Safety

[vwdmc16]

I had a used 1991 MR2 once, and the steering was electric, and felt quite precise. However, on stand still, the car would emit a little electric humming sound when you turn the steering wheel, just for a brief 3 sec..

I looked this up, I had never hear about electric steering in a car back then, It seems its still conventionally hydraulic but uses a strong 12v motor to pump the fluid instead of the engine

[David T]

Electric assisted power steering is getting more and more popular. On the hybreds they have to use it because the motor gets turned off a lot, especially when moving slow. The A/C is also run by an electric motor so you still have cooling. The throttle is now fully FBW (Fly By Wire) and you can expect over time more and more of the controls will no longer be directly controlled, your inputs will be filtered through a computer and then outputted to servos to control the car safer than you can. Some things make no sense adding to an older car like air bags or ABS. IMHO the third brake light is the best thing you can do. It is not lit till you brake and no one can confuse tailights with brake lights. It gets your attention and that is important with everyone playing with their cellphones while they drive. The small convex mirrors are also helpful once you get used to them. For those of you that are really safety conscious, I recommend a regular check of tire pressures and light bulbs. The best insurance is a well maintained car. One of the most dangerous situations can be getting stuck on the side of the road especially at night. Someone can follow you right off the shoulder and right up your a--.
David Teitelbaum

[dustybarn]

Even if the mystery of this Esprit-DMC difference is solved there isn't much chance for a mod to improve the radius. No biggie.

I wonder if it would be possible to build a multipart swaybar, with the trailing links made as separate parts attached to a straight center torsion bar. The trailing links could be made very stiff to better locate the LCA fore-and-aft, and could potentially be made with a bend to avoid the tire and tighten the turning radius. Then the center torsion bar or tube could be made to any desired stiffness.

I'm thinking of the torsion bar suspension I used to see on sprint cars, with separate aluminum arms splined onto the torsion springs.

[Exolis]

Living in Michigan, I can easily do away with Direct bond with the road. I'm sure it's great in places like Florida where Pot holes are unknown to drivers.

Also, the ABS idea is nice, but would need considerable amount of modification done and engineering. I personally would love to see someone drive a car made within the past 7 years(at least), disconnect the fuse to ABS and see how well it does without it. Chances are, not good at all. Cars today have very accurate and very fast reacting ABS system and they have integrated other systems such as traction control in a system now refereed to VDC (vehicle dynamic control). Disabling this also means causing functional issues with Airbags, the Meter, and other important systems.

Typical collision avoidance systems would be a great help too. There is a group effort by a lot of OEMs for a Collision Avoidance system being networked wireless in the Ann Arbor area, about 2,500 vehicles are participating in the study. But it does require installation of an OEM avoidance system amongst other things to use that.

[David T]

On many cars you don't have to pull fuses, they have a switch that will disable the ABS and the traction control. I agree some will drive badly without it on. My new Yukon has collision avoidance, there is a warning icon in the side view mirror when someone is in your blind spot. I can see the day when cars will talk to each other and warn each other.
David Teitelbaum

[TTait]

I have played with several aftermarket rear view mirrors, autodim, compass, back up mirror, temp display etc. You have to build a mounting tab with 4 -5 square inches of surface area and then use the VHB (red) 3M tape. That tab has a standard metal windshield mounting tab glued and screwed to it - never any hint of damage to the windshield, even with 120 degree days.

I have convex side mirrors, and very highly recommend them.

I'm running a back up camera on one of my D's unobtrusive and works well - a nice add - but its paired with a rear view mirror/monitor that is sub par - not bright enough for use in bright daylight. Also tied in is an inductive back up sensor that detects items within about 30" of the rear bumper - works well enough. All of the above is tied into the back up circuit, obviously, but I am also using an aux. (unmarked defrost) switch in the center console where I can turn the camera on while driving if desired - fun mod to show guests in the car, but it turns out to have little practical purpose. Yes I am using a diode to prevent energizing the back up lights if I flip it on from the switch.

My brake light LEDs are not as bright as the old incandescent ones (I'm sure there are better ones today - these are circa 2008. I opted to install them in the inboard brake light locations left and right, and keep the incandescents in the outboard locations. The LEDS bang on super fast and the incandescents warm up and come on 20 or 30 milliseconds later. I consider that the best of both worlds - fast, and bright.

The front brace bar is a nice add though purists claim its a placebo and technically does nothing.

I'm also running aftermarket horns - louder than stock and they seem to hold up better - even with them rear facing my oem horns were petering out after a few years even with mostly dry driving and good connections.

I'm also running aftermarket seatbelts - not the same receiver, but they work very well.

Finally - one no one has mentioned - Bluetooth integrated into the stereo.. I can take and make calls easily without breaking the law, or the car.

Tom