M325is 0 Report post Posted June 7, 2009 Was on my way from Auckland to Whangamata Friday evening, about 50kg in the boot of clothing and bedding etc and a 90kg passenger in the rear and a 90kg passenger in the front, I'm 50kg. So the car was carrying only 300ish kgs. New reconditioned Bilstein shocks and the cars ride height is well above 100mm. Coming down the Bombay we turn off to coromandel SH 2, about 2km along there is a right hand turn just after McPherson road, on this right hander there is a massive bump in the road which makes a loud bang noise. Cruising along SH25 we drive over the first small bridge and into the 70km zone, we reach the 100km sign, put the foot down, then BANG we hit another f**k off bump int he road, this time the car splutters then sounds like a veryloud rotary/wastegate with blow off valve... WTF! My freaking exhaust had been shunted so much the weld broke where the exhaust meets the flange which bolts to the manifold! What to do? Car trailer is off at rally whangarei. Luckily we could see that it was just one pipe not both so the second was kinda holding the first in place to rid most of the exhaust. We turn around and head back to Auckland, having to stop at the top of the Bombays as we were all feeling terribly sleepy! Ruined weekend thanks to bullsht roads! Wouldnt be surprised if my wheels are now oval! So watch out if your traveling east along SH 2 and 25 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted June 7, 2009 New reconditioned Bilstein shocks and the cars ride height is well above 100mm.... Ruined weekend thanks to bullsht roads! new Zealand does lend itself towards lowered cars and low profile tyres. I was always extremely happy I had my E39 with standard ride height, and standard high-profile tyres. It meant that I was protected from such potholes and bumps, protected from curb rash, and had a more comfortable ride. And every now and then my reasoning would be further reinforced when I read posts like yours or that from Hybrid.... BTW: here in Europe the roads are MUCH more suitable to lowered cars, however the curb rash issue is even worse with narrow streets and curbs made of pure rock. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grant 4 Report post Posted June 7, 2009 I always found SH2 and SH25 pretty bad for bumps in the road. I always put it down to the fact that it is a major truck route, and this causes the badly built NZ roads to fall apart pretty easily. However some of the roads here are a lot worse. There are potholes on the major freeways that are so big that I'm sure whole cars have gone missing down them. Cheers Grant Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M325is 0 Report post Posted June 7, 2009 Yeah lower profile tyres feel the pain more. Cant say my car is much lower then standard though, I still drive up curbs 150mm high when i'm stuck in traffic and want to get the f**k out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1043 Report post Posted June 7, 2009 Yeah, Its sometimes hard work on open road running coil overs. The big one for me is forged wheels as running 35/30 profile tires you really need forged barrels. I always just slow down these days for road works or those un-even road surface signs. Its not fun hitting those at speed as the gradent change / legnth of compression is usually greater than what your shocks stroke is. With this you end up hitting the bump stops maybe bottoming out or even in extreme cases bending your wheels, flat tires / causing strut tower movement. I usually find over the ole one way bridges on NZ's B roads I slow right down or place my wheels on a different line than usual traffic as the road isnt as ruttered on offset lines. I use this rule for dips in the road or when raining anywhere you see polling water. Works 99% of the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
