Safer Cobras???

[BILL WARREN]

SO WHY CAN-NOT THE COBRA MAKERS BUILT A BETTER AND SAFER COBRA EVEN IF IT COST SOME-WHAT MORE AND A FEW MORE LBS???

I WOULD PAY MORE FOR IT!!!


BILL WARREN
WICHITA, KANSAS

[turnpike boy]

Bill, you've kind of missed the point.

There is no question the cars can be built somewhat safer - Midstates builds door beams and steel plates into their cars in an attempt to make them more crash-worthy. A noble idea, but carries a huge weight penalty with it and really does alter the overall effect of the car. Certain makes also have added substantial length to the wheelbase to slow down car reaction to driver input. Roll cages can certainly go into them; ABS systems could be added; collapsable columns, air bags, crumple-zone chassis, etc. are all designable and installable - but every one of these mods are alien to the original concept of this particular car. Not even looking at the originality aspect, they also substantially affect the performance and utility of the car.

These cars are meant to move you back to a different time - back to when cars were CARS, not rolling wombs. There is no possibility of question that they are dangerous, inherently so. But you absolutely must acknowledge that it is the operator who has the final say on how it is operated - and that is the final equation on whether or not they are safe.

If you get into a bullring with the bull, you know you have a better-than-even chance of getting hurt. If you go water-buffalo hunting, you know the buff will get even with you if he gets the chance. In other words, if you get into ANY situation that is simply beyond your ability to control it, you're gonna pay. Same with these cars - they will give you almost unbelieveable performance, by the standards of any time period, but extract big demands from YOU at the same time - uncomfortable, noisy, confining, impractical (?), so on and so on. Nobody better EVER get into a Cobra and figure they can drive it in the same vein as, say, a ZO6 Corvette or a Viper or whatever...just too different to be blithely flung down the road.

You need to KNOW what you're going to do, first; you need to KNOW how these cars respond to your inputs; you need to KNOW that inappropriate handling WILL lead to potentially disastrous consequences. In other words, USE YOUR HEAD!! - not your testosterone.

[Ron61]

Turnpikeboy,

You are correct as the cars now being built are far safer than the old originals and some of the older kits. So far as making any car safe enough someone can't kill themselves in it I think has been proven not likely to happen. If you gave some people an Abrams tank to drive they would manage to wreck it and kill themselves. The greatest single safety component of any car is the driver. And I don't care if they are a professional race car driver or just the average drive to the store type. And no matter how safe anyone drives thay can't always avoid the mistakes of others. Eg, coming around a blind curve on the wrong side. Accidents will happen. All we can do is be responsible drivers, learn to handle our cars, don't race in places where others are indangered, ( tracks excepted ), and use good judgement. So what if some jerk calls you or your car junk because you won't race him in town. Most likely you will get to see them loading his car on a car hauler on the way to the junk yard sooner or later.

Ron

[turnpike boy]

R61, you got it right. Totally right.

There is no bigger variable, to anything in life, than the human that is attempting to accomplish the task. Flying, driving, smoking, eating, scr*wing, shooting, whatever - it is, absolutely and completely, the human that will determine the outcome.

[PSB]

The main thing that makes Cobras less safe than other cars is that they are WAY overpowered, but that's part of why we like them so much! Want a safer Cobra? Take out that 514 and put in a 4 cylinder. Or set your rev limiter ot 2000 rpm.


Pete

[Back in Black]

There are several "cobras" that have additional (potential) safety features inherent, such as my West Coast.. BUT.. in reality they are small low sportscars which are high powered and a bit tricky when used at the limit (which almost no one has the ability to use, or should, except on the track, ...or should attempt to discover that they have that ability on the street !) And in a confrontation with a truck/SUV at speed, etc.. they will lose, unless you have energy shields or something


Regarding the people who have no business with any vehicle, much less a HP machine:
The old addage that "your mind is your primary weapon" is of course useless to those with "empty magazines" . Be sure yours is full if you drive a cobra or other HP machine, or PLEASE buy a VW bug or SUV instead. Responsible cobra owners don't need the bad publicity any more than responsible gun owners need the bad pubicity from the (low percentage, but widely publicized) misusers of same.

[Bob In Ct]

Bill:
As a group we (Cobra drivers) are far more concerned with our dyno charts than our driving skills. My $0.02 worth.

Bob

[Bud Man]

Amen to Bob!!!

We don't need safer Cobras, just safer operators.

Part of the safety equation includes the build soundness and maintenance issue. Like motorcycles, these things tend to loosen fasteners due to vibration, and like a motorcycle, should be thoroughly inspected prior to operating it. Also, critical fluid drain points should be safety wired where possible so as not to endanger the folks travelling in your path, as well as yourself.

Like any mechanical object, take care of it and it will return the favor. Now about those Hummers.........

Bud