Road surface spoiling the drive

[John Mellor]

The appalling road surface here in South Essex is a major problem and I've not enjoyed the TR anything like as much. A tour of Spain a couple of years ago was magical with little traffic and wonderful roads. Am I the only one who is so pissed off I'm thinking of changing to a much more modern but interesting vehicle.

Maybe I've just got too old

[monty]

No, I thoroughly agree John. I do not enjoy driving as much as I did due to the state of the roads & amount of traffic. I stated in a previous posting that UK roads are killing our TR’s with bits coming loose & breakages. A new Government but no improvement I bet!

[RogerH]

2 hours ago, John Mellor said:

The appalling road surface here in South Essex is a major problem and I've not enjoyed the TR anything like as much. A tour of Spain a couple of years ago was magical with little traffic and wonderful roads. Am I the only one who is so pissed off I'm thinking of changing to a much more modern but interesting vehicle.

Maybe I've just got too old

For a good number of years now I have had a couple of weeks up in Scotlandshire.

Outside of the big towns the roads tend to be less used and are usually in good condition.

I really love touring North of the border.  This year we are looking at September.

 

Roger

[Ian Vincent]

I’ve just driven from Somerset to Kent in a TR3a using mostly local roads and 50% of them were appalling. Clearly they have forgotten how to repair potholes as they are either left untouched or filled so badly that you still feel the car shaking to bits. 

Rgds Ian

[iain]

5 minutes ago, Ian Vincent said:

I’ve just driven from Somerset to Kent in a TR3a using mostly local roads and 50% of them were appalling. Clearly they have forgotten how to repair potholes as they are either left untouched or filled so badly that you still feel the car shaking to bits. 

Rgds Ian

Once across La Manche, things will improve:-)

Safe journey Ian

[roy53]

Totally agree

Last year after a 5 country europe touring holiday when we got of the ferry at Dover within a mile we were shocked by the english surfaces.

Roy

[Malbaby]

7 hours ago, John Mellor said:

The appalling road surface here in South Essex is a major problem and I've not enjoyed the TR anything like as much. A tour of Spain a couple of years ago was magical with little traffic and wonderful roads. Am I the only one who is so pissed off I'm thinking of changing to a much more modern but interesting vehicle.

Maybe I've just got too old

Yes age is a contributing factor.....A Mk2 Jaguar would be a nice replacement.

[Phil Read]

16 hours ago, RogerH said:

For a good number of years now I have had a couple of weeks up in Scotlandshire.

Outside of the big towns the roads tend to be less used and are usually in good condition.

I really love touring North of the border.  This year we are looking at September.

 

Roger

You obviously have not been to skye recently.

[RogerH]

Hi Phil,

Interestingly I have never liked skye - except the cafe at Sligachan beach - lovely Langoustins 10 or more years ago

 

Roger

[John Mellor]

Today one stretch was so bumpy that the accel pedal/right foot was bouncing whilst trying to trickle along - felt like a learner kangaroo on the clutch

[PaulAnderson]

We go to Skye most years and generally find them to be okay.  But, by far the worst roads there are the last part of the minor road to Neist point and the minor road from Dunvegan to Claigan where people park for the walk to coral beach.  Both are busy tourist spots.  Here’s a link to a dashcam video of the latter 

 

Edited November 4, 2024 by PaulAnderson

[RogerH]

Potholes with attitude

 

Roger

[TR4Tony VC]

I’m from Skye and it didn’t used to be this way … at one time it was a pleasure to drive the roads on the island and up the west coast. There are still a good few perfect tarmac ribbons, but off the tourist routes now, most of which have been cheaply repaired with surface dressing to cope with the changeable weather (!) and the additional traffic each year (quoting BEAR Scotland in their last letter to me when I moaned at them for the attritions state of the highways and their blatant incompetence.

Write to your MP … HMG have released a large chunk of money to sort out the conditions of roads, so lean on them to get them to actually do some useful work.

regards

Tony 

Edited November 4, 2024 by TR4Tony VC

[phil Dean]

I agree with the general opinions here I've been out in my 4A this afternoon and its bouncing and rattling all over the place and yes before somebody says something I have checked all the suspension, its becoming less pleasurable to drive the car. You want to try it on a push bike yesterday ride after cleaning it spotted another gash in the bike tyre and it wasn't glass. Tyre is only 4 rides old  but nothing is safe on our roads now 2 months ago  whilst out checking the class R route on the Edinburgh endurance trial in Castleton Peak District  i moved over to let a van coming the other way get through  hit a pothole and didn't need the fancy warning light on my dashboard in my modern car to tell me I had a puncture I could hear, it had gone straight through the side wall. Very expensive trip out that turned in to. I honestly believe our older cars with higher sidewalls stand up to pot holes better that the new  cars with low profile tyres , its just the rest of the car that suffers.

 

Phil.

[PaulAnderson]

On 11/4/2024 at 11:38 AM, PaulAnderson said:

We go to Skye most years and generally find them to be okay.  But, by far the worst roads there are the last part of the minor road to Neist point and the minor road from Dunvegan to Claigan where people park for the walk to coral beach.  Both are busy tourist spots.  Here’s a link to a dashcam video of the latter 

Im on the Isle of Skye now ( leaving tomorrow) and can say that the general A roads have deteriorated since we were last here two years ago.

Edited September 5, 2025 by PaulAnderson

[trchris]

Yes l agree the roads are terrible  but they won’t stop me getting the 250 out and enjoying it unfortunately like most other things we just have to put up with it ……things could be worse like it won’t start

Chris

Edited September 5, 2025 by trchris

[MichaelH]

Many people have moved away from the original long springs to "lower the car". 

Using the the longer and softer springs adds to the high profile tyres to make the ride softer. and more able to cope with pot holes and pothole repairs

Michael H

Edited September 9, 2025 by MichaelH

[harrytr5]

Quite a few of us in NLG have gone back to lever arms and softer springs. Lowered ones have gone, ok for race tracks with their smooth surfaces.

I lowered my then TR6 in the late 80,s and when we moved house I could not get into the garage from the road, had to chuck down a ribbon of concrete the next day to get in This was the start of sleeping policemen humps. Never again lesson learnt!

Regards Harry

[Andy Moltu]

When we first moved to our present house, there were no speed bumps between there and where the club met then in Billesdon. Within 5 years there were 26!

My next springs won't be the slightly lowered ones!

The telescopic/lever arm dampers should not be an issue. The problem people get is they fit adjustable dampers set too hard in a misguided the chase for better handling. 

[TRTOM2498PI]

22 hours ago, Andy Moltu said:

When we first moved to our present house, there were no speed bumps between there and where the club met then in Billesdon. Within 5 years there were 26!

My next springs won't be the slightly lowered ones!

The telescopic/lever arm dampers should not be an issue. The problem people get is they fit adjustable dampers set too hard in a misguided the chase for better handling. 

Agreed on people setting the telescopics too hard.  I have been running the heavy-duty TUV damper brackets, combined with Konis for 15 years, with no issues, and compliant.  The brackets utilise lever arm and bump stop locations.  No issues with the chassis, but it was a mint, USA chassis to start with, then strengthened to Motorsport spec.

 

 

Cheers.

Edited September 12, 2025 by TRTOM2498PI

[harlequin]

If you want to experience bad roads plan a trip to the Cambridgeshire fens, not only do we have the nation wide lack of road maintenance but also the ground is so soft the roads sink forming waves and hollows.

You can always spot the locals as they tend to weave their way from one side of the road to the other missing the worst of the dips, fortunately the traffic tends to be very light and ofcourse speeds are low.

George 

[harrytr5]

Yes George I have driven on those roads and my TR5 coped with it very well. Independant suspension doing just how Triumph designed it with a few tweaks from me.

Regards Harry

[harlequin]

A friend recently in a moment of distraction, missed seeing a good sized wave on a rather notorious stretch of road and hit it going too fast. There was a lot of crashing and banging and bouncing around and then a couple of miles further down the road the temperature guage went up to very hot.

On investigation he had put a hole in the radiator, he thinks the front of the chassis had hit the road surface and flexed pushing the radiator into the fan

George 

[trchris]

Hi George these roads are terrible like you say absolutely no maintenance carried out now they’re blaming the hot weather drying out the sub-soil and not the HGVs that use them as a rat run or the excessively large agricultural machinery that take up the whole of the road . The back road to TRGB is a beauty 

Chris

[harlequin]

49 minutes ago, trchris said:

Hi George these roads are terrible like you say absolutely no maintenance carried out now they’re blaming the hot weather drying out the sub-soil and not the HGVs that use them as a rat run or the excessively large agricultural machinery that take up the whole of the road . The back road to TRGB is a beauty 

Chris

All part of the fun of driving a TR, but you can see why 4WD pickup trucks are popular around here 

George