, not many look beautiful in black, or chrome for that matter. Foot intrusion, side intrusion, and passenger compartment intrusion is something that the Elan was not designed for or thought much about. If you think to much about it you might just sell your Elan. I don't think much about it. The only time I feel the least bit uncomfortable (like a sittting duck) is when stopped waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so that I can turn across traffic. Watching the review miror, switching between on-coming and traffic from behind. The Elan is always in first gear with the clutch depressed and the wheels pointed straight ahead, if the on-coming clears I'll cut the wheel and finish the turn, If not and the view from the rear looks like the car approaching doesn't see me, I am gone so fast down the road, not worrying about where I was headed. If the wheel is cut before the turn is started and you are sitting still and get hit from behind, you just got shoved out into oncoming traffic, say good night...

[steveww]

Having just had a real big accident in my Elan, waking up in hospital , I can inform you that a roll over hoop, sill bars with footwell protection and a 4 point harness is a very good idea.

[garyeanderson]

Having just had a real big accident in my Elan, waking up in hospital , I can inform you that a roll over hoop, sill bars with footwell protection and a 4 point harness is a very good idea.

Glad to hear that you are well enough to tell us Steve. When you are up and about I would like to hear more about it.
There are several folks here that have tested there Elans toughness in anger but not much is written. Maybe we need a crashed Elan section with damage, discriptions, and photos. With a sticky that says READ ME FIRST.

Gary

[richard sprint]

Likewise steve glad you have survived to tell the tale and hope the personal mend will not be too long

To add protection is very difficult as the structural design of some add on might be just as dangerous as to not - what I mean to say if one could be certain of general weak points then it could be one step forward to counteract - I see the footwells are mentioned and roll over and side protection - is there a carry over from racing where these issues have already been addressed?

Or is one going to end up like a stock car - scaffolding everywhere and the whole beauty lost?

[GrUmPyBoDgEr]

Hi Steve,

sorry to hear about your accident, I hope you're not too badly bent & that you make a quick & full recovery.
Get well soon

Cheers
John

[johnsimister]

Ouch. Yes, hope you're mended soon, Steve. Fitting the roll-over bar, side bars and footwell bars has been in the back of my mind for a while. You've just brought it to the front.

Psychologically I've felt that a coup? is better in a rollover than a dhc, but I suspect it's all an illusion especially once the glass goes. There happened to be a bare fhc shell in the showroom at Matty's when I was there last week, and the roof structure felt very flimsy when I gently pushed on the rear pillars. I've just checked and PMSC reckon on 14 hours to fit all the bars to an fhc, less for a dhc because access is easier.

John

[trw99]

Steve

Sorry to read about your shunt and like the others here, mighty relieved to learn that you are OK. Do tell us about it when you feel up to it, perhaps we can all learn from the experience.

Chin up and keep smiling!

Tim

[bcmc33]

Being serious, any talk about an Elan being safe is a waste of time. Time for a reality check, I think.

I have a roll bar with side bars, but am under no illusion that it makes the car safe apart from a soft roll-over.

If you really want to make an Elan (sort of) safe, then you will need make a roll cage similar to the Caterham. I?ve been watch them this week on the TV motorsport channel. Bloody ugly things they are.

[twincamman]

I just settled for something to deflect rear enders --ed

[robcall]

Steve-all the best-hope to see you posting again soon!

John- if anything the fhc can be more dangerous-that glass rear window has a tendency to pop out on impact
A rollbar will serve more than one purpose!