WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SHOOT A TOYOTA SHOCK ABSORBER?
SVI Engineering, leading specialist manufacturer of armoured products, has released the third episode in its innovative Shoot Through series of videos, this time investigating what happens when a Toyota-branded shock absorber takes fire from an AK47.
“We purposefully aimed for the shock absorber’s lower cylinder, as this is where we expected to meet the most resistance, owing to the presence of hydraulic oil in this section of the component. It was certainly the right decision, as the resultant slow-motion footage is simply spectacular,” said Jaco de Kock, CEO of SVI.
The 7.62x39 mm conventional steel-core round runs straight through the Tokico-supplied damper, sending oil spurting from each of the two newly created apertures. The dramatic moment was captured by a Photron Fastcam SA4 high-speed camera (set at 30 000 frames per second), which was kindly supplied by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
“With oil spraying all over the place, this experiment ended up making a bit of a mess of our underground shooting range. But catching that dramatic rupture on camera made it all worth it,” added Nicol Louw, SVI Business Development Director.
‘SHOOT THROUGH’ SERIES BACKGROUND
Conceived to both inform and entertain, the full Shoot Through video series – one episode will be published on SVI’s YouTube channel approximately every two weeks – sets out to answer whether various (mostly standard) automotive components can stop a round discharged by a firearm.
The subject of the first episode in SVI’s Shoot Through series was a ventilated steel brake disc from a Toyota Land Cruiser 79 bakkie, while the second episode featured a Volkswagen Polo engine block.
