What's the worst car you've driven in high winds?

[Harrythedog]

It's been a bit breezy the last couple of days in my neck of the woods but I'm always impressed about how staedy my S211 is on the road. It just sits there and never moves whereas you see some cars all over the place.

So I thought i'd ask the question as per the title of the thread.

I once had a Sierra Estate and it was like flying a kit in strong winds. all over the shop, very disconcerting

 

[BlackC55]

Our old horse lorry.

A Smart.

 

[Harrythedog]

Our old horse lorry.

A Smart.

I drive a van but it's well weighted down but a horse box, especially an empty one must be a nightmare. Must be like holding a balloon in a gale especially overtaking an artic when you get that whoosh which you know is coming eventually

 

[lordlee]

2CV on the way to Devon. The crosswinds made for a laughable (in hindsight) journey. I swear it was up on 2 wheels at points.

 

[Harrythedog]

Just remembered when I was young a saw a Robin Reliant blown right off the road, over the pavement. Only some big advertising hoardings stopped it from taking off.

 

[davidjpowell]

1.1LX Fiesta. 2nd gear flat out, 30 mph is all that she would give.

I also recall a 7.5 ton box which got a bit leery. Was not fun.

Been over the top of the M62 today, somewhat breezy..

 

[SilverSaloon]

Dunno about the worst, but by far the best was my E65 BMW 7 Series. The Dynamic Drive system it had made side winds unnoticable.

unfortunatly the S124 doesnt have such electronic gizmos.

 

[Druk]

Just back from Tescos. A Volkswagen Fox over the rail bridge in Bathgate does some veering in 80mph side winds.

 

[trapperjohn]

Brother In Law and his Mrs off back to Ireland tonight from Liverpool on the night sailing Might be a bit choppy then in the wee breeze.

I wished them "Safe Journey Home" and I meant it.

 

[Harrythedog]

Brother In Law and his Mrs off back to Ireland tonight from Liverpool on the night sailing Might be a bit choppy then in the wee breeze.

I wished them "Safe Journey Home" and I meant it.

All the best to them too, the Irish Sea is rough at the best of times

 

[neilz]

Used to have terrifying journeys in my Jeep Wrangler. Raised and with huge wheels (how I bought it, never bothered to have anything done to them) boy did it sway in any wind. Always went in the inside lane, especially round bends. Had very little grip on the roads with fairly new tyres and its height really didn't help.

 

[corned]

All the best to them too, the Irish Sea is rough at the best of times

Not wrong there. I well remember a Steam Packet crossing to Douglas when the wind wasn't even 'up'. The waves still kept breaking over the bow and the spray soaked those of us daft enough to be standing on the upper forward viewing gallery. There were plenty waving farewell to their lunches over the sides...

 

[wemorgan]

A Smart.

Same here.

 

[tali]

It's been a bit breezy the last couple of days in my neck of the woods but I'm always impressed about how staedy my S211 is on the road. It just sits there and never moves whereas you see some cars all over the place.

So I thought i'd ask the question as per the title of the thread.

I once had a Sierra Estate and it was like flying a kit in strong winds. all over the shop, very disconcerting

The first Sierras were notorious for crosswind instabilty -Ford had to add rubber strips to the sixth light window to fix it
I am not sure what mod if any they did to estate
Still shocking that a multi billion pound corporation can poorly engineer a car with such a major flaw tick boxed for production

 

[kieranswood]

citroen saxo vtr! Remember driving it across the forth road bridge and everytime someone would pass me it was like torque steer!

 

[ringway]

Our Sprinter van, especially when empty made for an entertaining ride in windy conditions. Passing over Thelwall Viaduct, Barton Bridge and the M62 near Saddleworth and Huddersfield always made me apprehensive, even in the summer months. I actually thought of starting a thread asking for advice about which way to drive through the wind in that van. Quicker might cut through the wind? Slower would make the van easier to blow over.

When I was young man, I used to have to collect rigid canopies (the type pictured above) from a supplier in Bolton, which I had to attach to the roof-rack of my lightweight Escort van.
The canopies acted like a sail and I had a few very serious Mary Poppins moments passing over Barton Bridge.

One blowy day, I decided to take Mrs Ringway (we were still courting) with me to collect a canopy. She said that it was nice to spend some time with me, to which (without thinking) I replied "I thought you'd be able to weigh down the van on the nearside". Big mistake!

 

[camerafodder]

Mark 1 Shogun (the square one from the '80's). Horrendous in windy conditions especially on the motorway. At 70mph when hit by a strong crosswind the tops of the door frames used bend out so far that you could see daylight through a 1/2 inch gap! That's assuming you could look whilst wrestling with the steering wheel!

 

[timk]

Well I just got back from driving a Transit van from Stockbridge in Edinburgh down to Marlborough in Wiltshire. My knuckles are still white from trying to keep it in a straight line, eyes on stalks etc. Don't want to do that again in a hurry...

 

[Harrythedog]

One blowy day, I decided to take Mrs Ringway (we were still courting) with me to collect a canopy. She said that it was nice to spend some time with me, to which (without thinking) I replied "I thought you'd be able to weigh down the van on the nearside". Big mistake! [/QUOTE]


Aha. Do you Ringway take this woman to be your lawfully wedded ballast

 

[pigSTi]

Suzuki 1.3 carry. Tips over just going around corers and the engine is under the driver seat so there is no weight over the front wheels at all, turn too sharply or go over leafs and kiss good bye to steering. Also it must be at least two times higher than its width and the tyres are only a little wider than a wheel barrow. In any kind of wind, especially unloaded, not fun at all...