โMay-10-2015 12:40 PM
โMay-31-2015 07:53 AM
Skid Row Joe wrote:gotsmart wrote:Skid Row Joe wrote:
...
They are very difficult to tow
Wrong. In addition to the towbar installation, one only needs to a a $20 battery disconnect switch - as recommended in the owners manual.
-put the key to position 1 in the ignition
-put the shifter to "N"
-turn the key to the off position
-wait about 30 seconds for the digital display on the dash to go blank
-disconnect the battery (or use a switch)
done
in that their wheels/tires are different sizes, as well as their wheelbase is so short,
OE rear: 175/55/15 on a 15 inch by 5.5 inch wheel
OE front 155/60/15 on a 15 inch by 4.5 inch wheel
Mercedes did this to promote understeer in the car which it considers safer that oversteer. I'm running 195/55/15s on 15 by 5.5 inch wheels in all 4 corners. The car handles much better the the OE setup.
that the front wheels basketball bounce on tight turns.
That has not been my experience when towing my smart. I'm using a 4 inch drop receiver to keep my towbar level at the base plates on the car. I've seen motorhomes pull into the resort with towbars in receivers 8+ inches above their car's base plates - not just smart cars. There are motohomes out there where the receiver is too high off of the ground.
The safeguard is to tie-off the steering wheel with bungee cords, and pray to God they work.
I don't use a nylon bungee. I use this rubber bungee. It grips the steering wheel and keeps the car from wagging the MH when driving at highway speed in the rutted truck lanes. If the roads in OR and WA didn't have ruts, I would not need the bungee.
Many of the Mercedes Benz dealerships do not like the fact MB builds and sells an entry level city car that does not offer much margin for sales commissions. They barely acknowledge that smart cars are a Mercedes brand. Your post reminds me why my smart has never been to a MB dealer for service.
You basically have to be an engineering graduate to hook one up, is why there's so many pitfalls to deal with them. It's unfortunate that this car is tied directly to Mercedes-Benz, from everything I've read about their reliability and difficulties.
โMay-30-2015 02:34 PM
rjstractor wrote:Skid Row Joe wrote:
Life is too short to drive a car this short in the safety department. You might as well be on a motorcycle for all the safety it affords it's occupants.
Just today I responded to a 3 vehicle rear ender where a Smart was the sandwich filling and a Ford Explorer and a full size Ford van were the rear and front bread. The Smart received about the same amount of front and rear damage as the front of the Explorer and the rear of the van, the driver was uninjured and the Smart was driveable. This was the first accident I have seen involving a Smart and I was impressed with how it held up.
โMay-30-2015 01:10 PM
gotsmart wrote:Skid Row Joe wrote:
...
They are very difficult to tow
Wrong. In addition to the towbar installation, one only needs to a a $20 battery disconnect switch - as recommended in the owners manual.
-put the key to position 1 in the ignition
-put the shifter to "N"
-turn the key to the off position
-wait about 30 seconds for the digital display on the dash to go blank
-disconnect the battery (or use a switch)
done
in that their wheels/tires are different sizes, as well as their wheelbase is so short,
OE rear: 175/55/15 on a 15 inch by 5.5 inch wheel
OE front 155/60/15 on a 15 inch by 4.5 inch wheel
Mercedes did this to promote understeer in the car which it considers safer that oversteer. I'm running 195/55/15s on 15 by 5.5 inch wheels in all 4 corners. The car handles much better the the OE setup.
that the front wheels basketball bounce on tight turns.
That has not been my experience when towing my smart. I'm using a 4 inch drop receiver to keep my towbar level at the base plates on the car. I've seen motorhomes pull into the resort with towbars in receivers 8+ inches above their car's base plates - not just smart cars. There are motohomes out there where the receiver is too high off of the ground.
The safeguard is to tie-off the steering wheel with bungee cords, and pray to God they work.
I don't use a nylon bungee. I use this rubber bungee. It grips the steering wheel and keeps the car from wagging the MH when driving at highway speed in the rutted truck lanes. If the roads in OR and WA didn't have ruts, I would not need the bungee.
Many of the Mercedes Benz dealerships do not like the fact MB builds and sells an entry level city car that does not offer much margin for sales commissions. They barely acknowledge that smart cars are a Mercedes brand. Your post reminds me why my smart has never been to a MB dealer for service.
โMay-30-2015 01:07 PM
rjstractor wrote:It wasn't hit that hard is why it wasn't damaged. Check out YouTube for the off-set collision test done that resulted in a certain fatality. Also, what you're possibly thinking is that just because the car looks undamaged to the extent of severe injuries of the occupants, is deceiving in that the G-forces of having almost NO crumple zone causes severe injuries because of the sudden stopping. It was reported many years ago that the most dangerous G-forces occur in a vehicle without crumple zones and low speed bumpers, like the Jeep Wranglers. They had almost zero crumple capabilities. Severe G-forces are what is the problem. Mercedes-Benz has an off-set collision on YouTube between a Smart Car and a full sized 4 door S-Class Mercedes sedan @ 45 mph. The Smart Car is sent back in the direction it came from, bouncing off the S-Class like a tennis ball. Very scary stuff.Skid Row Joe wrote:
Life is too short to drive a car this short in the safety department. You might as well be on a motorcycle for all the safety it affords it's occupants.
Just today I responded to a 3 vehicle rear ender where a Smart was the sandwich filling and a Ford Explorer and a full size Ford van were the rear and front bread. The Smart received about the same amount of front and rear damage as the front of the Explorer and the rear of the van, the driver was uninjured and the Smart was driveable. This was the first accident I have seen involving a Smart and I was impressed with how it held up.
โMay-14-2015 09:52 PM
Skid Row Joe wrote:
Life is too short to drive a car this short in the safety department. You might as well be on a motorcycle for all the safety it affords it's occupants.
โMay-14-2015 07:47 PM
Skid Row Joe wrote:
...
They are very difficult to tow
Wrong. In addition to the towbar installation, one only needs to a a $20 battery disconnect switch - as recommended in the owners manual.
-put the key to position 1 in the ignition
-put the shifter to "N"
-turn the key to the off position
-wait about 30 seconds for the digital display on the dash to go blank
-disconnect the battery (or use a switch)
done
in that their wheels/tires are different sizes, as well as their wheelbase is so short,
OE rear: 175/55/15 on a 15 inch by 5.5 inch wheel
OE front 155/60/15 on a 15 inch by 4.5 inch wheel
Mercedes did this to promote understeer in the car which it considers safer that oversteer. I'm running 195/55/15s on 15 by 5.5 inch wheels in all 4 corners. The car handles much better the the OE setup.
that the front wheels basketball bounce on tight turns.
That has not been my experience when towing my smart. I'm using a 4 inch drop receiver to keep my towbar level at the base plates on the car. I've seen motorhomes pull into the resort with towbars in receivers 8+ inches above their car's base plates - not just smart cars. There are motohomes out there where the receiver is too high off of the ground.
The safeguard is to tie-off the steering wheel with bungee cords, and pray to God they work.
I don't use a nylon bungee. I use this rubber bungee. It grips the steering wheel and keeps the car from wagging the MH when driving at highway speed in the rutted truck lanes. If the roads in OR and WA didn't have ruts, I would not need the bungee.
โMay-14-2015 06:20 AM
Skid Row Joe wrote:dons2346 wrote:Homely? Yes. But there's a lot more to it........
Life is to short to drive an ugly car
Life is too short to drive a car this short in the safety department. You might as well be on a motorcycle for all the safety it affords it's occupants.
They are very difficult to tow in that their wheels/tires are different sizes, as well as their wheelbase is so short, that the front wheels basketball bounce on tight turns.
The safeguard is to tie-off the steering wheel with bungey cords, and pray to God they work.
โMay-13-2015 11:25 PM
dons2346 wrote:Homely? Yes. But there's a lot more to it........
Life is to short to drive an ugly car
โMay-13-2015 08:11 AM
โMay-13-2015 05:47 AM
Alan_Hepburn wrote:
Having fun with smart cars in San Francisco
โMay-12-2015 09:36 PM
โMay-12-2015 09:33 PM
gotsmart wrote:John & Angela wrote:
OMG. We are smart car famous.
...
We are in year 10 with our smarts and hope they hold on for years to come.
Cheers.
I like mine better. ๐
โMay-12-2015 08:40 PM
John & Angela wrote:
OMG. We are smart car famous.
...
We are in year 10 with our smarts and hope they hold on for years to come.
Cheers.
โMay-12-2015 05:46 PM