11 replies to this topic

[giner88]

i was going to fit my drop bracket the other day but next door to me said if i do that and have a crash the steering wheel will smash into me crushing me............. Where as if i leave it how it originaly was its far more safer as the steering wheel travels up and misses the driver, thats how it was designed.

i have never heard this before? is this just something the crazy man nextdoor made up or is it a real issue?

[miniman retford]

Well i remember fitting one to my first mini in 1973 & they still make them so i'm thinking they should be ok

Edited by miniman retford, 06 March 2012 - 02:19 PM.

[samsfern]

Would have to be a serious impact, in which you would definately be deceased, to move the steering collumn!

[AVV IT]

It depends entirely on the type of collision you are involved in and whole number of individual circumstances relating to that collision. In a certain sort of collision, then in theory using a drop bracket moves the steering column closer to your abdomen, meaning you're more likely to strike against it in a impact and receive potentially fatal abdominal injuries. However you could equally argue that in a different sort of collision, a drop bracket moves the steering column further away from your head & face and therefore reduces your risk of striking your head against it in an impact, and therefore receiving fatal head injuries as a result.

Basically nobody could tell you for certain which is the safer option either way. Nobody has ever crash tested a number of classic minis with and without drop brackets fitted, in order actually to find out for sure. So it's all down to hypothesis of what might, or might not happen in a certain sort of impact. The notion that the classic mini steering column was actually designed in such a position, as to not come into contact with the driver during an impact, is utterly ridiculous. The position of the classic mini steering column was designed back in the fifties, long before occupant safety in the event of a collision was ever a consideration in automotive design.

Would have to be a serious impact, in which you would definately be deceased, to move the steering collumn!

I disagree, in a road traffic collision a driver can strike the steering column & cause damage to it, without necessarily receiving fatal injuries as a result. It all depends on how hard the occupant has struck the steering column, what damage they have sustained and how quickly that injury is detected and treated. Colliding with it does however significantly increase the risk of serious injury though, which is why Doctors & Paramedics who are called to road accidents, often inspect the steering wheel/column first to look for any deformity or damage to it, that might indicate that the driver has been in contact with it and therefore have associated injuries from it.

[Ethel]

It probably is less safe, for the reason you suggest, but there are many other factors such as the wheel itself and if the the drop bracket will deform.

One certainty is that it is dangerous to fit one without slackening the rack's clamps, so it can realign with the column.

[Ivor Badger]

The mini is designed so that when the front subframe is impacted, it pivots round the tower mounts. This forces the rear of subframe into the rack, forced the rack backwards. this then pivots the colunm upwards and backwards at the bottom and the wheel out through the windscreen. So the prophet of doom is wrong and even if correct, how much difference do you thing moving the column down abour 2" at wheel will make to hitting you?

[giner88]

how much difference do you thing moving the column down abour 2" at wheel will make to hitting you?

i heard 2" makes alot of difference HAHAHA

anyway thanks guys for your help but i think im gunna not bother fitting it. was only a couple of quid so hardly the end of the world

Edited by giner88, 06 March 2012 - 05:10 PM.

[Cooperman]

Personally I always fit one and always have done so. It makes the driving position much more comfortable and I've never believed any sort of additional injury risk exists.

[PAWL3Y]

sorry this is unrelated but actually how good are steering drop brackets? are they easy to fit also?

[mab01uk]

Easy to fit but as said slacken the rack u-bolt clamps on the floor before dropping the column down so the steering rack can pivot down, then retighten them when drop bracket is fitted.........some people don't do this and just force the column down which damages the rack and can be very dangerous!

A Mini steering column is dangerous in an accident when compared with any modern car along with lack of any front crumple zone to absorb impact energy..........so the least of your worries is the column angle I think!

Edited by mab01uk, 06 March 2012 - 07:06 PM.

[AVV IT]

sorry this is unrelated but actually how good are steering drop brackets? are they easy to fit also?

They're easy to fit as it just involves slackening off the steering rack bolts, undoing the pinch bolt that connects the column to the lower dash rail, then fitting the bracket between the two and tightening everything back up again.

The most difficult bit is removing the pinch bolt, as on many models the pinch bolt is actually a "shear bolt", where the hexagonal head used to turn/tighten it is sheared off in the factory at the correct torque. Removing it can therefore be troublesome, as their is nothing to actually put a spanner/socket on. You can get around it by using a hammer and punch to turn the bolt with, or by cutting a slot in the head of the bolt with a junior hacksaw and then using a large screwdriver to turn it. Obviously the shear bolt gets damaged using either technique, so you will need a new replacement bolt to put back in afterwards.

"How good" they are, is a complete matter of preference. Many people find that they give an improved and much more comfortable driving position. I didn't get on with mine so I removed it and much preferred the non dropped standard position, once I went back to it. I found that the dropped column got in the way when I was getting in and out of the car, and that it meant that the steering wheel also obscured my view of the speedometer. My missus who has a 33" inside leg, discovered that with steering column dropped, she couldn't move her right knee across in order to apply the brake and so when moving my mini on the drive managed to crash it into our caravan!!

...... Whether that was more of a "women drivers" issue, than a "drop bracket" one though, is another matter!!

Edited by AVV IT, 06 March 2012 - 07:09 PM.

[charie t]

Would have to be a serious impact, in which you would definately be deceased, to move the steering collumn!

I disagree, in a road traffic collision a driver can strike the steering column & cause damage to it,

Sam didnt say the driver moving to the column, he said to move the column. As the original poster asked about the way the column reacts in a crash. You could bang your knee on the column getting in the car, it would be no fault of the column position