fulcrum111 Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi Guys, Just wondering if any of you who have retrofitted an A4 B7 MFSW with dual stage airbag into an A4 B6, have had any experience of the airbags deploying (or not) in an accident. Just looking for more info as a US Audi forum highly recommend not to do this retrofit as the dual stage airbag will most likely not deploy in the event of an accident. I want to do this retrofit but I'm concerned over the safety implications. Appreciate any experience anyone can share with me. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolDave Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 On Audi Forum there's been lots of discussion and posts about fitting a B7 MFSW to a B6. First attempt (wire both ignitors in parallel) seemed OK while the weather was warm but when it got cold the resistance was too low and the airbag warning light came on. Then someone tried wiring only the second stage ignitor which didn't produce any fault codes, but when he had a crash the airbag didn't deploy properly and the driver received significant facial injuries. A two stage airbag isn't designed or tested to deploy the second stage without the first stage deploying either fractionally before or at the same time. I guess you could wire only the first stage ignitor, but then only the small first stage part of the bag would deploy - with the risk of increased facial injuries. I don't think there is a way to safely fit a dual stage airbag to a B6, without replacing the whole airbag system - which would be complex and very expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmspeedy Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 On Audi Forum there's been lots of discussion and posts about fitting a B7 MFSW to a B6.First attempt (wire both ignitors in parallel) seemed OK while the weather was warm but when it got cold the resistance was too low and the airbag warning light came on. Then someone tried wiring only the second stage ignitor which didn't produce any fault codes, but when he had a crash the airbag didn't deploy properly and the driver received significant facial injuries. A two stage airbag isn't designed or tested to deploy the second stage without the first stage deploying either fractionally before or at the same time. I guess you could wire only the first stage ignitor, but then only the small first stage part of the bag would deploy - with the risk of increased facial injuries. I don't think there is a way to safely fit a dual stage airbag to a B6, without replacing the whole airbag system - which would be complex and very expensive. Dave - Have you got the link to the thread with regards to the guy who crashed his car ? because I have done this mod..... but before I did I had a good luck round on various forums to see if there was any evidence of this happening! rather than just speculation. I also understood that the two stage airbag isn't designed to go off together anyway. i.e One is for low impact and the second is for high impact but never together! As B6's only have high impact this is the one that has been wired up on mine. fulcrum111 - speak with Gareth who owns Volkswagen & Audi Cruise Control Installations, VW - Home he's an ex- Audi technician and they really seem to know there stuff very well. They've done loads of these modifications and after taking to them I got them to come out to re-wire and fit my wheel and also install cruise at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcrum111 Posted January 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks for the info Guys, pjmspeedy; the following is the thread from audiforum.us where the guy says his airbags did not go off in an accident at 35 MPH - you need to go to the 3rd page to see his comment. This is why I'm wondering if I should do this mod or not! Here's the link: Has anyone successfully transplated a B7 wheel into a B6? - Page 2 - Audi Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmspeedy Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks for the info Guys,pjmspeedy; the following is the thread from audiforum.us where the guy says his airbags did not go off in an accident at 35 MPH - you need to go to the 3rd page to see his comment. This is why I'm wondering if I should do this mod or not! Here's the link: Has anyone successfully transplated a B7 wheel into a B6? - Page 2 - Audi Forum Thanks for the link. I see that this was posted after I had mine installed! ARSE. I see no one has posted a reply with regards to the airbag not going off under a certain speed. Don't know if this is true but it would also depend where on the car has taken the impact. I had a Cavalier 4x4 Turbo many moons ago and when a Range Rover pulled out in front of me I t-boned that at around 30-35mph and neither of my airbags went off in that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrolDave Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 It's a legal requirement that all new cars are tested to prove that the airbags do not go off at less then 20mph, but do go off above that. I remember well pushing a Lotus Esprit into a building to check that out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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