Alaskossie Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 With talk of carrying spare tires, headrests in rear-end collisions, etc. I was wondering if anyone had considered carrying some sort of foam-filled spare tire, to be intended primarily for protection in a rear-end collision in a Seven? If this was a dedicated spare tire for occasional flat-tire use only, and not rotated around for road use, then issues of heat build-up, odd handling, etc. might not be significant. In 1964 I was a passenger in a head-on with a maple tree at 60 mph, in a 356 Porsche. The front-mounted spare held its air, and may have deflected the crash away from dead-center; the right tire was jammed backwards behind the wheelwell. (Notwithstanding, the cowl-mounted fuel tank cracked, and was leaking fuel onto our legs when help arrived). A lap belt prevented a fatality, but I had a number of facial fractures; the driver, also lap-belted, had a broken wrist, hip and ankle. Just an idea, for passive safety in a Seven..... (from one who is not yet a Seven owner). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen grant Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Someone (Trevor?) told me that some of the racers make foam seats that they jam behind the tillets to absorb energy in case of being rear-ended. Would probably stop the seat jack-knifing backwards and throwing your head into the rear rollcage bars as well. stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I have a honeycomb floor in the boot and honeycomb protection around the tank. This seems to add a lot of strength and so far has absorbed rear end bumps pretty well. MikeW Mega Grad Race No 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I also have a piece between the front of the fuel tank and the diff, as a heavy rear impact would push the thin walled ali tank directly into the diff. The diff has a few nasty sharp bits on it so I did this as a small precaution I guess a rear spare wheel could spread any impact a little. Edited by - Graham Perry on 22 Jan 2006 13:42:57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Yep. Honeycomb crash protection and a block of that very light but stiff blue foam behind the Tillet. Rollbar foam on all the tubes anywhere near my head. You'd be amazed how far your neck will stretch without snapping... 3" belts and 6 pointer - really must change the crotch ones for the type that don't ball break... Plumbed in Fire ext with nozzle to the rear - might give a little more time. Also pad the right right angle edge under the dash/scuttle; In a frontal this will cut or break your leg(s). One of the pics in MSA blue book of 2002-2003 was a crash scene of 7's; one had it's tank/rear on fire... the driver jumping out as marshalls ran to put it out... Have you timed yourself as to how quickly you can get out your 7? Ok to do it with the car on it's wheels, now imagine doing it upside down... Hants (north) / Berkshire club here Area meeting pics here My Racing here Edited by - stevefoster on 24 Jan 2006 08:52:03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen grant Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Steve - you don't happen to know what that "very light but stiff blue foam" is do you? stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Floor insualtion for domestic use, methinks. /regin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finmac Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Alaskossie Anchorage?! Blimey I thought the weather was bad over here in the Scottish Hebrides, how many Caterham driving days do you get a year in Alaska?! HPC with QED 450 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskossie Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 Finmac, as I said I don't yet own a 7 so I can't speak from direct experience (except having lived here since 1967). But Alaska has nearly 24 hrs of daylight every day from May thru August, which offers a lot of good drive time. I just wish we had more paved roads (though the absence of the plod on the long rural roads we do have is a real benefit). There is one Caterham SV in Anchorage that I know about, and there was a Series 2 that autocrossed a lot (don't know if it's still here). Lots of grand scenery to see here, as you can imagine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskossie Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 Oops -- forgot the Caterham owner in the town of North Pole, near Fairbanks, Alaska. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Procter Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 you could install a 'bagged' fuel tank for fire protection in case of a rear-ender too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Stephen, It was packing foam used to protect equipment racks during shipping. Very light but firm - sounds like my ideal woman 😬 The skip outside my old work always had a healthy stock of the stuff. Quite nice large chunks - easy to cut and glue into larger pieces too. You could try a delivery sort of company. Hants (north) / Berkshire club here Area meeting pics here My Racing here Edited by - stevefoster on 23 Jan 2006 21:57:57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_C Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Flooring insulation might be too rigid to ever crush, some of it is designed for loads up to 400-500kg per sq metre. Might help stop the Tillet flexing though, and reduce noise in the cockpit. Cheers Tom FH54WLX - only the car supports ManU, honest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian B Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 It was packing foam used to protect equipment racks during shipping. Err, you might want to set light to a bit of that stuff (in the car park away from everything else!) as if it's the stuff I'm thinking of, it's far from fire retardant Having said that I use similar stuff for trackday 'padding' instead of the seat base; it has a very low melting point (so not nice if sticks to you in a fire) but it doesn't burn. Ian - MI 5EVN - Slightly Vider SVelte model 😬 now repainted to match the Autocom headsets 😳 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Here's a pic of the crash protection kit. here I tried that Ian. This stuff is from Sweden - does not burn or melt very easily. Hants (north) / Berkshire club here Area meeting pics here My Racing here Edited by - stevefoster on 24 Jan 2006 08:50:51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Brandon Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Going back to the original subject of protection from the rear mounted spare, i was particularly pleased that I took mine when on USA2005. We were rear ended by a Honda in Austin on the second day of the tour (he drove off in a cloud of tyre smoke naturally). It was a pretty big thump and when I got out I feared the worse, maybe split tank, suspension damage, but no, it just bent the spare wheel on its fixing and bu**ered the wheel carrier and number plate. A definite result since we had another 3700 miles to go at that point. When I do my next tour - the spare's coming along and I'm beginning to think about some of the other stuff on this thread too. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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