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To: Pendragon_6
It also is questioning whether the handling and center of gravity in Humvees may have been altered by armor plating bolted on in Iraq or shields added around gun turrets.

Duh!

I seem to remember a report posted here some months ago where someone in the Army pointed out that the extra armor pushes the HumVee far outside of its designed parameters. Engineers don't just randomly make up these design limitations! The HumVee wasn't designed to be an APC!
12 posted on 03/18/2005 7:38:54 AM PST by TChris (Lousy homophobic FReeper troll, religious right, VRWC member)
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To: TChris; MeekOneGOP; PhilDragoo; Happy2BMe; potlatch; ntnychik; Chieftain; Grampa Dave; ...


Military vehicles are meant to traverse rough terrain, not corner like a Porsche racing car or NASCAR stocker or Indy car on a smooth banked racing track.

They are not driving on a 6-lane concrete thruway either.

The suspensions are designed for maximum wheel travel and the chassis and body must be high enough to clear obstacles.

Stiffer spring rates and massive roll control bars do not work on rough surfaces -

Armored Humvees are being manufactured with beefed up suspensions now and retro-fit kits are being installed on many in service but they can never have the speed and handling of unarmored Humvees.

Recall the massive Super-Tigers Hitler had built near the end of WWII.

It big, to heavy, too slow - it was a flop in the field.

My old Jeep has zero armor when I was on active duty in the US Army yet I knew well if I took a red clay or sand road at higher (in a Jeep? LOL!)
speeds that the narrow track (center of tires width between wheels) and height and stiff suspension was going to get me on my head if I did not drive with skill and caution.

Same on the streets with my sports cars - I actually really learned to drive my Triumph fast on curves on the red clay back roads at Fort Benning, Georgia -

That is why you see so many top Indy and NASCAR drivers that were once dirt-track race drivers - AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, on up to todays drivers.

Using your brain and slowly learning how to "toss" a vehicle in a "drift" (really a "controlled" 4-wheel "slide"!) on dirt or clay can teach you how to apply those lessons on hardtop roads and stay safe and alive.

This is something that takes time and talent and instinct.

The US military cannot reteach every soldier how to drive overweight modified Humvees like a Corvette or an Indy Car.

I never have seen comparisons of our US troops killed in rollovers in combat areas to civilians killed in modern street vehicles that are lower, lighter, handle much better than older street cars.

My suspicions are that the %/100,000 drivers killed in civilian accidents far exceeds out %/100,000 of military accidents in combat zones.

What are the numbers of deaths per 10,000 vehicles :

USA on the hardtop roads :

US troops in combat rough terrain :

I could be wrong.

I doubt that I am wrong.



A Humvee is not a tank

A Humvee is not a sports car


41 posted on 03/18/2005 1:10:44 PM PST by devolve ( My-WWII-Musical-Tribute: http://pro.lookingat.us/WWII.html http://pro.lookingat.us/DeadZone.html)
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