Tyre maker reveals Britain's bendiest roads
Good spots for a country hoon...
A bendy road...
Continental commissioned the research to find out which of Britain’s 6,300 classified roads sets the toughest task for car tyres. At a steady 30mph, a one mile stretch of the B3081 between Cann Common in Dorset and Tollard Royal in Wiltshire exerted lateral forces of a magnitude a car would experience on a racetrack like Brands Hatch.
Researchers tested a shortlist of ten roads – nominated by the readers of a leading car magazine – the length and breadth of mainland Britain. A standard Vauxhall Astra 1.4 with Continental ContiSportContact2 tyres was fitted with state of the art measuring equipment and an on-board computer to record forward speed and lateral acceleration.
Four runs, two in each direction, at a constant 30 mph, allowed the researchers to calculate the bendiest one mile section of the road, measured by the average lateral force impulse, calculated in kiloNewton seconds (kNs). The data revealed that some of the tighter corners resulted in a forces exerted on the driver approaching one positive G – a force more usually associated with rollercoasters than British B roads. The top ten is as follows:
| Rank | Road | Between Location | kNs |
| 1 | B3081 | Cann Common & Tollard Royal, Dorset/Wiltshire | 352 |
| 2 | A686 | Penrith & Melmerby, Cumbria | 276 |
| 3 | A537 | Macclesfield & Buxtonm Cheshire / Derbyshire | 221 |
| 4 | A466 | Monmouth & Staunton, Monmouth | 195 |
| 5 | A4061 | Pricetown & Treorchy, Rhondda | 167 |
| 6 | A157 | Louth & Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire | 152 |
| 7 | B2130 | Godalming & Cranleigh, Surrey | 151 |
| 8 | B6270 | Keld & Reeth, Yorkshire | 128 |
| 9 | A39 | Bridgewater & Minehead, Somerset | 118 |
| 10 | B797 | Mennock & Wanlockhead, Dumfries & Galloway | 99 |
Many of the top 10 bendiest roads are in hilly areas of the country: the B3081 winds its way through the Cranbourne Chase on the Wiltshire-Dorset border; the second placed A686 leads to the Lake District and the once notorious third placed A537 lies in the Peak District. But the surprise entry in the top ten is the sixth placed A157, in predominantly flat Lincolnshire.
Tracey Hyem of Continental Tyres said, “At 30 mph in an average family hatchback some British roads are so bendy they exert the kind of forces you would expect on a racetrack. This revealing study illustrates the importance of ensuring tyres are maintained properly to give optimum performance and safety – on any road and in any car.”
Sounds like a good location for an organised blat...
Methodology
In November 2005, readers of Auto Express magazine, the UK’s leading car magazine, were asked to nominate the bendiest road in Britain. Following results of the survey, Continental Tyres enlisted the help of MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association), the leading independent provider of product engineering, research, testing, information and vehicle certification to test the short-listed top 10 bendiest roads.
>> Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 9th February 11:37
mmm-five said:
I prefer Snake Pass (A57) between Glossop and Sheffield. It's closer!
>> Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 9th February 11:37
It's not actually that bendy. Some nasty cambers though, especially descending the west side...
Did'nt think it was that wiggly though, Zig Zag hill is cool
In fact thinking about it it's not that wiggly at all!!, a few bends yes but not much really, some fast sweepers. I tend to average 2 Numpty units down it on a good day and theres a few bits that are good for 3 Numpty units
However try driving through Cranbourne Chase late evening and you guarantee some form of wildlife will jump out at you!
>> Edited by cptsideways on Thursday 9th February 12:28
I agree with the comment on the BBC site about the road surface though. Some parts are attrocious.
Ian A.
hair bear said:
A well executed study into finding the best roads in Britian to shove more money extracting scameras. Thanks a bundle. We already have our local testing routes for a weekend blast or a pre-LeMans shake down. Testing curves, Plod free straights, the odd mobile chicane and NO Bleedin' cameras. So keep them under yur hat next time Conti!!!
Good one, so what did this little survey cost, and more to the point, what was the point?
vipers said:
Good one, so what did this little survey cost, and more to the point, what was the point?
I love it: buy Conti tyres, have a thrash on these roads, come back in four weeks for a fresh set of rubber.
Seen in that light, this survey should also have been sponsored by Pagid Green Stuff (TM) and your friendly local Shell retailer
) and you come up behind a lorry. ah, to have an impreza......zevans said:
I prefer Snake Pass (A57) between Glossop and Sheffield. It's closer!
>> Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 9th February 11:37
It's not actually that bendy. Some nasty cambers though, especially descending the west side...
I wonder if it is considered rude to overtake people on the outside of left hand bends, I never stop to find out. I love the snake too (err, so to speak).
cptsideways said:
In fact thinking about it it's not that wiggly at all!!, a few bends yes but not much really, some fast sweepers. I tend to average 2 Numpty units down it on a good day and theres a few bits that are good for 3 Numpty units
I'm finding it hard to grasp the value of numpty units.
I'm guessing blocks of the unit of speed at which most numpties drive at? 40mph?
Dave
ubergreg said:
What's a numpty unit please?
The better question is this: is it really true that the new BMW M5, once de-restricted, can travel at a rate of up to five numpty units?
edited for spelling like a numpty
>> Edited by ubergreg on Thursday 9th February 16:19
Apparently. Rob from DMS had his one shown in the BMW car magazine saying hits 5 numpty units plus 1 normal mph. But more interesting, I heard on certain diesel vs petrol thread that a derestricted 535d can do about 4.275 numpty units !!
>> Edited by dinod on Thursday 9th February 16:55
Cor...I also love the old A57 snake pass but have seen the ocassional plod laser trap on the 50 bit over the dam Sheffield end.
I'll keep a look out you you, and no its not rude overtaking on the outside of a LH bend, lovely place on the pass I use all the time do to just this.
Cadwell! I have had many a reminder that fear is coloured brown on that stretch of road. Tuscans like it sideways unfortunately R1`s are better at it than me, I lost me best TVR cap
on the brow of a hill on the way to Louth last year whilst trying to stay ahead of one.
I'll get down now! 
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