Having recently purchased an Octavia vRS I have been curious about the speed at which I can safely take speed bumps. We have two types round here (villages surrounding north Cambridge), the full raised junctions and the square blocks in the middle of the lane.

The first type are fairly easy, just slow down. The second are my biggest problem, I used to just take them as presumably intended by putting wheels each side but I have started to worry about what damage they might be doing to my tyres/wheels/shocks/suspension?

An example of the ones I hate the most are here: http://www.joincrash.com/gallery.aspx

I have to negotiate these every day to and from work (unless I decide to sit in the stationary traffic on the A14) and I start taking them faster and faster.

Should I stick with driving straight over them or start sending one wheel over the middle?

Any advice?

...and I start taking them faster and faster.

Should I stick with driving straight over them or start sending one wheel over the middle?

Any speed hump taken at speed will eventually do damage or involve premature wear.

As a rough guide, if you stall it or have to change down climbing onto the hump and to reach the top then you are going too slow.

If you are bottoming out the suspension, grounding out the front bumper and showering the car behind in sparks then you are going too fast!

Edited 1 May, 201115 yr by silver1011

If I have to go over the speed cushion (the two bumps side by side like a pair of t*ts) I normally put one wheel in the middle of the bump and one in the dip between. I read somewhere that putting both tyres on the sloping outer edges causes more damage. No idea if that is true or not. Generally I take them very slowly. Too fast and you will at best wear out your suspension prematurely. They're just inverted potholes after all.

Going over those retarded speed cushions, I slow right down and half straddle them, one tyre just on the shoulder of it. That seems to minimize scraping of undertrays. Going over with with tyres rolling over the full height of it, on many of them I'd risk hitting a sill rail or fuel cooler.

Pretty certain those speed 'cushions' (as they like to call them-WTF!!) are responsible for knocking out the rear geometry/camber settings on a lot of cars, mine included if you 'straddle' them whilst going over them too fast.

I've heard the same about straddling the 'cushion' type - better to take them straight on with one wheel..

We've got some oddball ones with gaps in them. We just aim for the gaps and there is no speed bump!

If I have to go over the speed cushion (the two bumps side by side like a pair of t*ts) I normally put one wheel in the middle of the bump and one in the dip between. I read somewhere that putting both tyres on the sloping outer edges causes more damage. No idea if that is true or not. Generally I take them very slowly. Too fast and you will at best wear out your suspension prematurely. They're just inverted potholes after all.

That's generaly what I try and do, although when there are no cyclists around (not that often in Cambridge) I'll try putting the right side wheels over the middle to try and even things out.

Going over those retarded speed cushions, I slow right down and half straddle them, one tyre just on the shoulder of it. That seems to minimize scraping of undertrays. Going over with with tyres rolling over the full height of it, on many of them I'd risk hitting a sill rail or fuel cooler.

I don't seem to have any problems with scraping the underside (probably won't be lowering it!).

Pretty certain those speed 'cushions' (as they like to call them-WTF!!) are responsible for knocking out the rear geometry/camber settings on a lot of cars, mine included if you 'straddle' them whilst going over them too fast.

I think they're what caused me problems with my previous Seat. I hate them more than speed cameras!