BTOWN4RUNNER

Yeah, it has been a very long month. I have not visited here very often and the reason is a bad one. I was driving to school one day on Rt. 422. It is a major highway in the area and the speed limit is 55. It was a clear, sunny morning, no rain, etc. I was driving around 40-45 miles per hour because the road was crowded (daily commute) and I was keeping up with traffic. I was about 35 feet behind the BMW suv in front of me. All of a sudden, about 3 cars ahead of me, I see a car spin into the right lane (I was in the left behind it) and then all I see is ˟˟˟˟, pieces, paint, etc fly into the air. Someone hit them, someone hit them, I slammed on my brakes but the ABS kicked in and wouldn't stop and I rear ended the BMW suv, smashing up my front end. A truck two cars behind me swerved into the right lane and rear ends another vehicle. All told, there were 8 vehicles involved. 4 had to be towed, including me. Mine would have been drivable but the radiator was punched and I lost the anti-freeze. It was a terrible day.

So the 4Runner was towed to a body shop and there it sat. A week later, the insurance co. calls and says they have an estimate to fix it. It is border-line totalled. If I want them to cover the grille guard, they will total it. I decide not to and the total bill comes to $6500. What a surprise to me! I have to have the whole front end replaced, the radiator, fan, etc, hood and so forth and so on. I got the check a week later and that was 3 weeks ago. I called the body shop yesterday and he said that I will probably have it back tomorrow. I can't wait. I am so excited.

Through out the whole ordeal, I have learned a few things. First and foremost, ABS is terrible on dry pavement. I slammed on the brakes and it just would not stop. I know for a fact, that if I could have locked up my brakes, I would not have hit the BMW. ABS is not all that it is cut out to be, so be careful if you ever need to lock them up, more than likely, if you are on dry pavement, you won't stop too well. Secondly, my Manik Grille guard may or may not have caused more damage. It did bend back and hit the hood and grille, but it did protect some of the engine bay, by absorbing the hit. I think that it may have saved some damage, but I don't know. Thirdly, it is a good thing when the 4Runner nose-dove when I slammed on the brakes. What happened was that all the damage was high and didn't affect the frame at all, which is a major plus. Fourthly, the PIAA 520's are tough lights. Although they were not hit, they did stand up and I can still used them today. Fifthly, if anyone ever needs a good body shop guy in the PA area, go to Paintworks. The owner's name is Bob Barber. This is the second time I was there and he is an AWESOME person. Very nice, courteous and his work is absolutely fabulous. I would recommend him. Lastly, BMWs are stong. My damage was pretty bad, but I couldn't even tell I hit him. He has a scuff mark and that is it. That may be in part to my grille guard having rubber edges, but his really really held up.

But that being said, I am so happy that the 4Runner is such a great vehicle. I was not hurt at all and it still was running after the accident. It is a great vehicle and I am glad that I am getting mine back. I want to tell others this because it truly is a great vehicle and I am so happy that I have mine. Be careful driving and watch out for other drivers. Thanks for the time and it is good to be back! :fireman:

SLC Punk

Sorry to hear about your 4Runner, but its good that you are OK!

Outkast`

Glad to hear that all is working out for ya'


Welcome back,

Outkast`

HBoss

Wow Btown, that's quite the story. I'm glad to hear you (and now your 4Runner) are ok.

Hey, do you think if you had something like Corey's ARB up front, instead of the grille guard, you would have sustained little to no damage? same? more? less? etc.

Either way, glad to see you're ok.

Al

monkeynuts

sorry to hear about that man, i've had so many close calls like that! the only time i have ever used my abs it really seemed to work well. and it actually seemed a heck of a lot easier to stop this truck than my civic when i would lock up the brakes.

if you look at the physical properties behind it all, static friction (tires gripping the road during braking) is greater than sliding friction (tires sliding during braking). which would suggest: if you put two 4runner next to each other at the same speed, one w/abs, one w/o abs, and they both slammed on the brakes at the same time, the 4runner with the tiresgripping the road right on the edge of being locked up (by abs) would stop sooner while the 4runner with the tires locked up and sliding would kep going past it. (i started out as an engineering major, and that is the first time i have been able to apply anything i've learned).

that's my worst fear is smashing up my truck, hope yours comes back good as new!

JSB

I'm glad to hear everything has worked out, and your okay. It's funny about that ABS thing. It always seems that locking the brakes up would help. But on the flip side of that coin, test have shown that ABS are better.

rimpainter.com

Glad your alright!

Now, get back to modding!

1Runner

Glad you're O.K. BTOWN.... get any pics of your Runner crunched?
(morbid curiosity)

monkeynuts

i stand corrected...engineering just wasn't my thing, as you can see, well i was on the right track...

let us know how your truck turns out btwn

TDiddy

Wow BTown,

Good story. I'm glad you weren't injured and that your 4Runner is on its way home!

Pics would be cool if you had any!

RgrChu

btown....sorry to hear that....I was in your position about a year ago yesterday......my truck was gone for about a month...your truck will be as good as new...maybe it's time for the arb or is your manik still in good enough condition to re-mount?

Good Luck

Cebby

Everytime I've had an accident, the body shop has worked with me to make any little alterations that I wanted. Some of the things the insurance companies estimate are a bit on the high side. (Like when I mashed my factory running boards, they found a way to get me the Smittybilt nerfs, etc.) Sounds like you needed a bunch of front end work - what's a factory bumper and valence go for? (+ cost of mangled Manik) = ARB or TJM. Sounds like its too late now.

We are all morbidly curious - got any pics of the carnage? Glad you are OK.

BTOWN4RUNNER

Thanks so much for the concern guys, but unfortunately, I do not have any pictures. It actually did not look too bad. Imagine having a grille guard on there and someone just pushing it back onto the hood. That is what happened. I am sure that if I had an ARB bumper it would have done less damage, but could have done some frame damage, because the ARB is (I am assuming) mounted to the frame stronger than the Manik, so I may have not moved as much. I don't know what would have happened, but I do know that the BMW would have been hurting more.

All said and done, I am getting it back tomorrow good as new and I am going to order another Manik. It is too late now to get an ARB without totally wasting the new bumper, etc. So I am going to go ahead and get another one. I can't wait.

Thanks again for the concern guys. It is greatly appreciated. I am glad to be back and it seems as if there are quite a bit of new faces. Can't wait. Thanks! :fireman:

keisur

take it off and sell it on ebay.

Paul H.

Glad to here that you are ok Btown, and welcome back. Wow, $6500 damage on a 92 and it was not totaled. 4Runners sure do hold their value.

BTOWN4RUNNER

The adjuster was thinking about totalling it, but the body shop owner was like, "what are you talking about. Can't you see how well maintained and in such good shape this thing is in". So he didn't total it and yes, they very much so retain their value. I am glad. Thanks for the comments. :fireman:

94 First Responder

Sorry to hear about your accident. Its always the other dumbass out there you got to worry about. Prolly some lady on a cell phone.

BTOWN4RUNNER

It was a young girl. And I do think she may have been on her cell phone. I think what she was doing was trying to go into the right lane and someone was in her blind spot. It sucks, but everything is ok now. :fireman:

tomus1000

I'm glad that your are back and not hurt. We were wondering where you have been.

I agree that the grill guard caused more damage that it prevented. My brother talked me out of one. He said that every time a truck comes in to his body shop with one on there, the grill guard was responsible for most of the damage.

4x4CPOSEADOG

Glad to see you back on board my man!!! Welcome back!!! It is good to hear that you did not get hurt.

Hope everything is alright with your rig and work like nothing happen. You did not get the chance to modify the hood with a hood scoop, do you? Or mod the radiator with the heavy duty one.

Glad to see that the body shop owner was there to talk to the adjuster not to total it. Certainly 4runners hold their value. That's why I drive a yota.

Again welcome back brother!!!


the "New Noel" not TOMUS1000 heh heh heh