duburban

Hey guys, simple question. For work were driving a trail type road daily. Its loose small rock and dirt. Its a fairly bumpy ride. I'm saying that slower is absolutely better, another guy is saying that the bumps are easier on the car at a little bit faster speed, 10 to 15 or so. Is there any reason to going faster over bumps is better for the car? What style of driving is the best for mild to medium trail driving. What parts are going to where first? Consider all the car brand new, what parts would be the first to go out? Thanks for your help.

trailblazr81

Wasnt there something about this on Mythbusters? I would say take it easy if it has some decent bumps. Unless its like a washboard.

Tofer

i drive as fast or as slow as needed... it all depends on the terrain

Mojo_Risin

On scenic - but mildly bump dirt roads with small rock - it is AMAZING what just lowering your air pressure in your tires to about 15psi will do. Lets the tires absorb a lot of the small little rocks/bumps. People always look at me crazy when I air down on easy trails - but it makes such a difference on those trails - in my opinion anyway.

crolison

Long travel is what you need, jk.

It just depends, i have had situation where faster was alot smoother (20-30), where 10-15 wasn't as smooth, but that was more washboard type situation.

tc

x2 for airing down. Depending on the stiffness of your tire sidewalls, you may not need to go down much!

fork

x3 for airing down. this is overlooked way to often and probably ends up saving a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on fixing worn suspension parts (and chiropractors)

apalmer1

slap some racing coils on it and go to town

Fink

Yup! I think they figured out that it was better to go slow but I can't exactly remember...

Fink

Kaleb

Haul ass! Theres nothing like dodging potholes left and right on a gravel road while going 45-55 mph. Its a blast!

duburban

Thanks Kaleb, Very sound advice... So i guess the question boils down to "does going faster over rough road do more damage than slower?"

JCM4x89pu

are we talking about a toyota truck here??.. or someone's minivan?

toyota trucks are designed to drive on rough roads all day everyday.. you're not going to hurt anything by driving 10-15 mph.. or even 60 if you can stay on the trail!

Hasbeen

I think you are on to something here! Perhaps you could just go so fast that you could avoid most of the bumps by hovering over them. If you catch enough air off one bump you'd avoid contacting subsequent bumps.

Trustyrusty

Well you got shocks and a suspension system for something, hell I catch air in my truck all the time, and shift at redline when I'm out in the mudholes, this truck has gone through alot of abuse, so I think the real question is, "Does it matter if I abuse the crap out of this truck, and will it die?" the answer to said question is, How much fun do you wanna have and no it will not die.

Texas_Ace

I have a simular debate with someone about speed bumps. I go over thema bit faster then most people as it is smoothing on me. Personally i don't think it is better for the truck but my shocks and springs are gone anyways so i figure until i get new ones at least i will do it.

Oh, and the Mythbusters found that on a washboard road going faster does indeed make for a smoother ride. On a dirt type road though it felt smoother at speed but they could not really prove if it was or not.

dirtoyboy

The most important thing that will contribute to a nice ride is airing down the tires......

Shock valving/type is important too....I know with a gas pressurized shock (like a bilstein) that they are stiffer when going slow (for stability) and smooth out at speed....so for me its really bumpy to go slow over washboard...but then when I go fast it smooths out

blueyoda

Yes faster was smoother on mythbusters but smoother is not BETTER. This is pure physics. Faster you are going the more kinetic energy you have and the more impact energy on the suspension. Common sense