When you install a modified exhaust system in your Camaro ZL1, or any car for that matter, the last thing you’d think about is how it might affect the airbags. But in extreme cases, it can, as the video below shows.
The owner of the bright red Camaro ZL1 in question had the car fitted with a diverter exhaust system. What this entails is the installation of a small element to the exhaust that either allows for all the exhaust flow to be dumped out of a short pipe just after the headers or for this dump to be closed, allowing exhaust gases to flow out of the muffler as usual.
When the flap for the diverter is open, it makes the supercharged 6.2-liter rumble like the craziest drag car imaginable and beyond the possible consequence of permanent hearing damage, the diverter makes so much noise and vibrates the car so much that during a high-speed pull, the side airbags deployed.
Upon further investigation, the owner and his mechanics discovered that the sensor for the side airbags is located almost directly above where the diverter is, hence why they deployed under heavy acceleration.
If there’s anything to be learned from this video it’s that you should disable your airbags before thinking about making a car as loud as this ZL1. Either that or just stick with a regular exhaust.