[finndawg]

So recently I have been thinking a lot about cars and the way that they are designed.
i have been thinking a lot on traction and how to make the car safer in a crash.
I have also been thinking about taking the panels off a car and replacing them with a more lightweight material like canvas.
I understand the car would be a lot more dangerous on the road but I'm curious about what others think.

so basically the idea is that in front of all 4 wheels you have a heavy thick piece of steel. this adds weight to the tires allowing for more traction. In a crash, this would be awesome creating a single point of heavier mass so when another car crashes into you that car is more damaged than yours. Could you create some suspension for the steel in case of a crash allowing for less damage? therefore, creating a really really hard object for the other car to crash into. making it more traction for the driver and some heavy steel in front of them to keep them protected.
this is just an idea I'm not going to build this death machine

Possible downsides:
because it is heavier and the weight is distributed on the wheels  it could slide easier because of where the weight is????
if all cars had them it would mean more devastating crashes??

to be honest, I'm not really sure about any of these kinda loosely strung together thoughts but in my head they make sense.
if you think I'm retarded for my views....... chill, I am only 16 I'm interested in this stuff and I will learn over time

sorry just realised this is probably wrong place to put these ridiculous ideas but ima leave it on for you to read it. get some minds sparking with something creative

[PA]

So heavy car versus lighter car that is designed to dissipate the energy as the car crashes. Here is one they prepared earlier. The longer the car can absorb the energy the better the occupants will survive the crash. 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g</a>

Keep thinking there is lots yet to be discovered.

[finndawg]

this still uses light frames and would have panels on it.  It would also have the heavy and robust of the steel in front of it kinda like a brick wall.

[360c]

this still uses light frames and would have panels on it.  It would also have the heavy and robust of the steel in front of it kinda like a brick wall.

The opposite to what you want in reality. The energy from the impact would be passed through to the cars occupants. You want as much collapsible "car" between the impact point and the occupants to absorb the energy from the crash.

[finndawg]

awesome, that makes heaps of sense. good way fo describing it
edit: now i think about it can't you change the rigidity of the collapsible material to make it so you essentially collapse in slower

[360c]

awesome, that makes heaps of sense. good way fo describing it
edit: now i think about it can't you change the rigidity of the collapsible material to make it so you essentially collapse in slower

Yes, not just the type of material though. Different shapes of the same material collapse at different rates under the same energy. Also different methods of construction eg rivets, welding, glued collapse at different rates.
It is quite a science.

[finndawg]

this is all interesting ill be sure to come back here and post again. thank you

[futurism]

what you want is airbags in the crash structure, this has been played with by some manufacturers, even external airbags that fire immediately before an impact, and continue to inflate as the crash structure crumples

[anotherforumuser]

You only need flubber.