BMW F10 5er vs Mercedes Benz W212 E-Klasse Body Rigidity

[K-A]

I have a few things to point out, the side by side comparison do tell a compelling story but you have to think if both cars are hit at the same height relative to the ground? The F10 might have a lower ride height than the W212, so more of the impact are concentrated at the B pillar instead of letting the side sills channel some of the load. Besides the visual impact, how well did both cars protect the passengers? As in which structure absorbed more energy during the crash? After all there is no point having an ultra stiff structure when all the forces are transferred directly to the people inside.

I will agree the E has a stronger roof structure.

I am always a bit suspicious when they quote % in the press release statement. 72% in terms of what? Mass, number of components? Like Giannis has pointed out, if you study the link he posted, you will see tensile strength is only one of the FIVE variables that determines the bending deflection of a simple metal beam, anda monocoque consist of many of these, in complex shapes, and they are all linked together so to pick out one specific point out of a complex integrated system will not give you a proper understanding. The use of higher strength steel allows engineers to achieving the set strength targets with a smaller, lighter design. The SAME level of structural strength can be achieved by increasing the cross sectional area of the component at the cost of extra weight. It is all about playing with the variables in the equation.

As for the award, the W212 won in 09 with a completely different group of competitors than 2010, the W212 won with 38.5/50 points correct? The F10 might have score just as well or slightly higher but failed to win it out right because of the stronger competition in 2010, you have to remember it has to face the LFA.

In the end after all these discussions, it all comes down to two things which really matters, how much energy can the crash structure absorb in an impact, and how well does the entire safety cage protect the occupants inside from any external intrusions. That is what a chassis is suppose to do in an event of an impact, all these discussions about who uses the stronger steel by how many % are interesting but it is not the end of the matter.

I wish I have more time to look up all these stuff in detail, perhaps in a few days time I will.

Good post, and yes, I understand what you're saying. It's way too complex to judge in a black and white way. However, at face value, with the info that I have seen, I feel that they side enough with the W212 here, in different enough aspects, to give me the warm and fuzziers toward it.

About cutting Boron, here's a video of Fire Department men trying to cut a piece of Boron from a 2009 W204 C-Class, showing how hard it is:

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Also, M-B has been putting "cut-lines" on their cars for years, very necessary to all cars with UHSS Boron, and especially to M-B's who now use their 1000 MPa UHSS exceeding 1500 MPa MHSS in these areas (A-C-Pillars, etc.):

Maybe someone can quote this, so it can save Sunny the time from having to research for it.

 

[Monster]

Good post, and yes, I understand what you're saying. It's way too complex to judge in a black and white way. However, at face value, with the info that I have seen, I feel that they side enough with the W212 here, in different enough aspects, to give me the warm and fuzziers toward it.

I don't think you have fully understood my post. You will need more information than the ones you have posted to have a better understanding of which monocoque offers better crash protection, things like the forces and amount of acceleration experienced by the crash test dummies inside, the amount of deformation of the pillars, these are the facts that will determine how well the entire system works. You can have all sorts of high tech material but if they aren't integrated properly, they won't be able to perform at the optimum level.

And yes I am aware of how strong those boron steel are, and we know that a lot of the European manufactures eg Volvo, Saab, VW have been using this type of steel in critical areas of the monocoque for almost 10 years now.

 

[K-A]

Yes, but I'm not focusing on load to the crash dummies/occupants. In that case, the F10 scores higher in the NCAP, and they score equally in the IIHS. As far as load to the occupants goes, the W212 scores better than both the W210 and W211, and those two cars were rated as the most protective cars in terms of preventing death rates, by IIHS statistics, so I personally feel that M-B engineers their cars to protect passengers in ways that may not be showcased in standardized testing. However, Statistics to Statistics, in terms of load/g's to the dummies, and taking safety cage perceived strength out of it, the F10 scores on an average, higher than the W212 in overall tests.

As far as the part where you said "deformation of the pillars", this is what I'm mostly concentrating on, in this case. That is where the W212's safety cage performance VS the F10's comes into play. Based on all the information that I can gather, the W212 shows considerably less deformation in the IIHS Side Impact Test, and the IIHS Roof Strength Test. The F10 shows less A-Pillar movement in the NCAP frontal Test (1mm VS 3mm if I remember correctly). Giannis pointed out that the E's better roof strength may also have something to do with the F10's A-Pillar rake, as the E may have a more optimal rake for roof strength, which makes sense, and would in that case also explain the F10's slightly less A-Pillar movement in the NCAP frontal test.

About Boron, that's what I was saying to Sunny. Boron is a "UHSS", with a tensile strength of 1000 MPa on most cars (i.e, the 5GT), while, if you study the newest M-B's Side Impact footage from the IIHS pictures, you see much less deformation than what the "average" Boron has provided on most production cars in the last decade or so, and that can be chalked up to M-B's "version" they call "Mega High Strength Steel", with a tensile strength of 1500 MPa. Remember that the F10 has a much thicker B-Pillar, at least from inside the car, it would seem that way, and it deforms more than the E's thinner one in the IIHS test, which is basically a visual way to view the 1000 MPa UHSS, VS M-B's 1500 MPa MHSS at work.

 

[kenai]

Better engineering goes to the 125 years old man,...... the other guy just builded motorcicles!!!

 

[mini_cooper4]

Better engineering goes to the 125 years old man,...... the other guy just builded motorcicles!!!

built not builded and I think that's post of the year!