Prius versus Hummer

[rickmacheske]

Thanks!

BTW...I'm not worried about my driving. I drive just fine. It's the other people on the road that I'm worried about therefore a big truck is the right answer!

 

[bmac]

A Hummer, a REAL Hummer is completely different from the ground up. The differentials in particular look very peculiar. They don't line up with the center of the wheels! They are VERY difficult to roll.

Mike

The reason the differentials don't line up with the center of the wheels is because the axles don't connect directly to the wheels. Instead, they connect to a geared hub which then connects to the wheel. This geared hub provides the high torque to the wheels, enhancing the off road capabilities of these trucks. This off set is also why the H1 can have the central tire inflation system which allows the driver to air up (or down) the tires while on the go. Its pretty darn cool.

 

[mwechtal]

A truck may be safer than a small car in an accident, but you are also more likely to get in an accident, especially single vehicle accidents. Compared to cars, trucks handle poorly, stop poorly and are more likely to roll over (even the H1, although it's not as bad as some other rigs).

In poor conditions it's not the front wheel drive econoboxes that get into trouble, it's the 4WD trucks. The bigger and more off-road capable they are, the more likely they are to be upside down in the ditch.

Well, you're sorta right. This has been discussed in the forums before. Most people put all weather tires on their SUV's because that's what comes on most of them. Oh yeah, and might as well make the tires a size bigger. Well, that makes them float on slush. If you think some tires will hydroplane on a wet road, slush is twice as good at lifting tires off the road. Besides, these people think that a 4X4 will let them drive 70 in any condition at all. Every time we have a heavy snowfall here in western NY you see a SUV off the road every 10 miles or so. What you need is the narrowest SNOW tires you can fit on your vehicle. Really agressive mud tires can also work well, because they have a lot of space between the lugs to let the slush squish out.

So, all that said, it's not the truck, it's the driver and the tires. If you think that manuverability and braking are going to get you out of trouble on the snow, you're kidding yourself. The problem is that you can't manuver or brake.

Oh, and as far as rolling over, 1) it's not the danger that most people seem to think (been there, done that - summer of '71) 2) I can't remember the last time I saw an SUV rollover, and we have steep embankments on our highways around here.

Mike