Driving the Hummer H2...

[Brian R.]

Might just be poor driving...

[gt40]

yes - you really need to know the limitations of your vehicle.

[Gurm]

The limitations of the H2 are that it's NOT AN OFFROAD VEHICLE.

ROFL.

- Gurm

[K6-III]

Interesting that its not an onroad vehicle either...

[Dr Mordrid]

Originally posted by Gurm
The problem with the H2 is that... it... isn't a Hummer at all. It's an Explorer that is made out to LOOK like a hummer. Don't try offroading in this vehicle.

- Gurm

The Explorer is a Ford vehicle, and not a very large one in comparison to the H2. Given the size disparity and the fact that the H2 is made by General Motors I find your assertion mostly hot air.

Dr. Mordrid

[Wombat]

Sorry, it's a Tahoe. Gurm's mistake.

[Dr Mordrid]

Figured that. There's a huge difference between a Tahoe and an Explorer

Now let's address some other "information" posted earlier: that the braking of SUV's is grossly inferior to that of smaller vehicles.

The following info was gleened from road tests in the usual auto magazines;

60-0 mph (96.6 kph) braking tests for SUV's and trucks:

H2: 148 feet (45.1m)
Dodge RAM 1500 pickup: 142 feet (43.28m)
Ford Expedition: 140 feet (42.7m)

Now compare those scores to cars;

a compact:

Honda Civic HX: 160 feet (48.8m) (!!)

a couple of mid-sizes:

Volkswagen Beetle: 155 feet (47.2m) (!!)
Toyota Corolla: 147 feet (44.8m)

and a couple of full sizes:

Chevy Impala: 132 feet (40.3m)
Dodge Intrepid: 145 feet (44.2m)

and one police car:

Ford Police Interceptor: 147 feet (44.8m)

Looks to me like the SUV's are smack in the middle of the normal range and considerably better than a couple of popular imported compacts very likely driven by anti-SUV'ers

IMO this shows what auto engineers know: large vehicles have braking performance equal to, or even better than, smaller vehicles as long as the braking system is properly proportioned and designed.

Now for the straight mechanical:

Brake disc diameters on cars range from 7" to 9", depending a lot on if the vehicle uses a 13", 14" or 15" rim. Most of these will be un-ventilated discs on the 7" and 8" sizes and about 50/50 of the 9" discs will be ventilated.

Ventilated discs prevent the brakes from overheating and fading when doing high speed stops. If you've never experienced brake fading hope you never do as the pedel goes straight to the floor.

On trucks, vans and SUV's you see disc diameters of 10.5" to 14" (or even larger) and they are almost always ventilated.

Pffffttttt.......

Dr. Mordrid

[Jammrock]

You can spit all the numbers you want at me, H2's are still a waste of metal and petrol.

Jammrock

[Gurm]

There isn't a HUGE difference between a Tahoa and an Explorer. Well, ok - one's a truck and the other isn't.

American vehicles are American vehicles. Perhaps I should have said that the H2 was based on an F150, hmm?

- Gurm

[capt. marvel]

Doc
it's interesting how close all the cars are in braking performance...and its mostly due to the rubber compound of the tire not the weight of the cars or the brakes... because any car can lock 'em up(dont want to get into a hot disc argument). The scarey thing is that trucks and busses only have approx . 60 % of the braking ability of cars due to there extreme weight and the need to use harder rubber to due to the higher temps/ frictionon the tires.

[GT98]

Originally posted by Gurm
There isn't a HUGE difference between a Tahoa and an Explorer. Well, ok - one's a truck and the other isn't.

Nope Wrong again...at Tahoe is a Full Sized SUV vs the Explorer which is a mid-sized SUV

American vehicles are American vehicles. Perhaps I should have said that the H2 was based on an F150, hmm?

- Gurm

No the accurate thing to say is that its built off the same platform that Suburban is and also many of GM's fullsized Trucks

Ford doesnt have anything to with Hummer, since GM bought the name off AM General who builds the Mil Spec Humvee and I'll assume the H1 Hummer still.

[K6-III]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
Figured that. There's a huge difference between a Tahoe and an Explorer

Now let's address some other "information" posted earlier: that the braking of SUV's is grossly inferior to that of smaller vehicles.

The following info was gleened from road tests in the usual auto magazines;

60-0 mph (96.6 kph) braking tests for SUV's and trucks:

H2: 148 feet (45.1m)
Dodge RAM 1500 pickup: 142 feet (43.28m)
Ford Expedition: 140 feet (42.7m)

Now compare those scores to cars;

a compact:

Honda Civic HX: 160 feet (48.8m) (!!)

a couple of mid-sizes:

Volkswagen Beetle: 155 feet (47.2m) (!!)
Toyota Corolla: 147 feet (44.8m)

and a couple of full sizes:

Chevy Impala: 132 feet (40.3m)
Dodge Intrepid: 145 feet (44.2m)

and one police car:

Ford Police Interceptor: 147 feet (44.8m)

Looks to me like the SUV's are smack in the middle of the normal range and considerably better than a couple of popular imported compacts very likely driven by anti-SUV'ers

IMO this shows what auto engineers know: large vehicles have braking performance equal to, or even better than, smaller vehicles as long as the braking system is properly proportioned and designed.

Now for the straight mechanical:

Brake disc diameters on cars range from 7" to 9", depending a lot on if the vehicle uses a 13", 14" or 15" rim. Most of these will be un-ventilated discs on the 7" and 8" sizes and about 50/50 of the 9" discs will be ventilated.

Ventilated discs prevent the brakes from overheating and fading when doing high speed stops. If you've never experienced brake fading hope you never do as the pedel goes straight to the floor.

On trucks, vans and SUV's you see disc diameters of 10.5" to 14" (or even larger) and they are almost always ventilated.

Pffffttttt.......

Dr. Mordrid

Take note that the above does not even come close to coming true in snow, where the lack of traction makes braking distances much larger for the more massive vehicle. More momentum means more braking distance given similar road contact area and similar coefficients of friction...

[Nowhere]

And above was also measured on empty cars for sure.
While compacts drive not much heavier (they aren't meant for this...and not much space anyway), I'd suppose that SUVs are rather loaded with cargo (well, that was one of you points about SUVs, ability to take much more, right?)
And don't forget about good handling of compacts...if you are in a need for that violent braking, you'll also very likely turn violently...just because often there's no time for braking. Flipping SUV anyone?

[Brian Ellis]

There is no such thing as braking distance.There are far too many variables such as:
- composition of the tyre rubber
- tyre wear
- tyre inflation pressure
- atmospheric humidity
- temperature
- brake pad composition
- wear on brake pad
- wear on brake disc
- temperature of brake disc
- temperature of brake pad
- instaneous temperature of pad/disc interface
- friction of brake piston
- adjustment of ABS
- road composition
- road surface profile
- temperature of road surface
- presence of moisture, water, snow or ice on road surface
- ability of driver to dose pedal pressure
- weight of vehicle (loads, fuel, etc.)
- back/front weight distribution
- etc. etc. etc.

To give figures, therefore, is grossly misleading and even dangerous.

[GNEP]

Anyway, who actually NEEDS one of these big cars? Well, apart from farmers/rangers, and they would buy a Daihatsu Fourtrak, Land Rover or pickup or similar because of the COST. And a tractor.

And before you say "But what about those of us who want to drive Off-Road," might I suggest you would be better off taking a track-day at a "mud-park" type place and renting an appropriate vehicle from there? Because driving most "off-roaders" off-road really messes up the countryside leaving tracks completely unpassable for anyone else.

A car gets you from A to B and is a functional thing.

Please try not to have such emotional attachment to a lump of metal and plastic that drinks cash