Hi TGP
I would agree with you on the subject or springs , normally, as most of Europe has roads. What Bulgaria has , can in no way be described as roads. It is the only country in Europe to have no motorways....there are 6 started, but the millions of pounds that Europe has put into road building and improvement , have been siphoned off by organised crime....that is to say the Government . All government and local government officers have links to organised crime....that's how they launder the stolen money....anyway, back on topic, if you look at the way a road is constructed , i.e. a cross-sectional diagram, the Bulgarian roads are totally different.....the lazy beggars cut out many of the stages, and merely tip some stones down, and cover them with asphalt , consequently the road surface cracks, and the road surface assumes a rippled texture. In winter, they clear the snow by dragging steel plates across the road surface behind some of the biggest tractors you have seen. The surface, thus abraded, allows water in, which freezes, expands, and the surface is then useless as it crumbles away.
The result of road degradation, is the formation of totally unimaginable potholes....some of which can accept both wheels of a modern articulated lorry in the same hole. This results in a driving style totally un- seen in other countries....you just drive on any side of the road, namely the side which has the least craters. The craters are just called holes over here, as that is EXACTLY what they are, and the Bulgarian word for hole is pronounced DOOPKIE....How very appropriate, as the American slang for the 2" mortar used in Vietnam was a "Doop", as that is the sound they make when fired. Tony has lived and worked in a war zone (the West Bank), and he says the craters in the road over here are just like those left by mortar fire......except they repair them , and Bulgaria leaves them.
I go into detail, as I am furious about the roads....along with most normal Bulgarians
Now... Progressive springs....As we know, when driving, hitting a small bump causes enormous acceleration upwards in the wheel, and this inertia is absorbed by the spring compressing, and the force is then dissipated by the spring pushing the wheel back down with the energy stored during the upward compression....to stop the spring bouncing, this is controlled by dampers.
The above is normal under road conditions.....for Bulgaria, think again....you try to avoid the pot-holes, but it is sometimes inevitable that you hit one. The suspension CAN bottom out on anything but an off-road vehicle equipped with long-travel suspension . Progressive springs can SOMETIMES overcome these forces, as when they compress, the further the wheels travel upwards, the stiffer the springs get, giving a good ride when they are using the softer portion of their travel, and absorbing more force at the harder end of the scale.
I'll lastly end with one tale to illustrate the nature of the Bulgarian travel route (it is an insult to roads to call them roads).
Whilst travelling through Sofia (The Bulgarian Capital of sleaze), and trying hard to breathe , as the whole city stinks in winter of the cheap fuel burnt on the fires, I didn't see one of the potholes, as it was in the shade....the street light wasn't working (quite normal)....I hit this mother of a crater at around 40 KPH...(25MPH)...i heard an immense bang as the front suspension bottomed out, and a second one as it hit the far side of the crater....the third bang was the Bongo returning to ground, having been catapulted at least a foot in the air.
Don't mind me criticising Sofia.....most Bulgarians do as well.!!!
Cheers
Helen
In the beginning there was nothing , then God said "Let there be Light".....There was still nothing , but ,by crikey, you could see it better.
