Wide cars, low cars, impractical on British roads?
Discussion
With all the speed bumps, pot holes, narrow little B roads.. why are some cars so bloody wide, and many too low to cope? I'm fed up with waiting for people carriers and 4x4s to get round tight corners and through width restrictors ! as for ground scraping cars, does it really make it handle all that good, to balance the poor approach/departure angles? surely there is a reason for most standard cars being a modest height, and sensible width? Just watching some barried up car struggling in a multistorey is hilarious and pathetic at the same time, or watching some 'mighty' sportscar having to do 1 mph over a speed bump... what a load of rubbish. So what, it's fast on a smooth empty road (like we have lots of them in the Sarf east now 
but show it some bumps and it's so much expensive trash, and ordinary cars will beat it from A to B.
And don't get me started on loud exhausts. There really isn't a lot of point in them. They may make the driver feel good but all the cheap systems sound rubbish and make everyone else think you are a tool. And low profile tyres that cause tram lining, and wheel damange, and can't cope with a tiny bit of mud or snow. GRRRR. Why are people so gullible and blind to using a bit of common sense about their road cars, stop going for extremes and maybe you'll be able to afford a track car and/or a bike.
That is all.
but show it some bumps and it's so much expensive trash, and ordinary cars will beat it from A to B.And don't get me started on loud exhausts. There really isn't a lot of point in them. They may make the driver feel good but all the cheap systems sound rubbish and make everyone else think you are a tool. And low profile tyres that cause tram lining, and wheel damange, and can't cope with a tiny bit of mud or snow. GRRRR. Why are people so gullible and blind to using a bit of common sense about their road cars, stop going for extremes and maybe you'll be able to afford a track car and/or a bike.
That is all.
t.My MX-5 is at the standard height that Mazda designed it for. It scrapes on some speed bumps unless I am very careful/slow at negotiating them.
(Yes, it is lower than a UK car, but not lower than it was designed to be. And yes, it handles an awful lot better on all sorts of roads than it did before it was lowered.)
(Yes, it is lower than a UK car, but not lower than it was designed to be. And yes, it handles an awful lot better on all sorts of roads than it did before it was lowered.)
rfn said:
My MX-5 is at the standard height that Mazda designed it for. It scrapes on some speed bumps unless I am very careful/slow at negotiating them.
(Yes, it is lower than a UK car, but not lower than it was designed to be. And yes, it handles an awful lot better on all sorts of roads than it did before it was lowered.)
My MX5 isn't lowered and I still scrape on some speed bumps, usually the smaller sharp ones.(Yes, it is lower than a UK car, but not lower than it was designed to be. And yes, it handles an awful lot better on all sorts of roads than it did before it was lowered.)
Pisses me right off that this car has been on British roads for 16 years yet speed bumps are being installed all over the shop when they are too high for unmodified UK model cars that are already on the road.
bazking69 said:
I was driving down our road in the Mini the other day, crashing over the potholed and awful surface. I actually thought to myself this would be horrible in a Westfield, because it was pretty uncomfortable in a Mini Coooper...
I have a Tiger kit car... If I come across speed bumps then I either have to go down the middle of the road or simply turn back if its the sleeping policeman type to avoid cracking my sump / becoming beached on them. I cant take that car to work because the tank traps installed in the car park entrance would make it impossible, It does get frustrating because generally there is no need for speed bumps of that size anywhere.Though when I have had trouble before I have to admit other motorists are generally very patient with me rather than sitting there on the horn or something.
potholes - you learn to go round them but occasionally you hit one by accident and yes you do feel it somewhat, though generally my concern is for the cars health before checking my spine is still attached to me.
First, a 4*4 seems a sensible choice given the state of our roads. Secondly, why shouldn't a person have a low-slung sports car; just because our government has blown the revenue from the motorist on pointless public sector jobs doesn't mean we should all abandon what we really want in terms of a car.
To answer the OP's points:
- The slow speeds over speed bumps are largely down to mechanical sympathy rather than a mechanical limitation. The vast majority of non-modified road cars, even Caterhams, will sail over a speed bump at 30mph, but most owners of such cars take great care of their cars and simply won't do it. I do 2mph over speed bumps whether I'm in my BMW, my Elise or my girlfriend's Yaris. You may argue that cars are built for it, but given that springs and dampers need changing at 30-60k miles for optimum handling, they are a wearing component that isn't on the car for life, and tearing over speed bumps with a crash isn't going to help matters! Not just that, but I hit a pot hole at 30mph a few months ago and it destroyed my tyre, so I don't think the tyres like speed bumps too much either! The bang hitting that pot hole felt no worse than the bang over speed bumps that I've witnessed cars doing down my local roads.
- Having a low car does help handling hugely, yes. Getting the CofG down just a few inches is noticeable and a triumph for car design engineers. This is one of the main reasons why 4x4s are such a compromise for use on public roads.
- I'm not sure that 4x4s and people carriers are much wider than ordinary cars are they? The width of cars doesn't really vary hugely unless you're talking supercars and lorries. My BMW, my Elise and the Yaris all look similar driving into my garage in terms of clearance. I think people slowing down for width restrictions is more to do with inability as a driver, care as a driver or a lack of vision in that sort of car, rather than pure width.
I remember following a seriously lowered car out of a multi storey in Swansea a couple of years back. It was so bad that he had to reverse down the slopes, do a few manuevres to get to the next ramp and then start the whole process again.
The problem was he also had pretty fat alloys so he didn't have much lock so needless to say, getting out of the car park took a while.
I just sat and watched..there wasn't much point in getting impatient. I just had to make sure I didn't chuckle too much.
The problem was he also had pretty fat alloys so he didn't have much lock so needless to say, getting out of the car park took a while.
I just sat and watched..there wasn't much point in getting impatient. I just had to make sure I didn't chuckle too much.
I must admit, I struggle to see the popularity of big 4x4s on British roads. Our roads (either twisty and sharp-angled, favouring a low centre of gravity, or smooth but gridlocked) just don't suit them. Our houses, parking spaces, urban streets and width restrictors favour cars with better visibility on more of a level with pedestrians, and our fuel prices make a mockery of the petrol-engined ones. The whole 'safety' angle doesn't stack up either - they tend to get the same occupant safety rating as normal saloons, estates and hatches, so if you bought one on safety grounds it seems to be based on a contempt for pedestrians rather than a concern for wellbeing. And I have trouble seeing round them - one important piece of road safety is the ability to see through the glass area of the car in front to pre-emp their movements. When you're faced with a big wall of metal, you have to rely entirely on their brake lights.
Also, I really, really struggle to understand the logic of putting a big, hi-tech V8 in one. Surely all that effort would be better off going in something that made the most of the power and actually delivered driving enjoyment on decent roads. M5 or X5M? I rest my case.
If you want to go off-road, the best bet (and the reason why nearly all Land-Rover Defenders are thus equipped) is a torquey, plodding diesel to drag you out of deep ruts. If you're not going off road - then why put up with all the drawbacks?
SUVs seem to be yet another piece of American culture we've imported because the image somehow 'appeals', yet the culture fails to gel with Britain or Britishness. See also 'prom', hip-hop, making TV shows in 'seasons' rather than 'series', whooping, 24-hour rolling news, 'High School' culture that equates to sixth-form over there but inappropriately infests much younger kids in our secondary schools over here, women's shoe-buying culture, and general media-led awfulness.
Also, I really, really struggle to understand the logic of putting a big, hi-tech V8 in one. Surely all that effort would be better off going in something that made the most of the power and actually delivered driving enjoyment on decent roads. M5 or X5M? I rest my case.
If you want to go off-road, the best bet (and the reason why nearly all Land-Rover Defenders are thus equipped) is a torquey, plodding diesel to drag you out of deep ruts. If you're not going off road - then why put up with all the drawbacks?
SUVs seem to be yet another piece of American culture we've imported because the image somehow 'appeals', yet the culture fails to gel with Britain or Britishness. See also 'prom', hip-hop, making TV shows in 'seasons' rather than 'series', whooping, 24-hour rolling news, 'High School' culture that equates to sixth-form over there but inappropriately infests much younger kids in our secondary schools over here, women's shoe-buying culture, and general media-led awfulness.
HertsBiker said:
Speedracer329 said:
Hmm, a biker complaining about exhaust noise? Nice touch of irony there.
I have standard system on the bike, and keep the revs down esp at night or in built up areas. 
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff