Paul64 Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Interestingly (or not), you get a lot of time to think when driving 400 miles in a Defender. I did notice that the speed I was doing varied with the tarmac I was on. This may seem ridiculous, but it is true! I drove from the UK to Germany and passed through France, Belgium and Holland on the way. The smoother the tarmac, which was noticeably smooth in Holland, my LR cruised nicely at 70 MPH. However, as soon as I entered Germany I was back down to 65 MPH, and she found it a bit more of a struggle to stay at 70. Anybody else noticed this, or have I had too many hours at the wheel?! Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diff Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Interestingly (or not), you get a lot of time to think when driving 400 miles in a Defender. I did notice that the speed I was doing varied with the tarmac I was on. This may seem ridiculous, but it is true! I drove from the UK to Germany and passed through France, Belgium and Holland on the way. The smoother the tarmac, which was noticeably smooth in Holland, my LR cruised nicely at MPH. However, as soon as I entered Germany I was back down to MPH, and she found it a bit more of a struggle to stay at 70.Anybody else noticed this, or have I had too many hours at the wheel?! Cheers, Paul. Yep, noticed it before in the car, rough concrete motorways are one of the worst. The newer tarmacs are often pretty good eg the Birmingham toll road. Regards, Diff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Vienna ring road (or pretty much any Austrian motorway), potholed concrete, carp MPG - eeeek smoothest tarmac Ive ever been on was Latvia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 There is certainly a step change in the road surface when you cross the border from France into Belgium! Belgium is worse by far! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Brussels ring road Chris? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Vienna ring road (or pretty much any Austrian motorway), potholed concrete, carp MPG - eeeeksmoothest tarmac Ive ever been on was Latvia You are right about Austria. I drive from west to east twice a year, and the roads there are amazingly poor. Have you tried the toll road in Hungary from the Austrian border to Budapest, and from Budapest to Szeged. That is a real beauty, which was apparently built by a French contractor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Yep, noticed it before in the car, rough concrete motorways are one of the worst. The newer tarmacs are often pretty good eg the Birmingham toll road.Regards, Diff I have never been on the Birmingham toll road, but it does amaze me that a top quality road should be a toll road. What is all that road tax being paid for. West Norfolk roads are amazing. The council simply throws the tar on the road, then chucks stones all over it. They don't even use a roller, as they leave our cars to embed the stones in the tar. So many of my friends have put claims into the council over the years to get the tar removed from the paint work. They complain saying this should not happen if you drive at the designated 10mph, but they always pay. Cheaper for them to pay off a few complaints than do the job properly. An absolute scandal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Brussels ring road Chris? Just too-ing and fro-ing from the Belgium National. Literally as you cross the Border into Belgium there is a bump as you go from French tarmac to Belgian and then a whole lot more road noise and road-signs warning of standing water and danger of aquaplaning. Not been as far as Brussels - I did once lose my trousers in Bruges though... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 Just too-ing and fro-ing from the Belgium National. Literally as you cross the Border into Belgium there is a bump as you go from French tarmac to Belgian and then a whole lot more road noise and road-signs warning of standing water and danger of aquaplaning. Not been as far as Brussels - I did once lose my trousers in Bruges though... Chris I agree about the obvious change in road conditions between the two countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 the Gyor road past the factory outlet complex? many times, that and the route into Kormano, We have Friends (lrfun on here) from Szeged so we trundle down there a fair bit - lots of fun in the fog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 the Gyor road past the factory outlet complex? many times, that and the route into Kormano, We have Friends (lrfun on here) from Szeged so we trundle down there a fair bit - lots of fun in the fog I really like Szeged. I usually stay at the Novotel there for a good nights kip before the long dangerous drive through Romania. Never seen the fog though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Hi Paul Its not just the speed but the noise! with 265/75`s on concerning the Redex pity you didnt pick up some millers whilst accross there on the island - that good too Happy Trails Abe DUtch / Belgian Border Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Its all down to skid resistance.. my old camper would cruse on the motorway in the uk at 80 tops but when I when down to LeMans it crused at 90 all day easy...... The rougher the tarmac the better the skid resistance ergo you stop quicker and don't crash but less fuel econimy and more road noise. Concrete roads are a perfect example in the uk as to being very loud and reduced accidents but the general public complain about the sound of cars and trucks on them..... I have had loads of trouble with skid resistance test in Waterlovile when I managed the new ring road.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark green 90 Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Its all down to skid resistance..my old camper would cruse on the motorway in the uk at 80 tops but when I when down to LeMans it crused at 90 all day easy...... The rougher the tarmac the better the skid resistance ergo you stop quicker and don't crash but less fuel econimy and more road noise. Concrete roads are a perfect example in the uk as to being very loud and reduced accidents but the general public complain about the sound of cars and trucks on them..... I have had loads of trouble with skid resistance test in Waterlovile when I managed the new ring road.. ive been told not to apply the brakes at all when travelling through waterlovile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reads90 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 ive been told not to apply the brakes at all when travelling through waterlovile good advice but really for the whole portsmouth / leigh park area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reads90 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 It does make a differance. on our trip round aus we found this plus the massive chanage in mpg. After all you should see what mpg a 300 tdi can do (or can't do ) with a trialer on a dirt track with serve corrigations. To get it to do 70 mph you have to put in the Diff lock . Interesting the first time. Driving along at 70 mph with the diff lock in . After many years of land rovers finally found out why they have diff lock in high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I'm confused. Has everyone including the thread starter missed the original point of this thread ? We all know that road construction quality varies from country to country, state to state, county to county. The gist of the question posed was, have others noticed the difference in drag,(rolling resistence) that different road surfaces place on the vehicle? I have when towing a fully laden (5000lb)with all the underfloor lockers full of LandRover spare parts, 22 ft caravan from North Queensland down to Melbourne, a distance of 2300 miles with an old 2 1/4 litre swb Landy. On some stretches of flat to slightly undulating straight road I was able to see almost 45 mph in 4th gear, even up hill, whereas on other stretches of seemingly flat road on the western flood plains of New South Wales I was barely able to maintain 30 mph in 3rd gear for about 150 miles. The vehicle gave the impression that the front wheels were pushing a wave of tarmac in front of them and that the road was floating on an unstable base. 42 ton 18 wheelers regularly use this road so I doubt that the weight of my combination would have had much effect on the surface. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 If tarmac is soft it will only last day if your luck weeks with lorries around before it will brack up in big clumps.... the surface has a huge inpact on your econimy as I said with concrete roads. the better the skid resistance the more the tyre is working and hence they will wear out much quicker and the same is for the fuel used. flat road in the uk against a flat road in france the fuel consuption on a uk road will be much more than the french but the stopping distance will be better in the uk. This is totaly relyant on finding a uk road that isnt already shagged or being dug up or just had cones on it for the sake of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeryDisco Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 This sign: car on the squiggly lines Is put up by councils in the UK when the road surface is wearing out, ie it's slippy, so you take longer to stop on it as the tarmac has less resistance against your tyres. There's a limit of so many years this sign can be displayed before the council have to replace the surface - can't remember how many tho... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 We all know that road construction quality varies from country to country I didn't (but I do now, so thanks for that). Seeing as it's going to be highly unlikely that you can know in advance the type of road surface - can't see that the information can have any relevance, apart from said information making an interesting topic. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I didn't (but I do now, so thanks for that). can't see that the information can have any relevance, apart from said information making an interesting topic. Les. As long as contributions are relevant and on topic yes. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwood Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I didn't (but I do now, so thanks for that).Seeing as it's going to be highly unlikely that you can know in advance the type of road surface - can't see that the information can have any relevance, apart from said information making an interesting topic. Les. You want a carp road surface !!!! , try the A180 from Barneby J5 M180 to Grimsby. I have traveled most of europe but this is 15 miles of horid concrete. A fitter for the contractors that laid it recons its laid backwards !!!. It should have grouves to clear the water but they are angled away from the direction of travel to cut down noise. The East bound side was laid from east to west and vis versa so the groves are against the flow of trafic making it F****G noisy . It is also laid on a marsh so it lifts and sinks acording to the seasons. Whilst the BBC were making a film about its bad record for fataltys there was a fatle acident in front of them. From J5 there were no proper laybys so people wre drifting into the rear of parked vehicles. No emergency phones for fifteen miles. Whilst loading a car on to my Spec Lift Renault Mascot a truck took my offside mirror off with half the door. Lucly I saw it coming and managed to grab the car driver and roll down the embankment, that was a Clogy truck , ie, left hooked so he had no excuse for not knowing he hit my truck in broad daylight. He didnt stop of coarse. The local tyre companies think its great because it eats tyres. As you may have noticed this is my pet hate, ranting over now, feeling better I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS26 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 A gang of us took a 109 with trailer to India in 1978. We used to feel the tyres and hubs at every stop. Can't remember details of where it was right now but we noticed distinct increase in tyre temperature when driving rough tarmac. Rough tarmac equals more noise, more drag, more heat in the tyres and dampers, lower top speed and higher fuel consumption. I don't think that rougher tarmac necessarily gives more grip though... Just MHO... Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul64 Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Hi PaulIts not just the speed but the noise! with 265/75`s on concerning the Redex pity you didnt pick up some millers whilst accross there on the island - that good too Happy Trails Abe DUtch / Belgian Border Hi Abe, I did see some millers in the shops, but stuck with the redex as it seemed to work. Regarding the roads, yes the noise certainly increases with surface resistance. I am planning on changing my sound system for something rather impressive to drown the road noise out. Anything happening in your area regarding Land Rover's. Totally dead in Muenster apart from me and the Army! Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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