Pothole detection system for new Focus

[Charliewool]

We need “road detection” over here!
Potholes?? Detectors??... Whatever does the sensing or detecting would be burnt out in 2 days!

[Charliewool]

We even have teeshirts to celebrate our beloved potholes!
http://insidecostarica.com/store/survived-potholes.htm

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Bluey-GT

What the focus needed and may still need is a @&$)ed powershift transmission alert program with auto GPS autonomous drive back to dealership system.

Good thing the Focus hasn't used a DSG for a few years now.

[Sprintey]

This one seems useful actually. The damage to tyres and rims it would lessen would be worth something.

As far as how to repair as the car ages, i suppose it would be a similar situation to the land rover air suspension - brilliant feature that bestows great ability, looks like a simple air shocky and sensor unit to replace, but still costs a nut to get done when the car turns 8 years old.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by 4vxc

pothole detection system eh?
More useful would be a A Hole detection system activated by nearby vr and vs holdens

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jKX00OKfdFM

[MITCHAY]

Well we can gleam from this they have some sort of MRC. How else could they limit the suspension travel dynamically?

[Crazy Dazz]

I'm curious about this concept, and whether it would actually work?
So in theory:
You reach the edge of a pothole, and the wheel begins to descend
the computer detects this and hardens the damping to slow the rate of descent
theoretically this stops the wheel from bottoming out, so it floats across the pothole
then hits the other side with less extension

sounds like a crock of ****

Seems to me to be arguing contrary to the entire nature and purpose of suspension.
The fundamental basis of suspension is that the wheel move with the road, and the suspension insulates the body from that movement. Now he's saying that they will screw with the suspension to protect the wheel?

I would have thought (assuming you could accurately identify the pothole) that you'd want to soften the suspension so that the wheel was free to travel up and down with less impact to the body??

[davenl5l]

To smooth out pot holes in S.A.it would have to be a hover car

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

I'm curious about this concept, and whether it would actually work?
So in theory:
You reach the edge of a pothole, and the wheel begins to descend
the computer detects this and hardens the damping to slow the rate of descent
theoretically this stops the wheel from bottoming out, so it floats across the pothole
then hits the other side with less extension

sounds like a crock of ****

Seems to me to be arguing contrary to the entire nature and purpose of suspension.
The fundamental basis of suspension is that the wheel move with the road, and the suspension insulates the body from that movement. Now he's saying that they will screw with the suspension to protect the wheel?

I would have thought (assuming you could accurately identify the pothole) that you'd want to soften the suspension so that the wheel was free to travel up and down with less impact to the body??

Send your CV into Ford and you can fix this all up

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by davenl5l

To smooth out pot holes in S.A.it would have to be a hover car

That's the result of having all four wheels actively avoiding a pothole at the same time

[ronwest]

My old fashioned "pothole detector" works perfectly!


Detected it with no trouble at all...


https://imgur.com/a/2U70cJY

[Trendseeker]

Here’s a link to a demo of it on a Fusion.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a880GXUjz50

[CyberWasp]

Police are showing some concern with this level of technology.
There is already a hack to disable the half of the system that detects the hole.

[Trendseeker]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

Police are showing some concern with this level of technology.
There is already a hack to disable the half of the system that detects the hole.

Sorry CyberWasp, but I can’t understand why the police would care about a pothole detection system or what benefit someone could get from hacking it. It’s probably possible to turn it off in the settings like most of the other safety features if you don’t like it. Can you tell us a bit more?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

Police are showing some concern with this level of technology.
There is already a hack to disable the half of the system that detects the hole.

So it only detects half a hole?

[CyberWasp]

If you have a Pothole detector that no longer detects holes, it now only detects Pot.
My dumb sense of humour. Fail.

[aussie muscle]

I once came across a bad section of highway a few years ago (2-3) and it wasn't a case of "avoiding" since they were all across the lane. i took a 'best fit' to get across, but still punctured two wheels on one side of the car. When the towie picked me up, he said he's already collected two cars in the same spot.

[whitelion65]

Ouch!

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

I once came across a bad section of highway a few years ago (2-3) and it wasn't a case of "avoiding" since they were all across the lane. i took a 'best fit' to get across, but still punctured two wheels on one side of the car.

Yeah, that one I linked was the only (car) rim I've ever buggered (50+ years driving).

Dawn, raining and a truck coming towards me down Blackbutt Range.

Probably only cracked it in the pothole but impossible to pull up where I was so drove on it for a hundred metres or so.

[Ben73]

Is a pothole detector going to be a factor I'm going to consider when buying my next car?
Not a chance.

Am I going to complain if my next car has a pothole detector because I already know how to drive?
Not a chance.

In the past I've never had a pothole cause me any issue apart from some minor discomfort, but if it happens to help me in the future when I accidentally hit a pothole then why would I complain?