[chirantanaranya]

Hi folks!

Could you may be help me determine if my vehicle had any sort of damage?

I must have been cruising at >90Kmph on an empty stretch somewhere between Hassan and Belur (Karnataka) when we came upon a (unmarked) series of rumble strips. I decided not to brake too hard fearing it could take away all the rubber and destabilize the vehicle, and allowed it to ride on the strips. Unsure though, I finally stopped on the strips halfway. The deceleration must've been something like 90 -> 40 -> 0.

We were 5 adults + 1 child on board my Adventure Sport. The tyre pressure was at 32psi all 4 when cold (but I was driving warm) and the fuel tank was at about 30 litres during the episode. We hardly had any additional load.

There was no obvious problem after the event though.

Suspension? Any thing else?

Thanks,
Chirantan

[Jaggu]

get alignment check done just to be sure.

[chirantanaranya]

Will do.

Just to let you know though that bar that event things were absolutely smooth and I felt no problem in the subsequent 200 odd kms I did.

During the remaining drive I did some basic 'straight steering' to see if the car would pull to a side, and also watched to see if any vibration would transmit to the steering or the underside while doing 90-100 kmph. There was no problem.

I'll get the alignment checked. Any other symptom you'd like to me look for?

Thanks much

[Vid6639]

Well if there were like a few rumble strips the better thing would have been to go over without braking. By braking the entire front suspension of teh car will get loaded and the travel will reduce causing teh suspension to bottom out which is more harmful than taking it flat out.

I've taken a full speedbreaker at 100kmph cause if I had braked I would have left off bits of my suspension on the road.

[subbarp]

Similar travails though of different sort.

I suffered Bangalore traffic for 3 hours on this rainy day and then drove through deep water on the home stretch in the 4th hour (literally, started at 7:35PM and reached home at 11:20PM(about 15 Km in over 3.5 hours). There was a huge wait for the water to recede on the road and not to mention the usual pile of vehicles. After the rain subsided, a bus moved and then some qualis variety taxis. I was one of the first few to go through after these (not having any more patience left).

Do I need to take any care tomorrow morning ? Drove all in 1st gear with high speed(20KMph) and all lights on without stopping. Car was Corolla. The water would have been upto 2/3 of the wheels of a Santro and about more than half of the wheel height on a Corolla(guessing this - I only saw the Santro in front). On my return to parking, I just let it idle for a few minutes at about 3000RPM and switched off. Need any care in the morning ? Any checks ?

thanks
subbarp

[akroy]

Originally Posted by chirantanaranya

Suspension? Any thing else?

No issues, probably check the alignment. Actually it is better not to brake when you are hiting sudden breakers, braking cause more problem to the car than otherwise...

Originally Posted by subbarp

Do I need to take any care tomorrow morning ?

No Worry !! Start the car, keep it idle for half a minute to see everything is ok...I too had similar experience but the next day, the car started in one crank as usual...But suggest you to open your bonnet and check everything is ok...

Abhi

[anandpadhye]

Subbarp,
From all I have learnt here at TBHP, you did perfectly well.
Did you also learn how to drive thru water, here at T-BHP, like me?

BTW, when did it rain so heavily in Bangalore?

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by chirantanaranya

Hi folks!

an empty stretch somewhere between Hassan and Belur (Karnataka) when we came upon a (unmarked) series of rumble strips. Suspension? Any thing else?

Thanks,
Chirantan

I know this place. It's just after Hagare...
I have missed this humps twice on my Zen ... It was like 100->0 in a flash.

Nothing to worry... Just get a wheel alignment done

[gbpscars]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Well if there were like a few rumble strips the better thing would have been to go over without braking. By braking the entire front suspension of teh car will get loaded and the travel will reduce causing teh suspension to bottom out which is more harmful than taking it flat out.

I've taken a full speedbreaker at 100kmph cause if I had braked I would have left off bits of my suspension on the road.

the right practice and explanation there.

yes,... it is a good way to continue over the rumblers in the same speed as what you hit it with, in case you dont notice it early enough to slow down.

and if you happen to run over rumblers at a higher speed by mistake, never brake (unless of course to avoid collision)

braking dips the front end, thus reducing suspension travel a lot and might result in more damage than what it could have been otherwise.

[chirantanaranya]

Thanks everyone for the reassurances. The key point I am taking away is that I shouldn't be braking while riding the humps.

[Simhi]

Reviving an old thread to get answer to my queries.

In last few months, lots of rumbling strips have appeared in Pune with some just before speed breakers (don't know the purpose).

What I noticed is that if I slow down my car and drive over the rumbling strips, there is a lot more vibration / jerks in the cabin. However, if I go over them at a speed of 40 or more, than I can hardly feel any vibration / jerks.

I understand that rumbling strips are a road safety feature to alert drivers of potential dangers and a warning to reduce speed.

However, my query is whether driving over the strip at more than 40 or more causes damage to the vehicle - wheel alignment, suspension etc? Should I be always slowing down the vehicle and taking it easy?

I understand from above posts that I should not be braking while driving over the strip.

[Shome]

Originally Posted by Simhi

Reviving an old thread to get answer to my queries.

In last few months, lots of rumbling strips have appeared in Pune with some just before speed breakers (don't know the purpose).

What I noticed is that if I slow down my car and drive over the rumbling strips, there is a lot more vibration / jerks in the cabin. However, if I go over them at a speed of 40 or more, than I can hardly feel any vibration / jerks.

I understand that rumbling strips are a road safety feature to alert drivers of potential dangers and a warning to reduce speed.

However, my query is whether driving over the strip at more than 40 or more causes damage to the vehicle - wheel alignment, suspension etc? Should I be always slowing down the vehicle and taking it easy?

I understand from above posts that I should not be braking while driving over the strip.

It's the same here on the Navi Mumbai Palm Beach road as well.

The rumblers are there for a reason..i.e. to slow down traffic at crossroads/etc or in your case, the authorities must have thought the rumblers act as an early warning for a speed breaker.

If you know where the rumblers are, the best practice is to slow down to a crawl and go over them. This for sure will not damage anything. But be sure to be on the slow lane in the direction of your travel and slow down gradually from a distance giving the cars behind you enough time to react to your reduced speed. Keep tapping the brakes to signal the driver behind you. There will always be others who will want to take the rumblers at high speed.

However, if the rumblers come up on you unexpectedly, just drive over them at the speed you are going at. I have noticed that going over them at speed kind of makes the tires touch the crests of the rumbler and not the troughs. Lesser vibrations and lesser damage to your car. Slowing down loads up the front of your car and increase chances of suspension damage. Also, decelerating rapidly might lead to a shunt from behind. If the rumblers are not really big, alignment should not be an issue unless you go over them at speed regularly.

[amit_purohit20]

Personally using the engineering common sense. I feel higher the force generated during the impact the greater it reduces the life of the component. So I would personally go slow over the rumblers and bear the pain rather than go high speed over the rumblers. Hitting the rumblers at higher speed will surely generate more forces and cause more damage then driving over them slowly. The damage might not be felt instantly but it will surely reduce the life of the suspension in long term.

When suddenly confronted with a speed braker/rumbler I feel the best thing to do is brake hard (considering vehicles coming from behind) but release the brakes at some distance before you hit the speed braker so that the suspension regains its normal position. This will help reduce the velocity at what you hit the speed braker and also avoid damage the suspension. But if you have absolutely no scope of hitting the brakes in time then just glide over the speed braker without braking. Thats the only option left.
Off topic!: Is it a speed breaker or speed braker? Does it breaks the speed or brakes the speed? What is correct? Am confused

[humyum]

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

Personally using the engineering common sense. I feel higher the force generated during the impact the greater it reduces the life of the component. So I would personally go slow over the rumblers and bear the pain rather than go high speed over the rumblers. Hitting the rumblers at higher speed will surely generate more forces and cause more damage then driving over them slowly. The damage might not be felt instantly but it will surely reduce the life of the suspension in long term.

When suddenly confronted with a speed braker/rumbler I feel the best thing to do is brake hard (considering vehicles coming from behind) but release the brakes at some distance before you hit the speed braker so that the suspension regains its normal position. This will help reduce the velocity at what you hit the speed braker and also avoid damage the suspension. But if you have absolutely no scope of hitting the brakes in time then just glide over the speed braker without braking. Thats the only option left.
Off topic!: Is it a speed breaker or speed braker? Does it breaks the speed or brakes the speed? What is correct? Am confused

+ 1 to what you said. That is what I always do. Jam the brakes and release them a moment or two before the hit.