The Technical Questions Thread

[drakkie]

We did no braking AT ALL before and/or during the entry of the corner. The ESP would correct our speed and we exited fine and safe. Now it failed for some reason. The ESP could hardly cope and a very very slight 4-wheel sideways slide was set in.

So basically the ESP corrected using barely any brakes causing a slight slide. Unable to brake and correct we went off. If the brakes would have worked we would have made it. What is really wondering is WHY the brakes were not working.. Explaining the situation is rather hard, but it doesn't really matter. What is the odd thing here is the foot-brakes were incorrectly over-ruled. There has to be some control for the driver right ? How on earth is it possible no braking is possible.. I suspect the sensor saw us sliding sideways and gave a X > Speed ==> slip. Then responding by cutting the brakes (think ABS on ice). Falsely here as they could save us.
But what bugs me is why the car did correct as it should in EXACTLY the same situation before. We had sensors on the car that showed prior to the crash we were in the exact same conditions when entering the turn..



In short by the way, the rest of the Astra is fine. This might not be a problem of the car but just these systems in general. IMO it drives ok, just lacks power badly (1.6 tested). On some details it fails, like build quality. Suspension is not bad, short bumps though it sends through too hard. Also steering is kind of vague around the center. On throttle-release there is not even the slightest hint of oversteer. For now my personal conclusion is that it's OK, but nothing more than ok. Boring and nothing special. Not with looks, nor with handling or performance. The Watt-linkage suspension is not as good as hyped about. I suspect just cost-saving stuff turned into marketing-gizmo.

[f6fhellcat13]

Maybe you cooked the brakes?

[fpv_gtho]

The ABS couldve been working that hard it felt like there was a solid pedal.

[drakkie]

The ABS couldve been working that hard it felt like there was a solid pedal.

Yes it was. But WHY was it working ?

[CapnBoost]

How sophisticated is the ABS system? Since ABS senses tire lockup based on the speed of the individual wheels- perhaps being in the corner threw the readings off leading ABS to activate prematurely.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Maybe you cooked the brakes?

thinking about the same (simple) hypothesis.

[drakkie]

thinking about the same (simple) hypothesis.

Nope. We checked them and they were ok.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Nope. We checked them and they were ok.

Perhaps they were just too hot in that moment, and combined with a bit of debris, the just too high speed etc etc it resulted in that weird maneuver.
Also are you so sure he is sure about what happened? I mean, maybe in that quick and unexpected moment he thinks he pushed the pedal without result, but maybe he just doesn't remember so well and things went different.
Randomly guessing.

Wouldn't be so surprised though, I remember that when ESP was getting more popular, some pro-drivers an testers raised the argument that while creating a somehow safer car for common drivers in every day's situations, they were also ousting pros from doing what they know the way they know.
I'd have said after all these years things ere supposed to have improved, and probably they did, but driving dynamics isn't an easy field, and if they would have already managed to find a way to surely correct every sort of wrong trajectory, now we wouldn't have a steering wheel at all.

Now that I think about it...how about that active ESP from BMW who was also capable of moving the steering wheel? IIRC it wasn't such a great success, I'm wondering if it's still available or if it was retired.
It was a 1.500/2.000 € option btw, or something like that.

[Ferrer]

Now that I think about it...how about that active ESP from BMW who was also capable of moving the steering wheel? IIRC it wasn't such a great success, I'm wondering if it's still available or if it was retired.
It was a 1.500/2.000 € option btw, or something like that.

Safety or not, I doubt people were very happy with a car that moved the wheel on its own.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Safety or not, I doubt people were very happy with a car that moved the wheel on its own.

That's the first point against it.
Second, if you think/perceive/assume the car will react in a certain way, because you are an expert driver (or just because you played one million hours on you car simulator and think you know your stuff) and you want to rapidly correct the trajectory, but the system didn't preview that reaction yet, and the steering wheel is in the opposite position, you would just end with twice the time (if not more) required to do the same maneuver. Assuming you're right that is.

[Kitdy]

What diesel engines will Infiniti be using in Europe? I had a quick poke around and found nothing.

The Laguna has a 3L V6 diesel which might fit the bill.

[LeonOfTheDead]

What diesel engines will Infiniti be using in Europe? I had a quick poke around and found nothing.

The Laguna has a 3L V6 diesel which might fit the bill.

That's probably the case.

[Ferrer]

I will be the 3 litre, at least for their big cars. Maybe the G will see the 2 litre four, but it's unlikely.

However with the V6 only, I doubt that'll give it much market share. Infiniti has to understand that we need small engines if they want to sell cars.

[NSXType-R]

Question- any reason why some trucks have lifting axles?

[Cyco]

Reduces tyre wear when the load in light enough that they are not needed