Will Sliders Add Side Impact Strength??? (1 Viewer)

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Tonight on Dateline they are showing how some vehicles rate in side impact colisions, which are very common in intersection accidents. It made me wonder how much stronger a Land Cruiser is with some good sliders like Slee's or Hanna's or even George's design? I expect that the extended sliders with bars like the first two will help a lot in side impact, and also expect even George's slim style sliders would add strength. Has any one had the unfortunate experience to test this in a real world colision? If so, first I hope your OK, and would you please share your experience.

Thanks,
 
Haven't heard of too many guys with 80's being t-boned. I would expect sliders, especially those that protrude out would be of great assistance. It may transfer more shock to the vehicle as steel isn't going to absorb too much, but I would think most guys with even slightly lifted 80s and sliders would be protected as at least with my truck I think the car would not line up over the slider.

I must say that I do feel quite safe in my truck on the road when the little hoodlum is with me.
 
I was thinking about this the other day. I would think also that the height of a lifted 80 would result in most passenger cars running under the slider and would probably cause the 80 to roll.....
 
One of the reasons got the 450 for the wife's DD and why we're getting the sliders for it is for side impact protection. I don't know how much it'll help, but the extra armor there will not hurt.

I measured the bumper height of most cars with the level of the sliders on my rig and the bumper/slider height is about even in most cases (wtih the obvious exception of cars like the corvette, trans ams, etc.).

I'd rather have someone hit my slider first if they're going to T-Bone me.
 
A side impact usually suffers (vs front or rear) from a lack of space to crush while accelerating the struck vehicle away. Bending the sliders early in the collision is in many ways equivalent to adding crush space to the side of the vehicle. On the down side, the acceleration of the struck vehicle *might* be harsher.

Where the harsher acceleration might come into play would be a young child not in a safety seat. We bought a Britax Wizard when our daughter got large enough for it specifically because at the time it was the only seat in the world with built in side impact protection - both head and body. Would address that issue well.

Another downside might be if the sliders bent upward and blocked the doors from opening for escape. You'll note the front edge of the 80's rear doors have a double lip that is an "anti-jam lip" to prevent the front door from jamming under the rear and being hard to open, so Toyota's addressed this in the basic design.

Another downside might be if a slider leg failed on the driver's side and it was driven into the fuel tank. There is a protective skidplate on the fuel tank to protect against collision puncture, but it was all tested without the presence of a slider.

In my opinion, these scenarios are outweighed by far by the added structure and strength of a slider in preventing side penetration or crushing. In other words, the sliders by far are a safety advantage. As to the rollover point, SUVs do indeed roll more often in these collisions, but the alternative is a low car that takes enormous crushing damage instead.

DougM
 
On Friday my aunt was t-boned in her Sebring convertible, drivers side, crushing her ankle. She has months of surgery and rehab ahead of her. I would rather flop than have a crushed ankle.
 
Honda Accord hit me in a parking lot, right on the Hanna slider and it did nothing to it just a couple scratches.
The Accord's front bumper fell off and smashed alot of glass/lights. In fact I still have the entire corner reflector that was jammed in the HQ slider. Hit & run.

Witness saw it tho and on my way home guess who was double parked about a 1/2 mile down the road? :D
 
I was at Kragen the other night sitting in my truck looking at a few goodies I just bought when the car pulling in next to me pulled a little too hard and hit my truck right on the slider. His car was dented, scratched, and visibly damaged. All that happened to the slider was a little paint scraped off, which I corrected the next morning. I felt great...but that guy definitely didn't.

-Sam-
 
Junk said:
I must say that I do feel quite safe in my truck on the road when the little hoodlum is with me.

I knew he drove better then you :flipoff2:
 
a slider certainly compares favourably to those side impact beams inside the doors.

One possible bonus would be that in a major collision a slider will transfer the impact more directly to the frame and bend it, thus ensuring your insurance co. writes it off and cuts you a check and does not try to fix it for you. I guess with the price of 80s coming down this is less of a risk but maybe a reason to put a slider on your newer 100.

I don't think that even if the frame bends it is likely to impact on the fuel tank. The rear axle partly protects the tank and in any event that would take an impact so huge that fuel would be the least of your worries.
 
My take is the worst of the impact energy would be transmitted directly to the frame, probably destroying it in most cases. The body, being mounted via rubber mounts and "floating" on top of the frame, would be above a lot of the innital action. Since a hard gut-shot hit would probably total the vehicle regardless, it seems to me that it is advantageous to transmit some of that energy into the frame as opposed to the pasenger cabin.



D-
 
don't forget the added weight of the sliders equals longer stopping distances, and that equals less safe in my book.

sliders can't possibly be justified solely based on their on-road, side impact safety gains.

$0.02
 
ace10 said:
don't forget the added weight of the sliders equals longer stopping distances, and that equals less safe in my book.


$0.02

And so would having a full tank of gas but is it enough to make an "unsafe" difference?
 
ace10 said:
don't forget the added weight of the sliders equals longer stopping distances, and that equals less safe in my book.

sliders can't possibly be justified solely based on their on-road, side impact safety gains.

$0.02


You see that is why you must do the 100 series brake pad mod at the same time you get sliders ;) Its very important justify multiple mods at one time to the wife :D
 
My wife is too smart. She'd add the cost of the 100 series pads and new rotors to the price of the sliders and then say something like, "So the TRUE cost of the sliders is..."
 
This is exactly why I added sliders to the 100 with the baby coming. I even got the wife to sign off on front/rear bumpers, but I'm going to wait on those for now, as they will necessitate suspension upgrades, and I don't want to do that until the factory warranty wears out.

Ace10 - sliders add maybe 150-200 pounds overall to the weight of the vehicle. Not enough to do anything to stopping distances IMHO. So you're saying that for safety's sake, don't carry any passengers or cargo? C`mon... OK, let's try this one as a counter: an added advantage is that all that slider weight is down low, lowering the center of gravity and thus improving handling, which ADDS safety in accident avoidance maneuvers. How 'bout them apples! :flipoff2:
 
dclee said:
This is exactly why I added sliders to the 100 with the baby coming. I even got the wife to sign off on front/rear bumpers, but I'm going to wait on those for now, as they will necessitate suspension upgrades, and I don't want to do that until the factory warranty wears out.

Ace10 - sliders add maybe 150-200 pounds overall to the weight of the vehicle. Not enough to do anything to stopping distances IMHO. So you're saying that for safety's sake, don't carry any passengers or cargo? C`mon... OK, let's try this one as a counter: an added advantage is that all that slider weight is down low, lowering the center of gravity and thus improving handling, which ADDS safety in accident avoidance maneuvers. How 'bout them apples! :flipoff2:

Well said Derek.
We picked up the 2nd 450 after the wife saw a similar side-impact story about a year and a half ago. She asked the same questions regarding side impact protection.

...which is why I'm getting sliders as well as solid front and rear bumpers for her LX 450 :D
 
Wow, some really good replys. I doubt the added weight would add much to stopping distances, but in this scenereo you are being struct whether moving through an intersection or stopped at the light. After seeing dateline, it makes me wonder why a company that adds aftermarket airbags especially side air bags, didn't run an advertisement. It could have helped launch their business! They showed that side airbags made a dramatic difference, but that wasn't enough to overcome structual stability of the cabin compartment, or lack there of. For me, I agree that stout sliders would make a large difference, saving even on insurance claims due to stupid little scrapes like mentioned by Sam.
So sounds like Martha would say...Add Sliders...It's a good Thing!
 
ace10 said:
don't forget the added weight of the sliders equals longer stopping distances, and that equals less safe in my book.

Then so does each passanger you add to the vehicle because an average adult weighs about the same as a set of sliders.
 
ace10 said:
sliders can't possibly be justified solely based on their on-road, side impact safety gains.

$0.02


They aren't and never have been.....:rolleyes:


The intended purpose to to keep you from caving in your rockers and doors off road


Oh, based on what my vehicle tips the scales at, I should be stopping sometime later this week......:D
 

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