[Moto$apien]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Any ways, I give 10/10 to Tata for this, shivers are still running down my spine thinking of a tyre burst at 100 kph in a 2.3 tonne monster without any ESP or TCS.

That was quite an adventure! and full marks to Tata!!

regarding TPMS; with the amount of traffic on roads these days, it is usually some good samaritan who point to my cars when it runs out of air

[2500cc]

Originally Posted by Moto$apien

Congrats @Anuruddhs on your new Ride!! the 3rd Picture shared by you is really accentuating the car's menacing looks many fold! A nudge guard with auxillary lamps would complete the look.
Did you find the multi LED DRLs bright enough, considering most other cars have a discreet single bright line ala the baleno/endeavor/XUV

Please avoid suggesting after market fittings like nudge guards and bullguards, which might potentially stop the airbag sensors from triggering in case of accidents.

[Moto$apien]

Thanks for the friendly and valid suggestion. I recommended only if it available as an official accessory with crash sensors on the guard instead of the bumper frame.

Checked that such a guard is not available. However TPMS with 4 external sensors and Head-Up display for Hexa is available for 15k thereabouts.

[su_spatil]

Originally Posted by Anuruddhs

Hi , On the auspicious day of akshay tritiya I took the delivery of my Hexa XTA.

Hearty congratulations on your proud acquisition. Happy motoring

[motorworks]

Recently test drove a Hexa on behalf of an office colleague. Mighty impressed!
The car felt very solid, had loads of features, brakes worked quite good and the ride was superb! I have not been in the new Innova crysta, but I can tell you that the Hexa is miles ahead of the old Innova and should be a great option for someone looking at a 7 seater SUV less than 20 lakhs!

But the car felt misplaced in a very outdated showroom here at BTM, Bangalore which looked like a spot for selling commercial vehicles.

Maybe Tata should create different dealerships to experience cars like the Hexa and other new premium cars like Racemo etc, something on the lines of the Nexa, but probably overlaps can exist considering Tata doesn't have that kind of wide line up that Maruti has today.

[Rahul Rao]

@VKumar
Have you rolled the front seats ahead completely, and then adjust the recline position to its forwardmost.
Or have you removed the front head rest / neck restrainant too.
Rahul

[speedguy]

Originally Posted by 2500cc

Please avoid suggesting after market fittings like nudge guards and bullguards, which might potentially stop the airbag sensors from triggering in case of accidents.

Although you have suggested this out of safety concern, airbags are not dependent upon front bumper!
Let me explain in a short.
Airbags deploy when vehicle 'decelerates' suddenly. Contrary to popular belief, there are no crash sensors installed inside front bumpers. Airbags are ECU operated which calculates sudden deceleration.
Deceleration values are much much higher during crash. So ECU easily differentiates between hard braking & hard crash.
There are two powder form chemicals kept inside a canister which triggers a blast when ECU sends a signal. The chemical blasts Nitrogen gas inside airbag which deploy at a speed of around 200 kmph.

So there is no problem installing accessories as long as it is not affecting ECU performance!

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by speedguy

Although you have suggested this out of safety concern, airbags are not dependent upon front bumper!
So there is no problem installing accessories as long as it is not affecting ECU performance!

Can you share the source of your information? There are numerous incidents reported in this forum where air bags fail to deploy as the crash could not activate the sensors which in turn activate the deployment.

IMO the crash guards transfers the crash directly to the chassis and affects the functionality of the crumple zones making the vehicle prone to more damages in case of serious crash.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by speedguy

Although you have suggested this out of safety concern, airbags are not dependent upon front bumper!
Let me explain in a short.
Airbags deploy when vehicle 'decelerates' suddenly. Contrary to popular belief, there are no crash sensors installed inside front bumpers. Airbags are ECU operated which calculates sudden deceleration.
Deceleration values are much much higher during crash. So ECU easily differentiates between hard braking & hard crash.
There are two powder form chemicals kept inside a canister which triggers a blast when ECU sends a signal. The chemical blasts Nitrogen gas inside airbag which deploy at a speed of around 200 kmph.

So there is no problem installing accessories as long as it is not affecting ECU performance!

Airbags do work based on the impact sensors located on the steel/composite bumper behind the plastic bumper cover which is usually termed as the bumper here. Installation of bullbars does affect the deployment of airbags as it affects the proper functioning of crash sensors unless they are OE designed or OE approved accessory. For vehicles with side airbags there are side impact sensors too. And on vehicles equipped with airbags there is an airbag control module separate from ECU.

If the vehicle has impact sensors on the front bumper. Do not install non OE approved bullbars. If the vehicle doesn't have impact sensors on the front bumper and uses a cabin mounted crash sensor then probably you can mount a bullbar but you need to confirm with manufacturer.

[Anuruddhs]

The airbags in the vehicle are controlled by a central Airbag control unit[84] (ACU), a specific type of ECU. The ACU monitors a number of related sensors within the vehicle, including accelerometers, impact sensors, side (door) pressure sensors,[85][86] wheel speed sensors, gyroscopes, brake pressure sensors, and seat occupancy sensors. The bag itself and its inflation mechanism is concealed within the steering wheel boss (for the driver), or the dashboard (for the front passenger), behind plastic flaps or doors which are designed to "tear open" under the force of the bag inflating. Once the requisite 'threshold' has been reached or exceeded, the airbag control unit will trigger the ignition of a gas generator propellant to rapidly inflate a fabric bag. As the vehicle occupant collides with and squeezes the bag, the gas escapes in a controlled manner through small vent holes. The airbag's volume and the size of the vents in the bag are tailored to each vehicle type, to spread out the deceleration of (and thus force experienced by) the occupant over time and over the occupant's body, compared to a seat belt alone.
The signals from the various sensors are fed into the Airbag control unit, which determines from them the angle of impact, the severity, or force of the crash, along with other variables. Depending on the result of these calculations, the ACU may also deploy various additional restraint devices, such as seat belt pre-tensioners, and/or airbags (including frontal bags for driver and front passenger, along with seat-mounted side bags, and "curtain" airbags which cover the side glass). Each restraint device is typically activated with one or more pyrotechnic devices, commonly called an initiator or electric match.
The airbag sensor is a MEMS accelerometer, which is a small integrated circuit with integrated micro mechanical elements. The microscopic mechanical element moves in response to rapid deceleration, and this motion causes a change in capacitance, which is detected by the electronics on the chip that then sends a signal to fire the airbag. The most common MEMS accelerometer in use is the ADXL-50 by Analog Devices, but there are other MEMS manufacturers as well.
Today, airbag triggering algorithms are becoming much more complex. They try to reduce unnecessary deployments and to adapt the deployment speed to the crash conditions. The algorithms are considered valuable intellectual property. Experimental algorithms may take into account such factors as the weight of the occupant, the seat location, seatbelt use, and even attempt to determine if a baby seat is present.

[Kishen.padiyar]

Originally Posted by speedguy

Airbags deploy when vehicle 'decelerates' suddenly. Contrary to popular belief, there are no crash sensors installed inside front bumpers.

I agree but with a small correction. It is not just rapid deceleration to a very high extent that causes the Airbag ECU to initiate an explosion to inflate the airbags but a rapid acceleration as well. The latter comes in to the picture when a stationary car equipped with airbags gets hit by another vehicle from the front.

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

IMO the crash guards transfers the crash directly to the chassis and affects the functionality of the crumple zones making the vehicle prone to more damages in case of serious crash.

Even if we remove airbag inflation from the picture, one area where these bull bars and other such fancy accessories create a potentially hazardous situation is impact absorption for pedestrian and occupant safety. So it's better to stay away from such fittings. Having said that I think the fiber ones that integrate in to the bumper and also host auxiliary lights are worth considering - as they add to the looks and at the same time do not compromise on safety (something like the one on the Duster adventure edition).

[speedguy]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

Can you share the source of your information? There are numerous incidents reported in this forum where air bags fail to deploy as the crash could not activate the sensors which in turn activate the deployment.

IMO the crash guards transfers the crash directly to the chassis and affects the functionality of the crumple zones making the vehicle prone to more damages in case of serious crash.

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/airbags.html
This is in public domain. There are numerous SAE papers on this. I can not share them here as my company has bought them paying considerable price.

Crash being not activated might be because of various reasons. If your crash does not generated required deceleration, or vehicle still kept moving after crash.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by speedguy

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/airbags.html
This is in public domain. .

It says that accelerometer triggers the circuits to activate air bags in case of crash. These accelerometers are placed behind the bumpers as power my knowledge. The crash guards or bull bars tempers with the functioning of these sensors and hence they are not advisable.

[speedguy]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

It says that accelerometer triggers the circuits to activate air bags in case of crash. These accelerometers are placed behind the bumpers as power my knowledge. The crash guards or bull bars tempers with the functioning of these sensors and hence they are not advisable.

Saurabh, accelerometers are non contact type. Irrespective of their position they can identify deceleration & sends signal accordingly.
Anuruddhus has posted nice write up regarding this. I hope it clears many doubts regarding airbag deployment.
Please note point number 2, where role of accelerometer is explained

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by speedguy

Saurabh, accelerometers are non contact type. Irrespective of their position they can identify deceleration & sends signal accordingly.
Anuruddhus has posted nice write up regarding this. I hope it clears many doubts regarding airbag deployment.

What do you say regarding this?

"It is with these dangers in mind, that ARB’s engineers approach the subject of fitting bull bars to such vehicles, with the concern being that fitting a rigid structure, not behaving the same as the original frontal characteristics of the vehicle, may change the deployment timing of the air bag."

http://www.arb.com.au/ask-arb-air-bag-compatibility/

Anyone reading this planning on installing a locally made bull bar. Don't expect for the airbags to function normally once you have them on. If you must, buy a properly made and tested unit either OE or quality aftermarket who has done the testing.