Ways To Make A Cobra Safer

[BamaBrett]

I know.....I know....to use the words "Cobra" and "safe" in the same breath is ridiculous. However, I've been doing a lot of pondering since getting news of that deadly crash in North Carolina. I come from a family of ponderers. So here goes.

Besides the usual devices (seat belts and rollbars), what else can be done to make Cobras safer ? Could air bag systems be fitted to a Cobra ? How about steel I-beams in the doors ?

Are there any steel-bodied Cobras available ?

Have any of y'all installed special safety devices and/or modifications ? If so, please share your ideas with the rest of us. Thanks a bunch and be safe out there !!!


Y'all take it easy now, Brett

[klayfish]

The best way to make it safer....leave it in the garage.

Seriously, that's just the plain facts of these cars. I think airbags would be nearly impossible, due to the complex electronics, and the fact that they are designed to work with the specific vehicle they were originally installed in.

I think door beams are a good idea, and most race cars are set up like that. It will certainly help, but as you pointed out, safety and Cobra shouldn't be used in the same sentence.

The best thing I would do is high back seats, properly built car, wear your belts, and most importantly...drive with your head.

That accident was terribly tragic. But it is an inherent risk in driving a Cobra that you may be hurt or killed if it is wrecked hard.

Steve

[Roscoe]

There is no reason to build in all these safety devices. Just don't drive like an idiot. These cars are dangerous and one accepts the danger, like skydiving, scuba diving, etc. There is only so much safety you can build in. Beyond that is absurdity.

You also have these macho Cobra guys. I recall when I was wreck diving off NJ there was a diver who would go out with us from time to time. We called him 'macho diver' because he used to brag that he never came out of a wreck the same way he went in. Well one day he didn't come out at all! Three days later they pulled him out. Had a nice bag of bugs too (lobsters).

This is one reason our insurance premiums go up or are dropped altogether. You get these guys that want 600+ hp in their cars and then go out and roll themselves into a ball. They think its like having a Supra with a twin turbo. You also have the guys that watch too much of 'Gone in 60 seconds' and like to show off on the streets.

"A man's got to know his limitations!" You also have to know your Cobra and don't drive like an idiot.

Roscoe

[Rich]

As good as making Cobras safer sounds, I think that's looking in the wrong direction. I'm not presuming to know the facts surrounding the fatal Cobra accident last weekend, but I do know this subject comes up about once a year and that’s way too often. In the main thread about the accident someone said, "…simply dropped two wheels off on the shoulder and spun when he pulled back onto the road". That may or may not be what happened and we’ll never know for sure. Whatever the case, it doesn’t hurt to reiterate the importance of driver situational awareness.

One of the first lessons learned in any racing school is that if you go off the pavement, don't jerk the wheel in an effort to get back or you're likely to go shooting sideways across the track. Instead, ride it out and gradually pull back onto the road surface. So far I haven’t had the opportunity to test this out, but I have had two drivers pull this stunt in front of me at speed. The first time was a sideways Alfa GTV that missed taking me out by inches. The second was a 914 that spun all the way across the track into the infield. Six years later I can still visualize both these incidents like it was yesterday.

If you’re driving a Cobra, you’re operating a thinly disguised, or in some cases, undisguised racecar. It never ceases to amaze me how people will spend $20-300K on a Cobra and not fork out another $600 to learn how to operate it safely. Everyone, do yourself and your loved ones (and our insurance premiums) a favor and get some high performance driver training and please, be careful.

Rich

[dscott]

Well said and good advise Rich!
Don

[Doug Axelrod]

I agree that the best way to make a cobra safer is to have the driver trained. I'm grateful to have had some training at Bondurant and more at VIR. I intend to do more of both this year. This is the best gift for a cobra owner, or someone about to take delivery. Now, I entirely understand that a small patch of black ice, or a terrible drive in another car who is excited by your ride, can do worse for a cobra than a more safely-made car. But I still argue that dollar for dollar, it's the live-ware that's limiting.

[bwana50]

I agree with the others - not much you can do with the car (though I did add hi-back seats), so educate your mind and discipline your right foot. Best bet is avoiding the accident in the first place.

[John 550]

ERA incorperates safty in the design , the doors are renforced with metal , the frame pieces that attach the bumper are designed to colapse , I think the steering shaft to the wheel are designed to collaps , the rear bumper hard ware is made to not rupture the gas tank .
If you want to go fast , go to the track . It may take a few passes to get it out of your system but , you will say " I don't know why guys don't go to the track to go fast "!

[rdorman]

Safe driver is always a must.

But beyond that. Inpact zones, Bracing in the door is all well and good but must tie into a cross braced area both front and rear. Full height seats with five point harness as a minimum both properly bolted to the frame. Collapsable steering would be nice. Of course a full roll cage or at least a properly built four point (full width) of sufficient height. Windscreen is a tough one. If you are racing, take it off and use the little plastic one. Fuel cell a must. Automatice fuel and engine cut off. Make sure the fuel cell vent and ideally the fuel filler has one way check valves. On board three zone fire system. Gees!!!!! How much money have I spent? Still look like a Cobra? I will slow down a bit and be careful. After all, who was it that survived at 175 crash in Lemans?

[RACER X #99]

The very sad incident that claimed two lives in NC just reinforces my ideas about big HP street driven cars no matter what brand. While an awful lot of us like to boast about how much HP we have only a hand full here realize that all that HP belongs on the racetrack.

While I advocate everyone should learn to drive a performance car at a high performance school. I also beleive that is the only place where high speed driving should take place.
I have no idea why this crash occured but the fact that a friend was a passenger certainly seems the possibility of a performance demonstration taking place.

Proficiency at a driving school does not make one a proficient performance driver on the street.

Ways to make a Cobra safer is about as easy as making a motorcycle safer.

Cranky

[Carroll DeWeese]

I agree that driver training is critical. Everyone who owns a Cobra should factor the cost of a high performance driving school into the cost of the car as a given. ALWAYS treat the Cobra with respect. Anyone driving a Cobra is basically driving a street legal race car among cars and drivers that are are mpre variable and more unpredictable than on a race track. PREVENTION and ANTICIPATION are keys to staying out of trouble. If something can go wrong, it probably will go wrong at some point.

Even though I do not plan to race my car (other than time trials and autocross), I installed a racing fuel cell in my car. I am concerned that someone will ram my car in the rear. Cobras have better brakes than most any car behind them. A Cobra does not have a spare tire to add protection in a crash from the rear. Thus Cobras are vunerable from fuel tank fires when rear ended. I also have full racing harness for both driver and passenger. Anyone riding with me will have to wear their harness. I also installed dual roll bars. What is good for the driver is good for the passenger. When building your Cobra, think of the safety of both driver and passenger. Again, PREVENTION is more important than any reaction after the fact.

If safety is an absolute priority, use these cars for show only. Do not drive or start them. You could build one for "safety" but it would not look or handle like an "original" replica. Or you could buy a "new" car. You can not match a modern, new production car for crush zones, air bags, etc.

I love these cars. I hope that the people that drive them will never drive them over their skill level. It does not take too many abuses and accidents to spoil the fun for all of us. We do not need the social police on our backs.

[Jamo]

My Butler is/was about as safe as you can build them--door beams (the doors clunk when you close them) and huge beams under the dash and rear bulkhead...and I wouldn't trust them for a minute in a wreck!

Real driver's training (a two to three day course) should be a given! I wished all of the insurance companies required it for these cars--all cars for that matter.

To me, the biggest thing is defensive driving--presume stupidity of the other drivers around you and drive for the conditions.

Turk is a pain in the ass to take long drives with--most of the time--cruises like he's from East LA--heralds back to his Greyhound days. Slower than sh!t!!!! Yet--going down the slope into Vegas, as safe as he is, Pat and I watched an SUV jump in front of his ass and hit the brakes. Turk and his ERA had a choice between more SUVs to the right or a cliff to the left--but he got his car slowed in time--mostly due to his alertness and rational speed. Understand--this same immigrant will haul ass through Death Valley where the conditions make [some] sense.

Make sure you're not in someone's blind spot, and watch the lookey-loos as they creep towards you. And--as Cranky has said over and over again--take it to the track if you're looking to have extreme fun.

[TNarchtct]

A fellow Snake handler, Weendoggy was kind enough to send me a copy of his recently completed tape of his group's "Snakes to the Lake 2002" trip to Lake Tahoe. It shows a group of responsible Cobra enthusiast enjoying a road trip in great weather, having loads of fun, safely. We can set our own insurance rates, risk class, etc. by driving responsibly and obeying the law. We must keep the racing on the racetrack. If we don't we could just price ourselves out of a very enjoyable hobby.

[casaleenie]

I'm curious if are any records kept..... How many people were killed or seriously injured in Cobras last year????? Do they have a significantly higher mortality or accident rate than other high performance cars? Percentage wise, are they stolen at a higher rate than say, Corvettes or Porsches?(sp)

or is it the reverse? Is more care taken because of the cost, performance, time in building, pride in your achievement?

[Roscoe]

Call some of the companies that insure them (or used to insure them.)

Roscoe

[CSX 4027]

I have always preached safety but, the Cobra can only be as safe as the education and skill of the driver.

If you know you have a loaded gun you handle it with repect so you don't shoot your foot off or hurt someone you love.

Every driver should have his own check list that is always checked before you turn the key.

I have seen many never even check tire pressures. After you drive, check for loose bolts anywhere and everywhere. Lots of horsepower leads to lots of vibration and bolts that will move.

Put a wrench on it!! Thats the only way you are going to know it loosened up unless you mark every bolt.

As a former 4000 owner I cxan tell you that even after a 30 minute street drive I found things backing off. It happens!!

Whatever the reason for the tragic loss I am sad and my respects go out to the family..

[BamaBrett]

I think I'll look into the head-rest idea. Driving school sounds important, too. After all, the life I save might be my own

By the way, are there any steel-bodied Cobras in existence??




Y'all take it easy now, Brett

[Cobrabill]

Accident stats with regards to Cobra's vs Vettes or what ever other car you choose are totally pointless as no other car is so "ill-mannered" in the handling department.

Another thing that would skew the numbers is percentages.Our Cobras are still the vast minority vs the"rest of the world".There are too many idiots that just can't comprehend them.

The survey i'd like to see is the one where we see how many Cobra owners have previous high powered car/racing experience BEFORE buying a Cobra.

This would be versus the owners who bought one because they"thought they(the car)were cool"or have always wanted one and now have the means($$)and have been driving VW Beetles their whole life.

And to put heavier frame structures,air bagsand steel bodies on these cars would push the weight past new Mustangs.It is bad enough to have a 2500 pound car that is squirrelly,but to ask for one that is 3-4000 pounds is insane.

The ONLY effective safety device for a Cobra is a tight connection between the seat & the steering wheel.

[Whaler]

many originals left because these beasts were way too much to handle for the average joe.
Anyone have those stats?

As stated earlier, a race car under a thin disquise. Think of the power to weight ratio, acceleration etc. Tiny little car were one can practically lean an arm out and drag your knuckles on the pavement.

Hell lets put the speed demon race mentality aside and think about being t-boned in an intersection by some dufous running a light ( defensive driving right Jamo?)
How about getting clipped by any one of the SUV's or a new Dodge Ram...May as well wrap me up in that.

Whats a rear ender going to do for us?

One good thing, we have the acceleration to get out of some possible scenes.....hopefully we are alert and defensive enough to be on the ball and do something about it.

Anyone ever see that video of the british cobra doing its burn across the English country side at higher speeds? Now there's a sight...what a road as well...........crazy.

I guess he knows his roads and the potential dangers.

Speed rated tires? Road Hazards?

You name it it can happen

How about the few who have no safety hoops on their driveshafts? Or no steel scattershields?

Anything can happen. Cheesy battery setups next to fuel systems? All to be had within 2 feet of each other in the trunk.
Even where you "frame run" your battery leads/ brake lines or fuel lines....all take on new meaning when a driveshaft lets go.

I could go on.........just beware and expect the unexpected.

Tim

[Excaliber]

I think West Coast builds the "safest" Cobra. The penalty is weight. I HATE weight! Guess I'll just have to risk it..........

As for me, when I'm driving with a passenger, I find it's VERY easy to get distracted talking to them over the noise of the pipes. You don't have to be "speeding" to drop a wheel off the side of the road.........

Ernie