How safe is the e30 really?

[1991 318is]

You have a wreck with the inside of your car. It comes down to acceleration and impact speed of your body. I have also seen people walk away from unbelievable crashes and die in cars with very little damage.
The FMVSS law requires that the manufacturer certify to dealers and distributors that the vehicle is in compliance with FMVSS requirements. The government agency does not actually take vehicles and put them through the tests and then certify them.
From the FMVSS:
"Certification of Compliance - A manufacturer or distributor of a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment shall certify to the distributor or dealer that the vehicle or equipment complies with applicable FMVSSs. Certification of a vehicle must be shown by a label or tag permanently fixed to the vehicle. Certification of equipment may be shown by a label or tag on the equipment or on the outside of the container in which the equipment is delivered."
and:
"Records and Reports - The Secretary reasonably may require a manufacturer of a motor vehicle or item or motor vehicle equipment to keep records, and may require a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer to make reports, to enable the Secretary to decide whether the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer has complied or is complying with the provisions and regulations prescribed under Chapter 301."
Makes you think, huh?

[Mastrcruse]

I would love to see a rollover pic of a vert anyone have one? I feel very safe in my car.

[vectorsc]

I have had personal experience with this one. I have been in 4 e30 wrecks. All of them came out fine, and two of them were very major. Imagine hitting a 12" thick piece of roadway the size of a kitchen table at 100kph. :-( Poor BBS rims.

[Jscotty]

My E30 has been in a couple of major accidents where it was still driveable while the other car was badly damaged if not completely totaled. Most recently I spun out on an exit ramp in the rain and went into one of those ditches that is full of those big grey rocks that are about 24 inches in diameter. Thankfully the car didn't roll over but I was certain that I did some serious damage. The door still opened (which I considered a good sign) so I got out to survey the damage. My primary concern was that I hit the radiator from underneath and possibly some steering components but once I got the car out and all 4 wheels on solid ground, everything was still intact. I had a couple of dents below the bottom of the door of when the car skidded and hit the rocks but other than that, the car remained in one piece.

I admit that I questioned the safety of my E30 when I went from driving my Nissan Quest that has every safety feature that you can think of, to getting behind the wheel of the BMW. But one thing that eventually came to my mind was that in spite of the fact that I am driving a 20 year old car, I am still driving one of the finest automobiles in the world. Compared to my seemingly "safer" Nissan, my E30 handles better, it brakes better, and the vehicle is much more durable.


When I was a burgular alarm technician, I had a situation where I installed a new system in a house and after testing it, I discovered that it was defective. I told the customer that I would have to come back the next day to replace the bad parts. His response was, "I don't feel very safe now!" even though he lived in his house almost 3 years without an alarm system.

Even though cars are generally much safer today than they have ever been, there is this mindset that if a car that does not have multiple airbags and all of the other stuff that they advertise on TV, then that car is considered to be UNSAFE. Back in 1987, a late model E30 was one of the safest cars you could ever own. Does 20 years make a car less safe? I don't think so.

[MikeE30325i]

My E30 has been in a couple of major accidents where it was still driveable while the other car was badly damaged if not completely totaled. Most recently I spun out on an exit ramp in the rain and went into one of those ditches that is full of those big grey rocks that are about 24 inches in diameter. Thankfully the car didn't roll over but I was certain that I did some serious damage. The door still opened (which I considered a good sign) so I got out to survey the damage. My primary concern was that I hit the radiator from underneath and possibly some steering components but once I got the car out and all 4 wheels on solid ground, everything was still intact. I had a couple of dents below the bottom of the door of when the car skidded and hit the rocks but other than that, the car remained in one piece.

I admit that I questioned the safety of my E30 when I went from driving my Nissan Quest that has every safety feature that you can think of, to getting behind the wheel of the BMW. But one thing that eventually came to my mind was that in spite of the fact that I am driving a 20 year old car, I am still driving one of the finest automobiles in the world. Compared to my seemingly "safer" Nissan, my E30 handles better, it brakes better, and the vehicle is much more durable.


When I was a burgular alarm technician, I had a situation where I installed a new system in a house and after testing it, I discovered that it was defective. I told the customer that I would have to come back the next day to replace the bad parts. His response was, "I don't feel very safe now!" even though he lived in his house almost 3 years without an alarm system.

Even though cars are generally much safer today than they have ever been, there is this mindset that if a car that does not have multiple airbags and all of the other stuff that they advertise on TV, then that car is considered to be UNSAFE. Back in 1987, a late model E30 was one of the safest cars you could ever own. Does 20 years make a car less safe? I don't think so.

that was very powerful thank you. lol.

[AndrewBird]

A belt bunched up like that was one of two main factors in Dale Earnhart's death (in addition to no Hans Device).
From CBS Sports report on the final results of NASCARS investigation:
" This meant the adjuster mechanism became cockeyed -- the lower end moved forward -- and the webbing in the left side adjust mechanism bunched up toward the lower end of the mechanism. Belt webbing works best when it remains flat and all of its fibers are pulled at once. When a belt dumps, a greater stress is placed on fewer fibers, and there is a greater risk of tearing. .... the manufacturer contends that had Earnhardt's belts been installed at a proper angle, it may have helped stop the chain reaction of events that led to the ring fractures at the base of his skull that was responsible for his death. "We provide every competitor with a set of instructions how to install the belt," said James H. Voyles, one of Simpson's attorneys. "If you don't follow the set of instructions with a manufacturers product, you may encounter a problem."
The installation pictured above is some real stupid sh*t.

That was more or less my thought on this. The belt being bunched up at the end like that is bad. You need to figure out some way to hook it on flat. I suggest you do what Jordan did:



This is the best way IMO to do it.

[trashcop 80s 80s]

I feel unsafe in my e30 sometimes, maybe because I live in an area where it seems every guy drives a 4door f250 and every woman has a tahoe(maybe that is everywhere now). I have heard parents say that they want to give their 16 year old an SUV b/c they are safe, that is scary.

With my e30 lowered, and the height of most of the vehicles around here, many of them are actually lifted also, the other car would probably hit the very top of the roof. Leaving the front 4x4 axle(which the driver doesn't know how to engage) slamming right into my face.

[Jscotty]

Yeah.. I know people who have that philosophy about giving their kids an SUV. But they fail to realize that an SUV is a safe car IF you know how to drive it. Experienced drivers have been known to roll over an SUV so I am sure that a teenager doing the same thing isnt that far fetched.

But what can you do? It would be great if non-luxury full size cars were still being manufactured in America. Even though they have what they technically call a "full size" car, it isn't as big as full sized cars were back in the 70's and 80's. The only thing you can get these days is a used crown vic from the auction. The new ones are only sold for government, and fleet purposes.

[oh2fly]

85 e30 R3v'd near here yesterday.( Albany, Oregon) Driver tried to elude police with 3 passengers, lost control, hit a Mustang, rolled more than once, and ejected passengers. One is dead, 2 are hurt bad. Car looks like a train drove over it. Was the car unsafe? I say NO. Driver stupidity, and a lack of car control. Very fugly pics on TV. Show me another small sedan that would come out any better in this case. 1 less e30

[browntown]

^^ wasn't me. :-) Got to try and find that clip, portland stations haven't showed it. I'll check the eugene channels.

edit: found it, ouch.

[ptownTSI]

E30's are so cheap these days if you are worried about feeling unsafe and thinking you might buy another vehicle, put a full roll cage in it. It will pay for itself in about two monthly payments depending on what you buy, maybe 3 or 4 if you buy a cheap thing like a scion.

[Jean]

E30's are so cheap these days if you are worried about feeling unsafe and thinking you might buy another vehicle, put a full roll cage in it. It will pay for itself in about two monthly payments depending on what you buy, maybe 3 or 4 if you buy a cheap thing like a scion.

A full cage for a street car ? are you kidding.

[YAN-3]

Eric, where is that bracket mounted to? On my car, it's mounted straight up coming from under my seat (stock for a 4 door?) I've never been inside a 2 door e30, so I don't know how that is setup.



The interior plastic pieces are crap. My dad's e39 pisses him off with all the little buttons breaking.



Wow, that looks pretty dangerous. Why is it mounted that way? Just to have a harness look? I have Corbeau TRS' in my car (is that what your driver seat is) and the stock belts work fine.

honestly its cuz im lazy. i have been meaning to throw a factory seat back in but cant find a good one, also i had to replace my seatbelt for another one, (long story why) and well never got around. i have to do this soon though, cus its a big nicht nicht mit die Polizie

[Fred]

Hey Eric! I have to chime in here; as I'm getting older safety is becoming a concern as well. One of the reasons I sold my 92 SE-R was because I didn't feel safe in it either (but I'll get into that in a minute).

The E30 was pretty safe for its day but is considered average by modern standards. As far as frontal, non-offset crash testing goes, it received a 3 out of 5 star NHTSA rating. I don't know if that was for an airbag or non-airbag car, but that basically means in a severe head on collision the driver will have a high probability of survival but will receive moderate injuries. As we all know, it's a well made car and is structurally sound in the front and rear, but not so much in the side.

Side impact protection is a relatively new concept and the federal government didn't adopt any standards for it until the late 1990s (1997? 1998? I forgot). Reinforcing the side of a vehicle in the 1980s was very, very rare and each manufacturer had their own standard (if at all) of what was a safe side impact threshold.

We've all seen E30s smashed up in the front and rear and most of the time the occupants walk away with only minor injuries, especially if everyone was belted. But these cars don't survive side impacts too well; the area below the C-pillar and even the B-pillar itself aren't known to be the strongest points on these cars.

All in all, they aren't bad in terms of crash safety. However, perception also plays a big factor. Back to my '92 Sentra: I sold it for a variety of reasons but I never felt safe in that thing. I could've swore the entire car was made out of recycled Pepsi cans and I drove like an old lady. After I sold it, I found out that it received a 4 star frontal crash rating and was among the safest cars of its generation. Likewise, one of my family members who once owned an E46 330i drove it like a madman, even in torrential downpours with visibly flooded sections of the highway. He felt very safe in that car and overtrusted the abilities of ABS, DSC, CBC, and the rest of the electronic gizmos. He could have easily died on many occasions.

The point is a safe car is a safe car. You want a safe car because there's no accounting for all the bad and crazy drivers on the road. You can be minding your own business, two hands on the wheel, and alert and still be blindsided by an idiot running a red light or hit from behind by someone on a cell phone changing a CD. All those driving schools won't do much, but a safe car will.

[mtechnik]

. Leaving the front 4x4 axle(which the driver doesn't know how to engage) slamming right into my face.

:shock: :D