Crash raises serious safety issue for speed merchants

CHENNAI: Did racer Ashwin Sundar - or a previous owner - modify the engine of his BMW Z4 and compromise the safety of his car? That's the question being asked after the 31-year-old former national racing champion and his wife Nivedhitha, 26, died in a fiery accident on Santhome High Road early on Saturday. Automobile experts are surprised by two things: the doors that jammed and the fire that followed the crash."It is difficult to comment without details of the car, but technically this should not have happened," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) executive director (technical) KK Gandhi said. "Crash test requirements that come into force in India from 2018 for all models specify that there should not be a fire and the vehicle's body has to maintain its integrity. This is not normal."Auto experts also say jamming of doors after a crash is un usual. "Manual overrides are normally available," Gandhi said. "This is a high-end model sold internationally so [the company] would adhere to all safety norms."A BMW India spokesman said a technical report will be available only after official assessment of the car. But sources said modifications may sometimes cause safety lapses. The modifications business is a grey market dominated by Chinese parts and adding or changing the car costs as do warranty and insurance. But most importantly it can have safety issues."The fuel used - nitrogen liquid for instance - can have a huge safety issues," a senior technical official from a luxury car company said. "Ditto with hacking into the wiring harness to change lights, horns or add more features." SIAM's Gandhi says the electrical harness is designed for a particular amperage and hacking into it can cause overheating, short-circuits and sparking.The police probe will look into whether Ashwin's car had modifications and whether the fire was caused by impact or a fuel leak. Automobile expert Tutu Dhawan said while high-end automobiles usually do not have engines that readily allow for modifications, it is fairly common for racers to change the chip of the car's engine control module, enhancing the car's power by 15%-20%. "When you increase power, obviously other parameters are not in hand -brakes, suspension and so on," Dhawan said. "It's unusual now for such cars to catch fire. "But it's not surprising. After all, you have pressurised fuel. If there is a crash and you burst a fuel line, a fire is inevitable."