What Did You Do With Your Kizashi Today?

[~tc~]

If it still has an anti roll bar on the back, you don't know body roll yet!

Going from 2 to 1 is relatively minor ... Going from one to none - wow! (On my 4Runner, I took off the front to have better independent suspension action, and then the rear broke, and I didn't put it back in when I made the custom rear suspension)

[KuroNekko]

If it still has an anti roll bar on the back, you don't know body roll yet!

Going from 2 to 1 is relatively minor ... Going from one to none - wow! (On my 4Runner, I took off the front to have better independent suspension action, and then the rear broke, and I didn't put it back in when I made the custom rear suspension)

Keep in mind that the VW buses are rear engine, rear wheel drive so the set up itself would affect sway characteristics.
All of the VW bus guys recommend against an upgraded rear sway bar. They say it makes the car too stiff which isn't great for a tall van. They say front and only the front is the way to go.

I've heard about offroaders and sway bars. In fact, doesn't the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon feature a button-activated sway bar disconnect to enhance wheel travel?

[~tc~]

Yes, in the Rubicon model. More than actual travel, it reduces the effective spring rate and allows each wheel to move more independently, which GREATLY increases the off road comfort

[SamirD]

I've heard about offroaders and sway bars.

Yep, I once went trail riding all day and saw how a lot of them had a pin system that allowed them to quickly disconnect the sway bar from being effective. You get A LOT more chassis flex since the sway bar is designed to prevent that. However, you don't want to drive that way on the street with an off road rig unless you want some '3-wheel motion' (as Ice Cube used to say).

[SamirD]

I let my wife drive us around today. She's a great driver in India, but the US is different with higher speeds and the necessity to be more 'social' as well as more cognizant of people behind you and what they are doing. I know this, but she doesn't want to face the reality of this with any real attention in her driving.

She only got honked about 3 times. She's damn stubborn about listening to what she needs to learn. I really fear for the Kizashi each time she's behind the wheel, but it's the car we bought for her.

[KuroNekko]

I let my wife drive us around today. She's a great driver in India, but the US is different with higher speeds and the necessity to be more 'social' as well as more cognizant of people behind you and what they are doing. I know this, but she doesn't want to face the reality of this with any real attention in her driving.

She only got honked about 3 times. She's damn stubborn about listening to what she needs to learn. I really fear for the Kizashi each time she's behind the wheel, but it's the car we bought for her.

I hear the honking is insane in India. I remember once reading an article about a car maker that had to put upgraded horns in their cars just for the Indian market. Regular horns couldn't keep up with the use.

The US indeed drives faster than most places, but it's due to our wider roads and freeway network. That being said, I can tell you that the East Coast drives slower than the West Coast. It was one of the first things I noticed when I moved. Californians drive much faster, but in my opinion, better unless it rains. Then it's the apocalypse.

[SamirD]

I hear the honking is insane in India. I remember once reading an article about a car maker that had to put upgraded horns in their cars just for the Indian market. Regular horns couldn't keep up with the use.

The US indeed drives faster than most places, but it's due to our wider roads and freeway network. That being said, I can tell you that the East Coast drives slower than the West Coast. It was one of the first things I noticed when I moved. Californians drive much faster, but in my opinion, better unless it rains. Then it's the apocalypse.

It's a constant chatter since the horn is used to signal if you're going to pass or to notify a car if you're behind them. Indians basically don't look at their surroundings from their front doors back--it's the responsibility of the person behind to not hit anything in front of them. This actually works very well considering the chaos that the traffic is there, but doesn't work at all here in the US since you have to be mindful of what people are doing behind you to avoid them hitting you. This is one of the biggest points she needs to work on. Plus, since the speeds are so much less (she hit a top speed of 40km/hr in the two months we were driving in Bangalore), you can apply the brakes instantly, turn instantly and the car just does it--not so here in the US unless you're in a parking lot. And even still, jamming on the brakes is a really fast way for someone to rear-end you since we almost never keep proper following distances, especially on the highway.

And that's the other thing--the highway. Our regular cruising speeds on the highway of 60mph is much, much faster than anyone but kamakazi speeding daredevils drive in India. 80km/hr feels like 80mph there, and getting her to be comfortable at 60mph is of paramount concern to me, especially since highway traffic can come to an instant halt during peak rush hour. She just keeps thinking because everyone here can do it, she can too, which she can. What she doesn't understand is how many people do it without getting into an accident for years. This is what I've been able to do, only being in 5 incidents my entire driving career now, in 2 of which another object actually hit me, and 1 where it was no one but me. My insurance rates are fairly cheap because of this, but one major incident will cause my rates to skyrocket so high that I'll actually have to sell all my nice cars because the insurance will be too much to drive them.

This is a lot of pressure for her, so I don't mention any of this. I just try to stay out of her way unless there's something she's about to hit or getting to close too. Luckily, she's used to much, much tighter spaces, so she does great in tight spots. But unfortunately, she's generally much, much closer to other vehicles--at a level that most Americans are uncomfortable with.

I bought this car for her, to keep her safe on a daily commute that in the next month or so will become quite treacherous since she will need to hit the MKE highways even after a snowfall (which tends to be full of morons on half-bald 'all season' tires sliding into each other). She's equipped with one of the best setups for the snow with the wonderful awd and Altimax Arctics on one of the safest cars imaginable, but it's all for naught if she can't use this setup to avoid the other people on the highways from crashing into her.

California highway speeds are definitely no joke. I've driven almost everywhere in the US short of the upper west coast and Cali speeds are up there with the highest I've traveled. And while you're generally right about the drivers there being safer than most, I've seen a Civic get on two wheels and a Lancer's back end kick out because some people didn't know how to handle these 80mph+ speeds. It's these guys that ruin it for the rest of us. I don't want to even imagine my wife trying California highway driving--she would probably grip the wheel so tightly that her bones would become a part of the wheel.

[~tc~]

X2 - horns in India (and to some degree, China)are more of a communication tool - constant beep-beeps, you hardly ever hear anyone lay it on like in the US. ... And yes, it's true GM had to upgrade the horn on models made for those markets.

The "whoever is in front has right of way" works really well, and as crazy as it is, I would drive in India before China or, god forbid, Korea where the rules are completely arbitrary.

There are a few roads in India where you can travel at "US" speeds - they tend to be the most dangerous roads in the country because people never drive fast enough to realize they have worn out ball joints, bad tires, etc and then have horrific wrecks at high speed.

[SamirD]

X2 - horns in India (and to some degree, China)are more of a communication tool - constant beep-beeps, you hardly ever hear anyone lay it on like in the US. ... And yes, it's true GM had to upgrade the horn on models made for those markets.

The "whoever is in front has right of way" works really well, and as crazy as it is, I would drive in India before China or, god forbid, Korea where the rules are completely arbitrary.

There are a few roads in India where you can travel at "US" speeds - they tend to be the most dangerous roads in the country because people never drive fast enough to realize they have worn out ball joints, bad tires, etc and then have horrific wrecks at high speed.

Yeah, no one really gets on it like they do here to express anger. You see dual Hellas on bikes so when they hit the horn, people think it's a car.

Don't get me wrong, this is my own perception on their 'method' for driving. It's still quite arbitrary at times. I actually searched for a video on how to drive in India and ran across this hilarious one that has so much truth in it you'd think they're joking, but they're not:
[youtube][/youtube]

Any highway in India is pretty dangerous. Not only because of the poor maintenance on the cars, but the lack of experience of the drivers is HUGE. Things we would never dream of doing on the highway, they do regularly. And then they act surprised when there's a crash.

DUI is also a major problem and it's commonly known that all Indian truck drivers are alcoholics. Even most tourist vehicle drivers are drinking and driving, putting many lives in danger. My uncle had to keep watching his driver on a trip to the Taj Mahal two years ago because he kept down whiskey any chance he got. It was the scariest 14hr drive of his life. I've never been to the Taj, and probably won't risk my life for it like thousands do each year.

Check out this video put out by the Indian government in the city which my wife is from, Bangalore. Some of the stuff in it is just shocking.
[youtube][/youtube]

[SamirD]

What did I do today? Gave up on changing the headlight bulb on the driver's side. Even after unbolting the computer, removing the entire airbox and undoing the screws it shows in the owner's manual, that bracket won't come out. Better to undo all the screws and just remove the headlight assembly to change the bulb.

I'm not changing it until I get back to Alabama where I have a smooth work surface to put the bumper cover on. Really bad design on Suzuki's part.