Re: Almost Reckless driving

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl>]

At 19:19 12.11.98 +0100, Tom Nas wrote:

>>job this evening - fingers crossed), I had to drive mom's Renault on some
>>occasions. Where my Audi feels perfectly stable even on bumpy roads at
>>100kph or even more, I can hardly drive the Renault at 80kph.
>Renault Medallion? Is that the Renault 18 or 21? I drove both, and while
>the 18 was suspect above 140, the 21 (the wagon version was called Nevada
>here) was pretty good up to 180.

US-spec 21 Nevada

>Must be worn suspension bits and/or alignment- or the US versions (must be
>one, as they didn't sell a Medallion in Europe AFAIK) are very softly
>suspended. Renaults are generally comfortable rather than safe, but 80
>kph...

It does feel safe at any speed on _smooth_ roads. The problem is, many
roads in Poland have poor surface - lot of small bumps, poorly patched
potholes and grooves made by heavy trucks. My Audi seems to be immune to
this problems - you hear the suspension working hard, but the car feels as
safe and stable as it feels on smooth roads. Not the case with Renault - it
bounces on every little bump and you just have to reduce speed. Rear shocks
are new, fronts check out OK on shock testing device. I partially blame the
power steering for this "unstable feel" - it's so powerful you can turn the
steering wheel with one finger while parking, but it's certainly not good
for fast driving. I've heard Renault altered suspension settings on their
newer models (Laguna,Safrane) to make it similar to German cars.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)