usuck

Just wondering if any one knows how to disable the air bag on a civic for auto-x?
Are there any companies that sell a switch to turn them on and off?


[Modified by usuck, 3:28 AM 4/17/2002]

SPiFF

Pull the fuse.

usuck

sorry for the newbie questions.

Mike P.

You want to disable your airbags for auto-x?

usuck

I just want to run on the practice days, without my bags deploying!

MaddMatt

The only time I've ever seen an airbag deploy at an autocross was when an RX7 hit a tree.

usuck

Thanks, I was reading the Honda manual and it has all of those warnings about the airbags goig off - so I thought I would ask!

Trickturn

AIRBAGS WILL DEPLOY IF THE FUSE IS TAKEN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES, IM YELLING IT!!

The only way to really do it is disconnect the actual plugs from the airbags... follow the instructions in your manual to know how to do it PROPERLY. If you dont do it exactly the way the book tells you... POOF! Your other option would be to take out the puter or the airbags completely.

Pete

usuck

Sorry for another stupid question, but... If I pull the ground cable on the batterey
and then pull the fuses, will the bags still deploy? Or am I just better off leaving them alone?

Crack Monkey

For autocross, just leave them alone. As Matt said, the only time they deploy is when you need them to deploy, which is rare at autox. The only time I would remove/disable SRS is wheel-to-wheel racing.

usuck

Thanks!!!

MaddMatt

Hitting cones will not deploy the airbags.

Drew M

Disconnect the airbag AND THEN pull the fuse to get rid of the annoying SRS light.


Cobra - Who disabled the SRS in every vehicle he owns

SJR

I guess this is a little off-topic, but I am surprised that you, Drew, such a safety-conscious individual would disable the air bags in all your vehicles? Did you mean all your track vehicles, or the street-driven ones as well? I am fairly certain that air bags are a *good* thing (provided they work as they were intended to) on the streets - at least based on all the propaganda I have heard. Luckily, I have never had on deploy on me - so no first-hand experience here...

Maybe I'm wrong or missing something? Please enlighten me, for I am in the dark at the moment.

Drew M

Not one single airbag works in any of my cars. Both street and track. Why? Because I have seen airbags cause further injuries in situations when their deployment didn't do anything to prevent them in the first place. If you bump someone at 35-40MPH and you are wearing your seatbelt you will not be injured however your airbag will deploy. The kevlar bag inflating at Mach 2 via a CO2 chemical reaction equivalent to the force of a shotgun blast then proceeds to become Mike Tyson and your head is his heavy bag. I have seen airbags cause thermal burns, cuts abbrasions, broken teeth, broken noses, broken cheeks and in severe cases whiplash.

Sure an airbag could save you in a severe head-on impact but the majority are side or offset. In either case the bags can and usually will deploy but they have no effect on the outcome of the incident other than you now have more injuries.

Sorry - I will take my chances with the seatbelts.


[Modified by Cobra, 1:51 PM 4/17/2002]

usuck

Out of every wreck i've been in (i was only driving in one of the wrecks), i've never had the luxury of having airbags. Since I survived all of the wrecks, I used to be a critic of airbags - they do more damage than good, etc. But a few months ago my boss put his twin turbo RX-7 into a wall at over 100mph, his air bag worked, and he walked away with a few minor scratches - now I am a believer.
Thanks for all of the respectable responses, that's what sets honda-tech apart from all of the other wanabe sites. Thanks!


[Modified by usuck, 7:10 PM 4/17/2002]

Drew M

I don't plan on putting myself in a situation where my car can go into a wall at 100MPH unless I am wearing full safety gear in a competition-prepped car.

B18CXr

one small phillps screw under the wheel
inside is a red plug
unplug the two yellow connectors
plug the red into the correct yellow
easy as pie, or rolling some R's at CMP

SJR

thanks for clarifying. Personally (and maybe having kids has enhanced my survival instinct) I would rather chance getting (relatively) minor injuries in (relatively) minor crashes and be (potentially) saved in a life-threatening accident. In other words, I'll take the beating from the air bag in a bump if it'll save my face from eating the steering wheel in a big crash! But that's a personal choice. Until the day when someone can show me that that air bags have killed more lives than they have saved, I'll keep mine enabled on the street. I want every single chance to be able to watch my kids grow up. Corny, but true. We each make our own bet with safety and [insert fate/god's will/other BS here]; I sincerely hope we all come out winners in the end.

4doorH22

$0.02 It's a well know fact airbags can cause more injury in low speed collisions over a non-airbag-equipped car, but I think it's not worth the risk to disable it because of that. If I'm sitting still at a red light and some drunk in an SUV collides with me head-on, I'd like to have that airbag there. Most collisions are just beyond your control, ya know?

Edit: err, umm, I think such an impact would deploy the bag...


[Modified by 4doorH22, 2:31 PM 4/17/2002]

Crazydave

Two of my friends were in a collision on the freeway.... smashed straight into a truck

airbags probably helped save there life...

you never know what kind of accident you will be in....
to me... may be worth it..

ianferrell

My father was an emergency room doctor. There are no real stats on just how effective air bags really are, but I promise 99% of the time you want the damn things. I got in a wreck when I was 16, the bags needlessly deployed, but still all it did was cause a little rash like reaction on my passengers face. Please use your airbags. If you sit back they aren't going to get you, though its pretty disheartening to see the white smoke and **** in your car, they've got the stuff perfected pretty well... I mean, hell if you're gonna disable them, might as well take them out and sell them on ebay... its not my ***, and someone else could probably use them

civicrr

Correct way to disable driver's bag.

WhiteHonda

I have seen so many 92-95 civics where the air bag doesn't even go off... i mean who front end is smashed into the middle of the fender and the air bag is still sitting comfy inside the wheel.... i dont even think the bastards work most of the time anyway

Drew M

Guess what I have been doing?