Vlad Soare
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2020
- Threads
- 67
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- 3,647
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- Location
- Bucharest, Romania
- First Name
- Vlad
- Vehicle(s)
- 2020 Mustang GT 6MT
- Thread starter
- #1
Hi,
I've noticed an interesting phenomenon that I can't explain, and no amount of googling seems to get me even close to the answer.
Close to my home there are a couple of speed bumps. One day I didn't pay enough attention and forgot about one of them, and I inadvertently drove fast over it. Well, imagine my surprise when I realized that not only did the car not break into pieces, as one would expect, but quite the contrary, it glided over the bump almost as if it hadn't been there.
Over the next couple of days I experimented with various speeds. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the worst (i.e. teeth-shuttering) experience and 10 the best (i.e. feeling next to nothing), it would be something like this:
- at 9 mph: 6
- at 18 mph: 5
- at 28 mph: 5
- at 31 mph: 4
- at 37 mph: 6
- at 43 mph: 8
- at 47 mph: 9
- at 50 mph: 8
- at 53 mph: 7
At slow speeds it looks reasonable - the higher the speed, the worse the shake. However, once you exceed a certain threshold, things start improving. The sweet spot (with these particular bumps) seems to be around 47 mph, where the jolt becomes barely distinguishable from that caused by a benign imperfection in the tarmac.
What's the explanation? What happens technically, mechanically, that makes the bump more comfortable to drive over at higher speeds, contrarily to all expectations?
Thank you.
I've noticed an interesting phenomenon that I can't explain, and no amount of googling seems to get me even close to the answer.
Close to my home there are a couple of speed bumps. One day I didn't pay enough attention and forgot about one of them, and I inadvertently drove fast over it. Well, imagine my surprise when I realized that not only did the car not break into pieces, as one would expect, but quite the contrary, it glided over the bump almost as if it hadn't been there.
Over the next couple of days I experimented with various speeds. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the worst (i.e. teeth-shuttering) experience and 10 the best (i.e. feeling next to nothing), it would be something like this:
- at 9 mph: 6
- at 18 mph: 5
- at 28 mph: 5
- at 31 mph: 4
- at 37 mph: 6
- at 43 mph: 8
- at 47 mph: 9
- at 50 mph: 8
- at 53 mph: 7
At slow speeds it looks reasonable - the higher the speed, the worse the shake. However, once you exceed a certain threshold, things start improving. The sweet spot (with these particular bumps) seems to be around 47 mph, where the jolt becomes barely distinguishable from that caused by a benign imperfection in the tarmac.
What's the explanation? What happens technically, mechanically, that makes the bump more comfortable to drive over at higher speeds, contrarily to all expectations?
Thank you.
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