3 ms·

Half the weight is not always a good thing. Good for fuel efficiency, but anyone that has ever passed a semi truck in the opposite direction while driving a sma

Half the weight is not always a good thing. Good for fuel efficiency, but anyone that has ever passed a semi truck in the opposite direction while driving a small car has probably felt the force of it push against your car. Heavy winds can also make it somewhat difficult to drive as well. There's other safety concerns, but those have already been mentioned.

alexhawdon 14y ago
A legitimate concern, but I wonder if it could be mitigated these days by some clever electronics sensing and compensating for this type of effect?
- regularfry 14y ago
  The question is how you'd compensate. I don't know of any widely-deployed variable-strength suspension. There is tech around to do it, but I don't think it's generally available. I'm guessing you wouldn't want to do it with the steering or brakes...
  - bryans 14y ago
    I know nothing about anything on this subject, but could adding downforce (thereby adding friction/grip between the tires and road) help compensate for crosswind? If yes, then surely there must be some reasonable way for a front-end and rear wing mechanism to automatically adjust to create extra downforce during short bursts of crosswinds.
  - maxerickson 14y ago
    GM started shipping one in Cadillacs 10 years ago and uses it somewhat more these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide
    - regularfry 14y ago
      Coincidentally about when I got out of the car-making business :-)
astral303 14y ago
Smaller cars actually tend to do better in heavy winds than tall, heavy vehicles, as there is less surface area for the wind to buffet. Also, being buffeted by the wind is massively affected by the suspension design. If the car is on soft, wallowy suspension, high up in the air (think Toyota Echo), you'll be fearing for your life. However, bring the car a little lower, improve the shock absorber design, work on the steering and suspension geometry, calibrate the tires to the car (not too wide, but not too narrow), and you can significantly reduce the effect of wind.

alexhawdon 14y ago

A legitimate concern, but I wonder if it could be mitigated these days by some clever electronics sensing and compensating for this type of effect?

regularfry 14y ago
The question is how you'd compensate. I don't know of any widely-deployed variable-strength suspension. There is tech around to do it, but I don't think it's generally available. I'm guessing you wouldn't want to do it with the steering or brakes...
- bryans 14y ago
  I know nothing about anything on this subject, but could adding downforce (thereby adding friction/grip between the tires and road) help compensate for crosswind? If yes, then surely there must be some reasonable way for a front-end and rear wing mechanism to automatically adjust to create extra downforce during short bursts of crosswinds.
- maxerickson 14y ago
  GM started shipping one in Cadillacs 10 years ago and uses it somewhat more these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide
  - regularfry 14y ago
    Coincidentally about when I got out of the car-making business :-)

astral303 14y ago

Smaller cars actually tend to do better in heavy winds than tall, heavy vehicles, as there is less surface area for the wind to buffet. Also, being buffeted by the wind is massively affected by the suspension design. If the car is on soft, wallowy suspension, high up in the air (think Toyota Echo), you'll be fearing for your life. However, bring the car a little lower, improve the shock absorber design, work on the steering and suspension geometry, calibrate the tires to the car (not too wide, but not too narrow), and you can significantly reduce the effect of wind.