Sideways & crash at 70mph

[Ajsingh]

A good friend of mine recently bought a very tidy 325i convertible on a J plate, with 110,000 on the clock. Very clean tidy car for what he paid for.

Having never owned a rear wheel drive car, he took it out in the rain. Came to a long right handed corner, the back stepped out at about 70mph and it spun right round, n/s/r wheel mounted the kerb, breaking the rim and breaking the trailing arm. It then hit into a concrete bridge, still roughly travelling between 60-70mph. Both driver and passenger walked away without a mark!

The car was totalled! With damage everywhere underneath. Yesterday we started stripping parts that can be saved. I was shocked to see how the car had taken the impact, and it still started up!
Just goes to show how strong the e30 is, even in convertible form. A similar car from this era, for example, a Mk2 golf and the passengers may not have been this lucky

[suchy]

Jesus
I think hitting a concrete bridge at 60mph would do way more damage than this and make soup of people but still a hard impact and not something I wish to experience

[Morat]

oof, that was a big one...
You can understand why the manufacturers started fitting traction control when you look at pics like that.
Glad everyone walked away safe.

[Ajsingh]

The nsf track rod was snapped in half! Should have got a pic of it... You look at it dead on and its all twisted to the right

[Rav335uk]

P38???

Glad everyones OK.

[DanThe]

Looks more like a 40mph impact to me, at an angle too. I hit a wall at 60+ in an E30 and didnt walk away, engine mounts broke, subframe/steering rack was pushed backwards and sheared off the column mounts

[Captain_Birdseye]

Umm, yikes.

[mabz]

mamma mia!!!

[andyp]

Wow . Tell him I've got a nice shell here cheap

[kangman]

Oh no, another mans loss is another mans gain. Calypso red Wing mirrors? And rear bumper?

[oldroydsr4]

Looks more like a 40mph impact to me, at an angle too. I hit a wall at 60+ in an E30 and didnt walk away, engine mounts broke, subframe/steering rack was pushed backwards and sheared off the column mounts

I agree with this, never a 60 mph impact.

In my previous job I was involved in 9mph off centre crash tests into solid walls for insurance group calculations of new vehicles and the damage is often rediculous.

[bab-91]

It's fine, you could barely notice that damage

[alpina123]

thats about 30-40mph, why were you suprised it started?

[Gert_8]

That will Polish out AJ! Glad your mates are ok

[Ajsingh]

thats about 30-40mph, why were you suprised it started?

Maybe cos its a 25+year old design and its not 30-40mph.

[TheDutch]

Here's what a 30mph impact looks like:




Maybe your friend banged their bonce?

[Gert_8]

Here's what a 30mph impact looks like:




Maybe your friend banged their bonce?

Those look like test pictures - when the car was new. I think AJ's point it the car suffered that much damage considering it is 25 years later.

[TheDutch]

Those look like test pictures - when the car was new. I think AJ's point it the car suffered that much damage considering it is 25 years later.

And got four times stronger in the meantime?

[Ajsingh]

Those look like test pictures - when the car was new. I think AJ's point it the car suffered that much damage considering it is 25 years later.

And got four times stronger in the meantime?

Nope

Just the engine in that car is missing 2 cyclinders. That surely
Must help, a longer engine to take the impact lol

Gert iv got the G3 compound out!

[kam-325i]

Those look like test pictures - when the car was new. I think AJ's point it the car suffered that much damage considering it is 25 years later.

And got four times stronger in the meantime?

Nope

Just the engine in that car is missing 2 cyclinders. That surely
Must help, a longer engine to take the impact lol

Gert iv got the G3 compound out!

a larger engine will have more inertia than a smaller one....so taht kinda negates that.

[Gert_8]

Hey boys, whatever. The fact is the car got totalled and the people walked free. Do we really need to look for the guy on the grassy knoll?!

[suchy]

Hey boys, whatever. The fact is the car got totalled and the people walked free. Do we really need to look for the guy on the grassy knoll?!

What?!!? Of course we do- this is the Zone, he's lucky the witch hunt hasn't started requiring factual evidence of his 70mph statement

So where's the evidence?

[kam-325i]

i think the bloke on the grassy knoll has got the video of the incident.....

[suchy]

i think the bloke on the grassy knoll has got the video of the incident.....

So we need that video and the one Mr. Oswald took from the Book Depository so we can hand the evidence over to HairyScreech for analysis so he can determine the true velocity and angle of impact...

[jmc330i]

The nsf track rod was snapped in half! Should have got a pic of it... You look at it dead on and its all twisted to the right

Track rods are made of liquorice, I bend/snap them regularly bouncing off concrete walls. The damage looks very similar to the few E30s I've raced (impacts between 30-50mph), infact, if that was a tin top I'd have the shell off you, pull the front end out and race it next meeting

[bmw9818]

how's the abs pump and pipes?

[George]

Glad everyone was ok.

Lucky the car didn't flip, I've always accepted that should that occur in the cab, it'll be a case of 'game over'.

[Gert_8]

Hey boys, whatever. The fact is the car got totalled and the people walked free. Do we really need to look for the guy on the grassy knoll?!

What?!!? Of course we do- this is the Zone, he's lucky the witch hunt hasn't started requiring factual evidence of his 70mph statement

So where's the evidence?

[Speedtouch]

This was my Tech 2 Sport after hitting a steel central reservation crash barrier at around 70 mph:





Again, I was fortunate to walk away without a scratch. The car bounced off the barrier, and ended up on the other side of the dual carriageway banking!

So, the OP's crash is feasible, assuming the concrete bridge had a crash barrier of some sort. The damage to the bonnet and bumper look almost identical.

[suchy]

I remember this! How fast must you have been going before then if you collided at 70??

[Speedtouch]

Believe it or not, I was cruising along on the inside lane of the dual carriageway, taking it easy because there was a torrential downpour going on. I hit a lake of standing water and mud draining off from a field, and the car aquaplaned and suddenly flipped at what seemed like 90 degrees, and went head-on into the barrier on the outside lane.

Ironically, if I had been going faster in the outer lane, it wouldn't have happened as the standing water was only on the inside lane.

[macas]

Iv got a white vert shell in super condition..all it needs body work wise is a drivers side sill and a rear quarter...im giving it away free if anyone wants...or its going to the weighbridge....

[TheDutch]

This was my Tech 2 Sport after hitting a steel central reservation crash barrier at around 70 mph...
I was fortunate to walk away without a scratch. The car bounced off the barrier, and ended up on the other side of the dual carriageway

So, the OP's crash is feasible, assuming the concrete bridge had a crash barrier of some sort. The damage to the bonnet and bumper look almost identical.

The OPs claim could only be feasible if it was a glancing blow (as in your case), or if the speed was grossly exaggerated. The only way they'd be getting out of an E30 after experiencing 70mph straight into a bridge is in a biological waste bag once they'd taken the engine off their lap.

To put it in perspective, here's a Passat of similar vintage being examined at around 60mph: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C52kyLzquW0

People shouldn't get the idea that E30s are in any way safe, especially in an accident against an immovable object or another car.

[Ajsingh]

Same as maurice, it was a bridge with concrete post supporting it, the car bounced off the bridge and spun into the kerb.

Again im surprised it didnt flip. Good both lads walked away

[e301988325i]

Probably was doing 70 when he lost it, the main thing is that there isn't one single impact point, there were a few knocking the speed down each time, bending the front legs across would have taken a lot of energy out of the vehicle without harming the occupants.