But once you get over that, I want to ask a question that will potentially de-closet me as the dunce that I really am.
Okay, here's the situation. I'm in my car, parked on one side of a quiet suburban street. What I want to do, is pull out from the curb and turn around to drive back the other way. I know you are generally supposed to do a three point turn in this case, but being the envelope-pushing loose cannon of rebellion that I am, I just want to do it in one big turn.
Kutz could do a much better scientific diagram, but here's a visual interpretation for you to work with-
Now, what I want to know is this. Assuming that the steering wheel is turned as far as it goes, are the chances of me making it around in one go affected by the speed which I travel? For example, if I drive really slow, am I more likely to make it than if I zoom?Please put my mind at rest, Valued Reader.
21 comments:
Yes. The slower you're going, the more turn you'll get.
wow, so I was actually right? That's great news. I'll never 3 point again.
Well, you may still have to do three-point turns. Depends how tight your turning circle is and how wide the road is :P
It also matters how wide the street is...some are just narrower than others, also how tight a turn your vehicle can make. I used to have a sport truck that had wider than normal tires and it reduced the amount of turn i could get. A lot more factors that just speed.
Don't try and fence me in, Stuart. If need be I'll ride the footpaths.
In that case, Ben, I recommend you get a monster truck. Not great on the turning circle, but you can go as fast as you want and just ride over anything that's in the way. Mind that cat, though.
Beth, I hear your concerns. But it is the pure science that I'm thinking of. If my calculations are correct, then logically if I travel at the speed of a snail, I will be able to turn my car on the head of a pin. This is an exciting breakthru.
Stuart, he better mind me.
don't hurt the kitty-cat!
Never, Christine, I love the lil critters. I'm just trying to look tough in front of my peers.
Benno. The speed you are travelling will not affect the turning circle. To a point. The point where your car reaches a speed where the limits of your tyre (sidewall flex and adhesion come into play) starts to loose traction from being 'pushed' by the weight of your vehicle.
With that in mind, you can find that nice happy medium where you can still get the job done and not annoy the crap out of the people waiting while you trickle around at a snails pace.
The pure physics of it (as mentioned by beth)comes down to the geometry of your car and its turning capabilities. A standard width road should be more than adequate for you to complete the turn in one fell swoop.
Once you have done it a few times, you'll find you can pick when you can and can't make the u-turn successfully withn just a quick glance...
happy driving brethra.
Just to add to the confusion, there is a level of speed that, once reached, can actually assist the tightening up of the turn by virtue of the fact the swing weight
of the car (once launched into the turn) will reduce the adhesion on the rear and actually bring the tail round for you. I don't recopmmend you try this, however.
It takes a lot of confidence and if you bugger it up...not a happy result.
Pedro- "starts to loose traction from being 'pushed' by the weight of your vehicle."
Oh yeah, i get that.
I like that last thing you described-- it sounds like the Lightning McQueen thing of going left to go right..
I was going to say all that technical stuff that Pedro said, but then he'd said it already so I didn't need to.
*nods knowingly*
The major reason for going slow is so that if you find that you aren't going to make it, you have a chance to stop and go the 3-point turn route BEFORE you bust a tyre on the kerb.
And it helps to remember that your friends' / employer's cars are unlikely to have the same turning circle as your own so you should go slow until you know the characteristics of the car you're in.
I hate when some one parks in your turning circle and you have to do a three point thanks to them
Hah! This is all very interesting ... I did one of those last things Pedro described once. I somehow managed to do a 180 on a single track dirt road on the edge of a very big drop - alongside Australia's highest waterfall. How is a mystery (of heart-stopping proportions), but trying to turn back around revealed that I had done something quite spectacular with that width of road. I think I was aided by the unexpected weight of jerry cans full of fuel in the back of the tray (twas a dual-cab 4WD ute arrangement) and the poor adhesion qualities of the road. It was all very scientific ...
Kutz- I suspected as much.
Laetitia- But is such a cautious life really worth living? Shaould we not dare to fly on wings of eagles?
Tim- Me too. Once I get my monster truck I'll just pretend they aren't there.
Ali- Gosh, good to have you here alive and well. Is it just me or have you had a few seriously near misses?
Yeah, maybe. I think this is the one I have to take full responsibility for, for reckless driving or something. I'd been night trapping for two weeks (so was in a zombie-like state), and had these English backpackers who'd been really good, so I thought I'd treat them and we'd drive from Mt Fox down some track I found on a map past Wallaman Falls and they could see the sights. Bad idea. Anyway, they got a few good stories to take home. This is Wallaman Falls: http://www.totaltravel.com.au/travel/qld/townsvillearea/tully/travel-guides/natural-attractions/wallaman-falls
Yeah they would've really "seen the sights" as their lives flashed before their eyes..
Looks like an awesome waterfall. Cool. It brouht back fond memories of camping at UDP Falls in Kakadu when I lived in Darwin.
:).
Hey yeah, they are similar you know. When I visited Darwin a couple of years back this feeling came over me, like I was back in North Queensland - it felt and smelt the same and I became aware of things I'd never consciously noticed, or forgotten about, when I lived in NQ.
Sigh ... camping ...
Yeah, I can imagine them being similar in those ways. I guess they have the same sort of longitude (or is it latitude?) or whatever, so have similar climate and vegetation etc.
I've never been to far north QLD, but I'd love to, especially Cape York. And yeah, I agree- sigh..camping..
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