so there are a lot of apartment complexes and shopping malls and other bs around where i live..
every single one of them has a barrage of speedbumps to slow down the already incredibly bad drivers the state of florida is known for.

since ive lived down here and had all this speedbump experience, i started to dodging them as best i could, which sometimes means driving all the way around it, or sometimes driving so that only half the car hits the bump and the other half stays set on the ground.
a couple of days back i was doing this while driving with a friend and he said "i wonder if thats bad for your car"

i have no idea....doesnt seem like it would be, but its worth asking.

so, is it better to dodge a speedbump with only half your car (two wheels) or is it better to hit it dead on, so that both axels go over evenly?








* does this belong in the advanced suspension forum?

 

It's a well thought out engineered piece of the car. Do you think if only half of the car goes over the speedbump it's going to cause a problem?

 

I always try to hit them at an angle.
All wheels go over the bump, but only one at a time.
Seems to cause the least amount of jarring (for lack of a better word) inside the car.

 

I don't think it matters because you are going <15mph anyway right? Plus all the grooves and bumps on the road that you drive over at 40+ are not perfectly symmetrical to your car so...I don't think it matters. If you hit a speed bump with one side of the car at a higher speed then damage will be served.

 

I don't think it will make that much of a difference either way, I usually do the two wheel thing too... But 3rd gen = Independent Rear Suspension

 

I always go over speed bumps two wheels at a time so there's no lateral stress on the suspension.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Questions like this make baby jesus cry.

 

"Dear little baby Jesus, who's sittin' in his crib watchin the Baby Einstein videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors. I would like to thank you for bringin' me and my moma together, and also that my kids no longer sound like retarded gang-bangers"

 

why u always hatin on me

 

I go to UTI, and all speed bumps come in pairs and are extremely steep, also they are about every 20yds.. From my experience if you go over them two wheels at a time you have a better chance of hitting the ground with your underbody front or rear (happend once; hit my muffler). Hitting it side ways makes it more likely to hit the car side to side (very slim chance that would happen). Going at an angle seems to be the best because the car is being disturbed one wheel at a time, with three wheels to keep it stable like a tripod.

 

Hell no.

If it was bad for the car, I would think it would have been mentioned in the owners manual.

 

Not if you go really slowly.

What do you mean?

Yes, but don't forget you have a big fat sway bar in the front and beam suspension in the rear. Your wheels aren't that independent...

 

Because you make a lot of threads just like this one.

 

if there ever was a place to ask a question like this, as stupid as you think it may be, i think a car forum would be it....

 

I'm not hatin, this honestly seemed like a common sense question to me. I thought you had put this in Off-Topic and were kidding at first...

 

<---agree with iceman. And I'm on coil-overs. One tire at a time. Rear beam really killing us 5th genners in the handling department.

 

so is the "myth" busted, confirmed, or applausible?

 

When I lowered my car, I go over speed bumps like this:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...58447313877490

When I added GramLights wheels, I found I could do this:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...73005963757782

In all honesty, I take them at an angle like this to lessen the chances of scraping
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...83512689465104

Dr J

 

Going over a speedbump with only one side of your car will not affect squat. Do it 10k times, and you might cause a TINY bit more wear on that one side.

 

WOW.... the first two videos are hilarious. If you go that fast or faster than the speed bump limit you will do damage to the frame.Going at a slow SPEED.......and I am sure It doesn't matter, If you want to go over the speed bump sideways or straight It should be no harm.

 

I'm with u man, #2 was absolutely amazing, i wanna find that street in Dhubia (sp?) and watch those idiots catch some air for a few hours. what a treat!!!!

 

Doesn't matter, independent rear suspention FTW!!!

 

this is a great question.

I always did the two wheel or at an angle thing to avoid scraping, I think you would have to doge a speed bump on a specific side for many many years for some type of damage or apparent wear to be obvious.

Also at an angle is good for some with a very bouncy suspension setup so the two wheels going over the bump at the same time would produce a greater bounce than one wheel at a time.

 

Dubai.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the point of a suspension to actually ACCOUNT for these kinds of situations? There are bumps and dips all over the road, a speed bump is no different. If you hit the same pothole every day, it's the same thing.

This is a stupid question, in fact I think I might be able to faintly HEAR baby jesus crying somewhere in the background.

 

This is a stupid question, in fact I think I might be able to faintly HEAR baby jesus crying somewhere in the background. [/quote]

It maybe old by now on this forum, but gosh these baby jesus crying comments make me giggle. i don';t know whether to think you guys are going to hell or just getting major props for a sweet little joke.

not sure and don't care. keep the perfectly timed zinggers comin....

 

I'm totally lost on the baby jesus crying thing. I tried googling but that wasn't any help. I'm on the outside of an inside joke I guess. OH well.

Back on topic.
Since we drive on the right side of the road, and the gutter's on the right, which means the crown of the road tilts to the right, does the right side suspension wear out quicker due to the excess weight? Or is that figured in and compensated in a car's geometry?

Dr J

 

Same principle, same argument, which is why it's pointless to even discuss this.

 

isn't it more fun to cruise over a speed bump doing like 40?

 

Oh yeah, tons of fun. The only thing more fun than that is being the guy at the shop your car rolls up to the next day with bubbled tires that need to be replaced.

 

I just go in at an angle. It helps

 

i don't think this would affect your car at all...i know a lot of people that do it. around here in the country people swerve to the side of the road on railroad tracks because they think it's smoother

 

be a man...floor ur **** and hold on

 

lol going over the speed bump at an angle is called "wog crawl" where i live HAHAH because of all the wogs in commadore's (look up VL commadore on google)

 

I go over them backwards, that way I reverse all the damage from the pot holes I hit

 

 

Now everytime I go over a speed bump (or hump in some areas), I think about this thread

 

the maxima goes over speed bumps really slow. the civic on the other had doesnt know they are comming haha. It much easier to just get it over with and be on my way then to be botherd with a petty speed bump when i am driving my honda.

 

my work here is done.