How You Can Improve the Safety in Your Old Car with New Tech

If you have an older car that’s been serving you well for many years — or even a classic car that you’ve carefully restored — it’s likely missing some features. We don’t just mean in-car DVD players or beefy subwoofers installed in the trunk. We’re talking about safety. Safety features have changed drastically in our cars, SUVs, and trucks over time and older vehicles might be missing a few key ones. Fortunately, you can take matters into your own hands. In this blog, the team at Thompson Sales takes a look at a few safety features.

Seat Belts and Safety Belts

Seat belts are more modern than you probably realize. Cars didn’t always come equipped with seat belts and a number of classic car collectors have pretty strong opinions about installing them in any of the cars in their collection.

While we understand a passion for authenticity, if you’re planning on actually driving the car, you should install some seat belts. There are kits and guides out there to help you install seat belts yourself, but it’s best to get it done professionally. While it’s relatively easy to do, it’s not something you want to leave to chance.

New, Modern Tires

Classic tires have their own unique aesthetic. While that goes a long way to accentuating the overall look of the car, it does make it harder to update to modern, safer tires. Depending on the age and model of an older car, the tires will be lacking some of the more modern design innovations. Older types of tires are usually bias-ply, while newer tires are radial-ply.

Without going into too much detail, this basically means they’re lacking the traction and overall control that makes your ride safer. Fortunately, a number of tire manufacturers have caught on to the passion for vintage and classic cars, and they have introduced modern tires made to retain the look of the originals.

Better Brakes

Brakes are one of the most important components of your car. Because of how essential they are to the safety of a vehicle, manufacturers are always looking to improve on their design. This also means that older cars don’t have all the features and safety of modern brakes.

Fortunately, just like tires, you can choose kits specifically designed to fit with older — especially classic — cars. Once again, Thompson Sales recommends having a professional fit them for you unless you have experience with mechanical maintenance.

Shop Thompson for New, Used and Certified Pre-Owned Cars

If you’re looking for a brand new car or a fully certified pre-owned car, you’ll find it at Thompson Sales. We’ve been helping people in Springfield, Missouri find the perfect car, SUV, or truck for decades and we’re ready to help you, too. Visit our car dealership in Springfield, MO today.