Do country roads slope left???

[anonymousmoose]

Ok. I very rarely drive on country trips. I did yesterday drive 200km inland. I found that my car was pulling left a lot of the way. So when it was very safe, I drove the car on the right hand side (only when I could see about 2pm ahead and no corners or hills and only for a few secs, like when overtaking) and I find the car pulls right a bit.

I notice this on city freeways too at certain points but not nearly as bad as on country roads.

So I was thinking, are the country roads purposely designed to veer left? Also, they are horrible to drive on when you got sports suspension, I feel every bump :-dlD


/posted via mobile device\

[Stressball]

Most roads slope outwards, which means left if you're driving the right way. Drains rain water off the road rather than making it pool in the middle.

Lowered suspension/big rims make the car follow the slope more, so its more noticeable in a modified car.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

[anonymousmoose]

Lowered suspension/big rims make the car follow the slope more, so its more noticeable in a modified car.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

ta :-) my car came with sports suspension factory but I guess it not 'standard'


/posted via mobile device\

[VK SL 3800]

Country roads can go wherever, camber can be really wrong and be sloped left on a right hander, there completely different to most city roads and freeways. I see loads of people from the city haten life in their lowered cars out on the country road where its bumpy, they get thrown all over the place.
If anyone has been up the Olympic highway between henty and The Rock that would have to be one of the most horrible sections of highway getting around, i swear my trailer spent more time in the air then with its wheels on the ground.

[JRNZER]

I drove down the Bruce highway in QLD last weekend for the first time and noticed that the slope to the left was quite steep.I've never really noticed it anywhere else around though.

[Drawnnite]

most country roads do slope as said above for water to flow off the roads.
im not 100% sure but normally they are higher in the middle not just 1 side higher.
however some of the camber on some roads is terrible, going around a corner and they put the camber going outwards, really isnt a smart idea...
but then again some roads have awesome camber, such as near lake rowan, perfect sweeping bends with an inside camber *drools*

and pfft lowered suspension, try country pack suspension!

[gopher]

So I was thinking, are the country roads purposely designed to veer left? Also, they are horrible to drive on when you got sports suspension, I feel every bump :-dlD

yep so that when you fall asleep you hit a tree not an oncoming car

[anonymousmoose]

My C Class Merc wasn't much fun to drive in the country, hence my starting this thread. It's got the AMG kit which includes sports suspension (not an actual AMG, that would be nice). It was pulling quite hard on some roads. There were a few non-highway country roads that had good asphalt and some nice corners... which I enjoyed ;-).

My Mercedes is most definitely a city/freeway car. I can imaging it would go well on the German autobahn.

I hardly ever go out of the metro area anyways, was on a rare overnight trip in the country to a town called New Norcia. I can post pics if anyone's interested :-)

Thanks for confirming my suspicion regarding country roads all!


/posted via mobile device\

[Big_Simmo]

going all 134kms to buy bread off monks hey

A good mate of mine works up there on a farm, it makes a great little escapse from the city thats for sure

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I went to school there, the monastry used to be a school, the Grt Nothern Highway is a crap road anyway, you should see it further north, it gets narrower and a lot bumpier.

But yes, as people have already said, 99% of roads have camber, city and country.

[DavoVP]

Country roads raped my car. Only had one or 2 rattles After a 5r trip and bottoming out atleast 6 times my car sounds like a babies rattle.

I swear EVERYTHING rattles now.

I hate country roads in a lowerd car...............

But yes they slope whatever way they like.....and have odd looking holes in them, allover them everywhere they are shit.

[love the general]

country roads are built with a lot more camber from the start. Just because they don't get as much maintenance etc

[HarmlessMuffinMan]

Lol the bruce highway... Can't really call that a 'Road' can we?

/Posted Via the Toilet\

[lein]

Lol the bruce highway... Can't really call that a 'Road' can we?

No but it is a fairly well trafficked goat track.

You'll also notice on separated dual lane roads that the (inside) right lane tends inwards, and the left only ever so slightly left. This is because the majority or time Trucks and people with Trailers/Caravans spend their time in the left lane being overtaken, makes it easier than being pulled off the road by whatever they're towing.

[macca33]

All roads have camber designed into them to aid in drainage and the roads slope down from the centre 'crown.' Best practice road design dictates that there should always be positive camber, ie: vertical banking to the outside of the curve, however, it is not always possible due to the environment surrounding the road, as well as a myriad of other factors.

cheers

[anonymousmoose]

I ended up finding out that the Benz camber is not adjustable. So I purchased an upgraded Benz camber kit and she drives find now.

[Reaper]

at the people bitching about lowered cars on country roads. Ever wondered why there are mandated limits for such things???

Reaper

[Shorty33]

this short article gives a good overview of the science, etc of road design, including camber and cross-slope:
Macadam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

quote: "I hate country roads in a lowerd car. But yes they slope whatever way they like ..... and have odd looking holes in them, allover them everywhere they are shit."
- obviously, someone with a lot to learn about driving .
Lowered cars are best left on dodgem tracks: there is a reason why cars have "clearance". My bitch about recent Commodores is that they're all about an inch too low.
"country roads ... slope whatever way they like" - no, they don't. Have a look, next time you venture off the Cappucino Strip.
"country roads ... have odd looking holes in them, allover them everywhere they are shit." - that's the stimulation and challenge of getting out into the Great Australian Outdoors.

There is a quote that I've seen several times on this forum, and it was what I was taught as a teenager: "drive according to the conditions." So, if your suspension is bottoming out, then drive a bit slower, or a lot slower, until you get it fixed.

For me, the whole point of having a good car is to be able to go to beautiful places.
If I can do that economically, then I can go to more places, and more often, and have more fun while I'm there.

[$heepy]

ha try driving on the highway out to karoonda in sa, i would put money on that road being the worst in aus. nearly every corner is cambered the wrong way, the road is full of holes, and the undulating surface the whole way. some times even makes the work 4wds bottom out only doing 100

[ClairBear]

I do that run a few times $heepy and I agree it's not the best road just sitting on the limit. However supposedly the toilets at Karoonda are the cleanest in Australia...........

[GRPABT1]

Get a wheel alignment and tell them it's pulling to the left. Cars in are aligned with slightly more/less camber/castor on one side to counter the lean of the road which will naturally pull the car to one side.

[RiCeY]

Get a wheel alignment and tell them it's pulling to the left. Cars in are aligned with slightly more/less camber/castor on one side to counter the lean of the road which will naturally pull the car to one side.

^^^This, suspension type matters not its all in the alignment. The car will pull to the side that has more rubber on the road so you generally have slightly more neg camber on the left to counteract the pull of the road camber, while still being within spec.

[MikeCuzzy]

Depends where you are, but short answer, yes. The road slopes away from the centre to allow water to run off the road, same as off camber corners - stops water building up in rain. We have one corner with the right camber, biggest puddle ever forms everytime it rains.

If you car is pulling too much in your opinion, get an alignment done.

[anonymousmoose]

If you car is pulling too much in your opinion, get an alignment done.

I got a camber bit installed by Mercedes (maybe you missed that post :-)). Drives fine now. Only pulls left when the road is actually sloping. Much better ride and worth the $360.

[Jebadayah]

My C Class Merc wasn't much fun to drive in the country, hence my starting this thread. It's got the AMG kit which includes sports suspension (not an actual AMG, that would be nice). It was pulling quite hard on some roads. There were a few non-highway country roads that had good asphalt and some nice corners... which I enjoyed ;-).

My Mercedes is most definitely a city/freeway car. I can imaging it would go well on the German autobahn.

I hardly ever go out of the metro area anyways, was on a rare overnight trip in the country to a town called New Norcia. I can post pics if anyone's interested :-)

Thanks for confirming my suspicion regarding country roads all!


/posted via mobile device\

Used to love the New Norcia run on a Sunday for breakfast on my bike back when I had such toys, really nice piece of road