Ask people about their worst driving fears and you'll notice that airbags deploying when they're not supposed to can be considered a common denominator. And, in case you've never thought about such an event, the recent adventures of a social media-famous Camaro ZL1 driver might change the way you see life behind the wheel.
Did you know that an aftermarket exhaust could trigger your airbags? Neither did we, but, social media guy GuitarmageddonZL1 has come up with a video that shows just such an event happening in his previous-gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
The piece of footage at the bottom of the page shows the man going for a drive in his blown Chevy, with his girlfriend riding shotgun. Both are amazed at the decibels coming from the aftermarket exhaust diverters installed on ZL1, with the hardware having been supplied by a company called Noweed.
However, with the driver hooning the blown 6.2-liter muscle machine, the soundtrack apparently leads to the curtain airbags deploying. Those of you who are in a hurry can skip to the 10:20 point of the clip for the moment when the car thinks it needs to deploy its airbags.
The driver explains that diverter means the tubes sit too close to the airbag sensor of the Chevrolet. Nevertheless, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the installation of the exhaust itself - you can jump to the 5:30 point of the video to see the flaps in action.
As such, this appears to be a custom exhaust design flaw. And while the vlogger does seem to have reached out to the said developer, the details he provides in the YouTube comments section don't shed too much light on the matter: "I have notified the diverter company, Noweeds, and they have been very nice and helpful with everything,"
Oh well, at least the frontal airbags didn't blow mid-drive...
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News