[sbraj]

Bangalore-Mysore highway (SH17) has its share of unmarked humps.

Towards Mysore side, there are 3-4 of them between Mandya and Srirangapatna. Spotting them during night drive is very difficult.

Towards Bangalore side, there are couple of unmarked humps near Jnanabharathi campus entrance.

[kreddy]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Ohh please tell me about it. I'm sure you meant between Chickbalapur and BIAL. These are unmarked and unpleasant. By the time we see these in the night there is nothing much to do other than pump the brakes and and hope to get side ways. I have burnt enough tyres in one trip.


This is somewhere between when you leave hebbal flyover and BIAL. But there are enough people slowing down so you cannot miss it in the night or in the day time.

Infact these continue till AP border after Bagepalli.

[Torqy]

Bangalore takes the cake for the most STUPIDEST road design, road markings and safety systems. No one can take that title away from us. No way.

-- Torqy

[Blacktop]

A couple of days back, I hit a speed breaker at 90kmph with 4 people on board. This happened on Blore Kolar highway. There were no markings or signs before this massive bump and I stood on my Maruti Esteem's legendary brakes, locking them in the process. I released them before hitting the speed breaker but failed to stamp on the accelerator. A friend accompanying on a motor cycle who also flew over the same bump said that the car underbody lit up with sparks :( .. There is a metal bracket under the front bumper and there were three sharp dents and abrasions on it and also a nasty grazing on the exhaust pipe... Guess a lot of metal came off and the resulting heat and flying metal fragments generated the sparks. This massive high speed impact caused a few things to move up under the bonnet and that in turn caused the bonnet to not shut properly. The kind folks at Bimal motors said everything's fine and hammered the bracket down and indeed, the car moves fine without ANY rattles. Steering seems ok too. Could there have been a chassis damage. What areas should I focus on to identify it. The car was heavily loaded and it hit a bump at 90 kmph and something other than the tyres took the impact. I really would like to know if I have caused any long term damage to the car that is not apparent right now. I sent an email to NHAI reporting the lack of signs/reflectors around that bump and of course did not get any response.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Blacktop

A couple of days back, I hit a speed breaker at 90kmph with 4 people on board. This happened on Blore Kolar highway. There were no markings or signs before this massive bump and I stood on my Maruti Esteem's legendary brakes, locking them in the process. I released them before hitting the speed breaker but failed to stamp on the accelerator. A friend accompanying on a motor cycle who also flew over the same bump said that the car underbody lit up with sparks :( .. There is a metal bracket under the front bumper and there were three sharp dents and abrasions on it and also a nasty grazing on the exhaust pipe... Guess a lot of metal came off and the resulting heat and flying metal fragments generated the sparks. This massive high speed impact caused a few things to move up under the bonnet and that in turn caused the bonnet to not shut properly. The kind folks at Bimal motors said everything's fine and hammered the bracket down and indeed, the car moves fine without ANY rattles. Steering seems ok too. Could there have been a chassis damage. What areas should I focus on to identify it. The car was heavily loaded and it hit a bump at 90 kmph and something other than the tyres took the impact. I really would like to know if I have caused any long term damage to the car that is not apparent right now. I sent an email to NHAI reporting the lack of signs/reflectors around that bump and of course did not get any response.

A proper & detailed under-body inspection should get some relief to you. If the MASS permits, you can personally have a look at the under-body to satisfy yourself, when the car is elevated by the lift.
However, if there is no structural damage, no silencer/ CAT, gearbox and oil sump damage, I don't see any reason to worry. You may need to get your wheel alignment & wheel balancing done at the most, if everything else looks okay. Check tyres thoroughly as they might have suffered a cut or some sidewall/ thread damage.
The underside of the cars are made to withstand such abuse as they are expected. A good look would bring back your confidence.

Regards,
Saket

[Blacktop]

Thanks Saket. I know the guys at M.A.S.S, Bimal Motors very well and I saw those dents in the super hard metal bracket and the exhaust pipe when the car was up on the power jack. The mechanics too looked alongwith me and found nothing. My concern still stems from the fact that the impact and noise were bone chilling. I can only imagine the sparks that flew across the highway when this happened but my friend following the car tells me they were scary to see. I'm afraid that the frame/chassis may have absorbed the shock and suffered damages. But everything appears to work fine and there are NO leakages. If all is indeed fine, then the Esteem is a wonder car. Maybe the doors are flimsy and the power windows are weak and the whole body rattles but the chassis and the engine are rock solid as is every bit of metal supporting them :-)