[Torqy]

Hi,

I find myself inching along in 1st or 2nd gear in my Bolero on really bad roads when i find others (Sumos, Esteems, Altos, WagonRs, Qualis...almost everyone) driving fast and overtaking me.

How do they manage this? Am i slow because i love my car too much? What's your take? How do you all drive on bad stretches?

Please mention your ride when you reply.

-- Torqy

[Akshay1234]

i think it would be better to go slow. the only thing you get when you go fast is rattles and mess up your suspension.

[androdev]

i just try to keep up with the traffic even if i intend to go slow - the average speed of the traffic is always the right speed :-) of course, i wouldn't worry too much and just do my own slow-motion drive if i were in my 60s, wear thick spectacles and driving an old fiat.

[gbpscars]

what do you mean by bad roads exactly?
you have a bolero!!!
a bad road for my OHC can be a breezer for you.

but in all,... keep constant low speed and avoid too much braking especially while dipping into potholes or craters. this reduces suspension travel a lot and makes the suspension work harder or bottom out.

a constant low speed should help you through a bad crater ridden road and keep your suspensions alive for more kms than while running like a stung rabbit all over the road.

hope this helps.

[Torqy]

...Would they be driving in WRC mode like Marcus / Sebastien?
Undulating Surface + High Speed = Smooth Ride.

-- Torqy

[Rehaan]

I saw this on a mythbusters episode once :

Originally Posted by Mythbusters

Rough Road Driving: driving faster on a rough road is smoother. confirmed

Scroll down to rought road driving :
Annotated Mythbusters: Episode 58: Shattering Subwoofers and Rough Road Driving

HOWEVER, keep in mind that in this evaluation there was absolutely NO importance given to being considerate to the vehicle & its suspension.

cya
R

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I saw this on a mythbusters episode once :



Scroll down to rought road driving :
Annotated Mythbusters: Episode 58: Shattering Subwoofers and Rough Road Driving

HOWEVER, keep in mind that in this evaluation there was absolutely NO importance given to being considerate to the vehicle & its suspension.

cya
R

Hmmmm...Now that's interesting. Isn't that the same technique WRC guys use?

-- Torqy

[GTO]

To be honest, I am a little unclear on this one. Recently, in a Tata Sierra and on a particular highway stretch...driving slowly (10 - 30 kph) would lead to a terrible suspension crash and violent up-down movements. However, when the same stretch was taken at speed (70 - 80 kph) passengers wernt even aware of the broken road. The car was simply "flying" over it.

What gives?

[D1ISTHE1]

Originally Posted by Torqy

Hi,

I find myself inching along in 1st or 2nd gear in my Bolero on really bad roads when i find others (Sumos, Esteems, Altos, WagonRs, Qualis...almost everyone) driving fast and overtaking me.

How do they manage this? Am i slow because i love my car too much? What's your take? How do you all drive on bad stretches?

Please mention your ride when you reply.

-- Torqy

Hey Torqy, i understand your problem completely, it is actually a combination of speed and gear. Now first you will have to understand how the basic suspension works and its effects. Bad roads are composed of both the bumps and the potholes/craters and stones. Now you can drive normally on bumps whereas in potholes you need to slow down. The reason for this is a basic one :
On a bump the suspension works when it is pushed upwards by the bump and thats what it is designed for (not recommended for bumps like the size of speedbrakers) so just slow down .
On the otherhand at a pothole or a crater the shocker falls down into the pothole and comes up when it hits the wall of the pothole, that impact my friend damages the shocker,bushes,ends,bearings etc eventually leading to the rattles that you get irritated from(which IMO is your actual problem).
Now try this :
# approaching a pothole or a crater brake before your car rides into it and remember not to brake while the tyre approaches the pothole as the tyre stops rotating and that causes more damage.
# At times you end up on a road where it all seems to be cracked when on high speed (highways etc) you can ride firmly with steady throttle.
# On a road which is full of potholes if possible keep atleast one side on the surface you may at times have to drrible across.

Try it and let me know if its helpful
Rest is exprience n judgement

[mithun]

But I would recommend to drive slowly in bumps/bad roads irrespective of whether it is mud road or a broken down tarmac. A little extra care won't do any harm !

Don't ape the other morons on the road !

[Fillmore]

Here is what I experienced and I observed the same holds for many drivers.
When on a long highway drive and you have a looong stretch of bad road ( maybe tiny potholes .. )
First 30 - 45 min you tend to drive slow and avoid all the bumps .. after that the tendency is .. What the heck and you speed up on the bad road. Again By speed up I don't mean you zoom, but do not go slow any longer

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by GTO

To be honest, I am a little unclear on this one. Recently, in a Tata Sierra and on a particular highway stretch...driving slowly (10 - 30 kph) would lead to a terrible suspension crash and violent up-down movements. However, when the same stretch was taken at speed (70 - 80 kph) passengers wernt even aware of the broken road. The car was simply "flying" over it.

My observation too. Ride is definitely better if I take rough roads (without major potholes) at relatively higher speeds. Same goes for multiple bumps (rumble strips). I prefer taking them in second gear.

Not sure how detrimental this sort of driving is to the suspension. Must be to an extent.

But IMO, driving a bit quickly on fast road compromises on your braking ability, since the tyres don't have that much grip. You might need to brake hard on a patch of road that does not provide adequate traction.

[bblost]

If I can go fast, I would go faster on broken roads, esp if I was driving a jeep, hell I do that on my bike as well.

However, if there is traffic on the road, then would go slow, real slow.
The reason being that I dont want to hit my brakes just as I am entering a pothole.

On my bike, what I usually do when approaching a mound or speedbreaker, is gain speed, hit my front brake just a lil before the mound, to compress the front shocks, realse brakes and accelarate hard. sometimes bike takes off and I love it.

[Jaggu]

if its suspension life then drive slow. but when you push the car ride definitely will be better (apart from crash boom bang from the suspension). again cant be generalized coz lots depends on the condition and set up of suspension and chassis.

i prefer to drive hard in swift d and it works well.

[ballkey]

Some cars really encourage this kind of driving too. For example, a petrol Swift has a rock-hard(read: painful) stock suspension. If I drive gingerly over potholes, bumps arent just felt; they're profoundly understood. However, flog her hard on those roads, and she glides over effortlessly. I dont know what damage I've done to my chassis and suspension, but gawd it feels good