A Pillar is too thick

[kam]

Anyone else think the drivers side A pillar - (i think thats what its called, itll be to your right lol where the door closes, where people usually mount all their gauges haha) is too thick ?

sometimes theres massive blind spots, in which a person, or car could easily fit into

i sometimes find my self having to slow down, or physically move forward / sideways a lot just to see if nothings in the blind spot

why is it so thick anyway

[europro]

Safety, I'm tipping that's the main objective. I tend to agree with you on that one. Ford in it's EA series had one slimmer that failed miserably in the roll over test and as a result the EB was considerably thicker.

I think with the Euro's steep windscreen rake it's just as well its thick in case of of an accidental rollover.

[yfin]

i sometimes find my self having to slow down, or physically move forward / sideways a lot just to see if nothings in the blind spot

You must be one of those people that lay down when driving. Seems to be a trend with young people these days - seat all the way back and reclined like gold class cinema. Go to Chapel Street Melbourne on a Saturday night and you can see them everywhere. :D

But seriously - are you sure you have the seat set up correctly because visibility is pretty darn good from where I sit?

ps. you can see why it is so thick in this thread: http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18737&highlight=tsx+crash+video

[ZEi20T]

i find its in a bad spot too, but yes it depends on where you sit, its not so bad in my manual, but the wifes auto its worse as i sit further back

[CRXer]

Know what ya mean dude,never driven a euro but had to hire a new corolla recently & the damn pillar was so thick I had a couple of incidents with pedestrians crossing the road when u turn right,they always seemed to be hiding behind the a pillar & it made u always do that little lean to make sure u can see everything.

[euro77]

I know what you mean. I sit up straight and found visibility is good, but there are always that odd occassion where the other car or pedestrian just happened to be right behind the A-pillar. That's why I always lean forward and to the side all the time to check.

[EuroAccord13]

I think the A pillar is ok, if you have been driving all your life, it's natural that you will shift your body to look at blind spots behind the A pillar...

Alot of cars have wider A pillars than the Euro...

[ZEi20T]

im just used to a tinny nissan with small A pillars :P

[BusterSonic12]

i don't drive lay back, i drive quite normal ^^ and still find it thick too~!! but is it because of airbags??

[ZEi20T]

ahhh that could be it!!! nice one!

[kam]

well, if its there to make the car more rigid, its good then, just saying, its so dam thick lol

its more so when your going around a right turning curve, not in straight line driving, because where your looking, is pretty much right in the middle of the A pillar

[EuroDude]

You'll find that most new cars have thick A pillars for safety. Infact Volvo made transparent glass A-Pillars on a concept car ~~

http://www.driveandstayalive.com/articles%20and%20topics/test%20drives/td-volvo-scc.htm
http://www.driveandstayalive.com/images/test-drives/volvo-scc_2001/volvoscc-02.jpg


..and yeh i find the euros A pillar is too large when driving around moderate right-hand bends, and the left B-Pillar is too large when turning right at an intersection

[ZEi20T]

oh no dont tell me thats the car designed by women for women.

[Entity]

that is one of the first things i noticed about the euro.. the a pillar was blocking alot of stuff especially when turning right

pedestrians.. median strips.. can't see anything.. its very annoying and you have to shift forward and backward to look around the pillar.

[badthing]

I think the A pillar is ok, if you have been driving all your life, it's natural that you will shift your body to look at blind spots behind the A pillar...

Alot of cars have wider A pillars than the Euro...

I agree with you. It doesn't matter if the A pillar was thinner, I'd still shift my head a little just to check for clearance.

[Rendezvous]

never used to have that problem in the old accord until i got the euro, i nearly hit someone because the pillar completely blocked my view of the pedestrian. it is ridiculously thick!

[tony1234]

that is one of the first things i noticed about the euro.. the a pillar was blocking alot of stuff especially when turning right

pedestrians.. median strips.. can't see anything.. its very annoying and you have to shift forward and backward to look around the pillar.
Yeah,it is a bit thick,Just have to be carefull.:(

[Adagio]

Funny you should mention this. The A post is OK in the Euro it's how you sit that matters. The following may not be cool but is the best driving position: While seated in your "supposed" driving position can you place your wrist so that it touches the top of the steering wheel while your shoulders are against the back of the seat? Adjust till you get this position. Now set your hands at 2:10 or 3:15, your arms should be bent and comfortable. You now have the correct driving position and ability to use maximum leverage in turning the steering wheel. Oh, yes you should have set up your steering wheel so that you see over it and not through it, it adjusts up and down and in and out.
Adagio

[TypeG]

same as a Jazz
and Jazz is even worst so I get use to it
it is not about how you sit but just there is one big thing blocking u no matter how u sit unless you are very short

[tony1234]

Funny you should mention this. The A post is OK in the Euro it's how you sit that matters. The following may not be cool but is the best driving position: While seated in your "supposed" driving position can you place your wrist so that it touches the top of the steering wheel while your shoulders are against the back of the seat? Adjust till you get this position. Now set your hands at 2:10 or 3:15, your arms should be bent and comfortable. You now have the correct driving position and ability to use maximum leverage in turning the steering wheel. Oh, yes you should have set up your steering wheel so that you see over it and not through it, it adjusts up and down and in and out.
Adagio
I did an advanced driving course a few yrs.back and that is exactly how we were told to set up the drivers seat for the best position.

[curik]

The pillars are OK in my opinion. I always do a headcheck before turning so it doesnt really bother me.

[kam]

hmmm, ive got the worst posture, and i like to sit comfortable, so heres my setup

middle glove box thing exteneded - rest left elbow on it, seat back, reclined, right hand on steering wheel, and i lean to my left lol

its probably gangsta, but its comfy too

and i never noticed the A pillar problem till this week, this one corner when coming into uni.

i suppose a see thru A pillar would be cool.

when i very 1st got the euro, i thought visibility was terrible, since the rear vision mirrir is so small. but if your setup all your mirrors so that their overlapping, its actually quite good.

oh and im still crap at judging how far the bonnet is from the wall/car in front of me :(

[Adagio]

Absolutely correct! Once you set up the central mirror to see the max out the back "without having to move your position on the seat" you can next set up your wing mirrors. What leaves the RH zone of the central mirror must begin to appear in the LH zone of the RH wing mirror. Conversely what leaves the LH zone of the central mirror must begin to appear in the RH zone of the LH wing mirror. A mirror check every 10 seconds is wise as you are then pretty well informed who is behind you and what moves thet are making, if any. Once you get used to this set up you rarely have to turn your head, albeit slightly to cover that small blind spot.
Adagio

[corn_flakes]

the pillar is thick...and yes it does obscure shit...(like those tiny median strips when i'm turning right into a street)

[sonnic]

The A pillar is thick because, as part of Honda's G-Con safety construction, the shock of an offset frontal collision is transmitted thru the A pillars and into the roof rails to the rear of the car, reducing the transmission of the impact to the passengers.

The thicknes is also a result of the need to provide rollover strength because of the windshield rake. More vertical windshields in older cars had thinner A pillars because the angle wasn't as steep and the screens weren't as important to the structural integrity of the car.

It has nothing to do with curtain airbags.

As already pointed out, correct driving position, determined by the wrists over the steering wheel method, makes a big difference and if you think the Euro is a problem, go have a look at the 8th Gen Civic, or an Odyssey!:eek:

[EuroDude]

You'll change ur mind after the car gets slammed by a Mack truck and rolls over lol

Whats the safety rating for the Euro anyway, 4/5 stars?

[Pumped]

Ive never had troubles with the thickness of the A Pillar, always look around anyway, although recently a friend was driving my car and pointed out how thick it was, i hadnt really noticed! not to bad :)

[euro77]

Whats the safety rating for the Euro anyway, 4/5 stars?

it's 4 star according to EuroNCAP

[aaronng]

4 star probably because the base model has only 4 airbags.
Do they have a rating each for the base and luxury model? Or do they have just 1 rating for the Euro?

[euro77]

the Acura TSX got 5 star, so it's probably because of the airbag.