Need to drive my MINI through a wall of cardboard boxes
 

Hey Everyone,
I'm working on a fun little video/film project - part of which involves driving my '09 DS/B MCS through a wall of cardboard boxes. I'm a little worried about damage to the paint/front of the car - anyone have any experience/idea of what to expect. Anyone have any idea if there's an ideal speed to hit the "wall" at?

Don't worry - I've already secured a closed course - working on movie and commercial sets is what I do for a living so we'll be very VERY safe.

Once the project is done I'll post the video on NAM for everyone to enjoy.

If you could use styrofoam blocks they may be more forgiving. If they need to look like boxes, you could always paint them as such.
I would give the car a good coat of wax first. You could always do a trial run on with rental and pay for the extra insurance.:lol:
I loook forward to seeing the video. Good luck!

Clear bra
 

You could try a clear bra on the front end. If the clear bra doesn't extend to the bumper try using clear packing tape to cover this area. Don't use boxes with staples in them. Cover all the corners of the boxes with clear packing tape to keep the cardboard from scratching the paint.

This is probably the first time anyone's asked this question online, ever.
I have nothing of substance to contribute to this thread beyond what's already been mention.

I would be careful about the speed and the angle of how you hit the box. Hitting the edge of the box isn't a good idea. I remember there was a thread around here whose headlights was cracked from a 40 MPG burrito attack.

Maybe wetting the face of the boxes you'll be hitting would help too, it would soften them so they absorb more impact rather than transferring it to your car.
I'd definitely keep the speed low and make up the difference with camera speed, I know it's kinda cheating but if the budget doesn't allow for bodywork then why take any risks.

Also, boxes come in a variety of weight ratings...get the lightest boxes they make for the size you want. A good place for cheap boxes online is wwww.uline.com

Even when you factor in the shipping (which isn't cheap) they are still less expensive than getting them at a local packaging store.

This is all really good advice. I've thought about tape - not sure what's safe to put on the car. Either way it's going to look really cool (hopefully).

I would be concerned about the grill. May want to make sure that the grill meets up to the middle of a box so an edge doesn't go through the grill.

It doesn't need to be fast. We did something similar for one of our school band's more, er, theatrical gigs, but the boxes were painted like bricks. But the point is, it doesn't need to be fast to make it look impressive--our was a live show and we did it at 35 kmph in a new Mustang. If it's film, it can be even slower--you can speed it up in editing (or for dramatic effect, slow it down), and 98% of the audience won't notice that the kinematics of the boxes' flight isn't correct for the perceived speed.

Also, for the person who suggested wetting the boxes--seems like a good idea at first (we thought of it too), but it works out worse. Because the mass of the boxes is increased, the force on the front of the car when hitting it is also increased (requires a greater impulse to get the boxes moving). If you want to make it safer, remove the bottom of the boxes (so that the "boxes" are just four walls), and they will have even more flex. If you edit it the right way, your audience won't notice. Though again, this wasn't necessary for our run in a Mustang.

Try that kinda-sticky-backed plastic wrap (Press N Seal, or even regular cling wrap) as a cheap and slightly thicker clear bra. Depending on how you apply it and your camera angle you may not know it's there.

Remove your antenna! Perhaps also fold in your rearview mirrors. Consider removing windshield wipers, driving lights, and other things that stick out. Antenna, definitely.

Stack the boxes so they do NOT get caught under the car! Folded currogated is surprisingly strong, and your power steering fan isn't. A skidplate is a good idea anyway, a better idea when knowingly running through this obstacle.

Remove your license plate and replace with a dummy, and you may avoid warranty issues later. Don't use one registered to you, and put the real one on when transiting public roads.

The second you're out of the shot, STOP. Do NOT reverse! Clear away any box fragments you may have run over, and double check for damage.

Consider weakening the bottom layer of boxes so they "lay down" when hit, and don't have hard corners - that's where the strongest and pointiest ends are. Don't tape the boxes, do the 4-way tuck - that way they'll fold better when hit.

Consider going through the wall backwards - that's the less expensive end!

Good luck, post up if you can....

i think it will be fine, you should just be careful about how you stack the boxes. make sure the corners are not sticking out.. dont go tooooo fast... i'd use bigger boxes so the mini hopefully pushes them out of the way instead of going under the car. please post this video after its finished haha

Just a thought ... how about cutting the corners off all the boxes? It would be monstrously tedious, but it would reduce the risk of damage to the Mini, and the boxes would probably collapse more, making the Mini look that much more destructive. :mad:

And sprinkle a little powder on all of 'em, too, for kind of an explosive effect.

:lol:

i think itll probably be just fine...20-25mph. good.

Hmmm, a layer of flour on top would give that dusty effect! But... if wet it'd make an awful mess.

I want to see this.

+1

eagerly awaiting video :nod:

When will we See Video?
 

What's the eta?

We're shooting on Sunday - so I hope to have at least a rough one shot to show you guys by Monday. Final edit of the piece is due Friday so by then for sure.

It looks like everything is going according to plan - my big concern right now is whether or not I'm going to set off the airbags. That would be kind of bad - good film... but bad.

Well, maybe if you filled the bottom boxes with sand! Just going through empty boxes? Highly doubtful.

So we're probably ok on the airbags then eh?

In the creative meeting today I brought up my worries about scratching - someone suggested it might be humorous to cover the car in pillows. I agree that it would be funny, but won't the pillows scratch up the car as well?

Cotton pillows, and make darn sure everything's clean! that *is* funny. May be funnier if you cut to a scene where the car is quickly pillow-coated... some creative editing there would introduce a humorous element.

No worries on airbags unless you're going 100+MPH and/or the boxes are exceedingly heavy.

I guess this would depend on how high the boxes were stacked, but i would be worried about the top boxes falling onto my roof/sunroof. That might do some damage.

Are you sliding side first into them or headfirst? It would be cool if you hand braked and slid in sideways.

Bad News: It's looking like it might rain here in Wisconsin all day on Sunday - depending on the weather we might reschedule or just cancel the box smashing through thing. IF it does get canceled I promise that I'll do it on my own sometime, I'd hate to build up all this suspense and not be able to execute it.

I think the plan is to currently go through headfirst. A slide would be cool though.