C. Redl
07-17-1999, 02:41 PM
Finally removed the airbags from my car. I'm wondering what to do<br>with them. Since they contain a small explosive charge, I don't want to<br>keep them anywhere where someone might fool around with them<br>(like my niece and nephew). Is there someplace I could take them<br>(maybe to recycle)?<p>While I've been stripping my car, I have noticed how well the A4 is<br>made. I used to do a lot of custom stereo installations, so I have seen<br>the interiors of a lot of cars. A lot of them (including newer cars) are<br>very poorly made. Here's some things I noticed (some are small, but<br>still interesting).<p>I removed the entire dashboard from the car. While it took awhile to<br>do, it was not difficult. There is a lot of aluminum in this car around<br>the dash area in the form of brackets, the main structural support<br>across the front and the collapsable knee bolsters. Beats the usual<br>stamped steel you see.<p>You can disassemble the interior with only a couple of sockets and<br>Torx bits. Nice that they didn't use a dozen different sizes. I like the<br>fact that you don't find too many screws (such as Philips anywhere).<p>The welding on this car is excellent. All the seams I've found so far<br>are completely sealed. It would be difficult to lose a bolt or screw<br>somewhere in the sheetmetal since there really aren't many holes<br>or unfinished areas for things to go.<p>They did an excellent job on running the cables. All the harnesses are<br>the right length to get where they need to without too much extra to<br>get tangled up. They also use those nice ties to hold bundles in place<br>(the kind you can re-use, not twist ties) for most wires. It's also easy<br>to put stuff back together since the connector seems to naturally fall<br>in place where it needs to go.<p>Even the fan motor is well done. It has a nicely made plastic blower<br>wheel with two sets of blades. An interesting thing I noted about the<br>fan motor is the electronic controller to adjust fan speed is a part of<br>the blower assembly. The heatsink for the transistors on the controller<br>is in the air stream, and, the heatsink fins are actually curved the<br>same way the air flows for maximum cooling. Slick.<p>This one you can try yourself. Pop out one of the dash vents (driver or<br>passenger are easier). They just pry out, no screws or fasteners. Now<br>run your fingers along the edges of the flap that controls the air flow.<br>Notice the rubber trim? Most cars I've seen have some cheap foam to<br>help seal. Even the major flaps inside the blower assembly (to select<br>vents and hot/cold) have this nice rubber coating. While you've got the<br>vent out, open and close it and see how well it actually works.<p>There's lots more, but I thought some of these might be interesting.<br>Overall, I'm quite impressed with how my A4 is made.