E36 M3, now that I think about it, if there is a correlation between SUV/CUVs and bad roads, it's the other way around... The huge increase in 5000lbs+ wallowing pigs being driven to the malls and soccer practice with just one child in the back is probably partly responsible for increased wear and tear on roads.
I am pretty convinced that my area let the roads get bad on purpose so they can vote themselves a tax increase. The vote is on 11.1. I'll be voting "no" as hard as I can.
It does seem like everywhere I drive either has horrible roads or road construction or often both. I rode down to Indy on 65 earlier this year in a Kia Soul, I swear we were airborne a number of times. I'm going north of Grand Rapids this weekend; some of the roads on the way there are just ridiculous (although Michigan is mostly way better than Illinois as far as roads go [note that I'm not talking about Detroit here]).
And while I like my 3, I do find my mom's Highlander a lot more comfortable on rough roads. At the least I'll consider something like a Subaru Crosstrek for my next car. Even though I'd rather have a WRX.
You say 45 series is bad but given that it's a ratio you're leaving out a big part of the picture. 255/40 17 or 235/45 17 on the Passat are fine, take big hits in potholes, don't bend the rims, etc.
I daily a miata on low stiff suspension and while it's not cushy by any means the roads around here aren't so bad I feel I'm ruining my car.
I do wonder about road workers doing crappy work though, don't they drive on the same roads as the rest of us?
Phoenix generally has great roads. Yeah, I know, no frost heave helps a bunch. But I still appreciate how good our roads and freeways are.
David
KyAllroad wrote: I do wonder about road workers doing crappy work though, don't they drive on the same roads as the rest of us?
You underestimate the power of laziness and contractual pay.
Well, NYC road were so bad, I undid all the mods on my old Altima and returned to stock so I could bear to drive it. Sad to say, but, my Camry with 15 in wheels and a full size spare is built for it. It sucks in the curves, but it took NYC and now Baltimore potholes in stride and may be the fastest car I could ask for to drive in a real world cityscape.
When I had my 318ti.. it was on Bilstein coilvers and I had it set so the top of the tyre was even with the arch. It was not "stanced" and still had plenty of suspension.. but even that low (good 4 inch drop from stock) The only time I ever bottomed out was actually due to roadwork. I pulled off of the highway to take a call and didn't know there was a 6 inch drop from the newly paved road to the shoulder.. ripped the exhaust right off of the car.
Even then.. that was the only incident in almost 6 years of driving it that way.. and I drove it everyday
DWNSHFT wrote: Phoenix generally has great roads. Yeah, I know, no frost heave helps a bunch. But I still appreciate how good our roads and freeways are. David
Jerk.
Sorry, natural reaction from a Tucsonan, where Pima county had a debt larger than all other Arizona counties combined, and the roads are crap, and the city of Tucson invests hundres of millions in a street car that goes only 4 miles, will NEVER pay for itself with ridership, and as I understood, will never even break even on the elctric bill used run the darn things.
Tucson roads are AWFUL. Pima County roads are awful. Two or three outlying towns, where the local governments are not populated by idiots, have far better roads.
If you have bad roads, you have politicians that need to be fired.
Here in Tucson, they keep re-electing them, and can't figure out why things never get better. Detroit of the Southwest...
Rant over, I do feel a little better now.
When I bought the Elantra ad got a second set of rims for snows I stayed with the 16" base size over the 17" options, in 183,000 miles in 3.5 years since,it has only cost me 2 tires, imagine what the lower profile tires would have cost me.
Last Winter tore up complete sections of US75 between Dayton and Lima, I never damaged a tire or rim
Flight Service wrote: So as more and more states choose to pull money out of highway funds where does this leave our beloved cars?
In MD this year we get to vote on some legislation that will prohibit the state from taking funds out of the transportation fund to use for anything other than transportation projects.
Here in Illinois, the counties take better care of their roads than the State takes care of the highways and state roads.
I actually dread the thought of getting 17" wheels for the Corvair.
On that note, trucks are getting bad. They're now coming with 22" wheels and I can't expect that to be any better than a car with 18 19 or 20" wheels.
I used to lower my cars but every time I did I ended up finding areas that I couldn't drive because of it. Now I usually keep stock ride height. I just wish more companies would make higher spring rates at stock ride height on the cars that I like.
I can't drive to work, get into my garage, or drive in my neighborhood with a lowered car. My "driveway" (1-2 feet of concrete) into my garage is at a steep angle and my WRX would bottom out on there sometimes.
tuna55 wrote: I am pretty convinced that my area let the roads get bad on purpose so they can vote themselves a tax increase. The vote is on 11.1. I'll be voting "no" as hard as I can.
you might regret that. The same thing happened in the neighborhood I grew up a while back, a suburb of Chicago, and the roads deteriorated to a point where it was nothing but gravel and pot holes and people were busting wheels left and right. This was on Harlem Ave. too a major street through the burbs.
Like it or not you get what you pay (vote) for.
In reply to kanaric:
But I am already paying for it!!!!! I am not going to pay more (percentage) for the same service on the same roads!!
tuna55 wrote: In reply to kanaric: But I am already paying for it!!!!! I am not going to pay more (percentage) for the same service on the same roads!!
One of the problems where I lived is that the state was getting a lot of federal money to maintain the roads, then taxes were cut and the money stopped coming in. So effectively you are not likely.
That's what happens with federal tax cuts. You always end up paying more elsewhere. Probably your roads are lasting as long as possible with no funding until they are reduced to rubble then everyones going to blame your governor because they didn't want to pay for it.
In reply to kanaric:
Ok. Show me where my taxes, of any kind, have gone down.
tuna55 wrote: In reply to kanaric: Ok. Show me where my taxes, of any kind, have gone down.
Taxes have been continuously reduced since the bush administration and longer. This isn't anything new.
That's when this happened in Illinois.
Under Obama:
The “Making Work Pay” tax credit gave most working people a $400 refundable tax credit. This credit is worth $800 to most working married couples. More than 94 percent of all working families and individuals received this tax cut. Changes to the $1,000 per-child tax credit and the earned-income tax credit gave an average of $872 each to 12 million, mostly low-income working families with children. Relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax for 2009 reduced taxes for 25 million mostly upper-income couples and individuals. A new, partially refundable education credit was also enacted for 2009
a typical family making $50,000 a year has received tax cuts totaling $3,600
Taxes have been continually decreasing, under all administrations, for quite some time despite monumental spending increases and old issues, like Roads, still existing and needing the money.
And this is just regular people taxes, not the rich and corporations which are reduced further.
You get what you pay for. If you want lower federal taxes have fun paying more state and local taxes, more taxes on gas, more taxes in the form of fine increases, etc. If not that then have fun with your roads collapsing because that money is going to drone programs, the WOT, and healthcare.
When you pay less money on taxes those programs that the money are funding are not going away, they are still there, and require funds. They will take the funds from you locally, or they will allow your roads to deteriorate. The government refuses to even build less tanks, which the Army said they don't need, because of "jobs". Despite tax decreases requiring it. People want less taxes but don't want less services. If they cut those tank jobs it would hurt job numbers in some congressman's district so they won't do that, they will cut your roads when you take those $300 in 2004
Public Service Announcement:
Politics on GRM get the locked very quickly
KyAllroad wrote: You say 45 series is bad but given that it's a ratio you're leaving out a big part of the picture. 255/40 17 or 235/45 17 on the Passat are fine, take big hits in potholes, don't bend the rims, etc.
Good point. The Dart's 45 series was a 225 width, but that sidewall's not much shorter than what your Passat had. Her old Camaro had 275/45-17, and never had a problem with road hazards (those tires needed frequent replacement for other reasons 
)
Hal wrote:Flight Service wrote: So as more and more states choose to pull money out of highway funds where does this leave our beloved cars?In MD this year we get to vote on some legislation that will prohibit the state from taking funds out of the transportation fund to use for anything other than transportation projects.
They'll find other ways to waste it, don't you worry.
I live in Fairfax, VA (outside DC) where the roads range from "decent" to "excellent" for the most part (with a few random exception areas). And there are a billion huge SUVs and crossovers around here. It's not because of the roads. I commute 25 miles on some of the "worst" roads in the area (across the bridge in Maryland) in a lowered WRX with 17" wheels. I've never scraped the bottom of it, never even gotten a flat tire in 105k miles, never bent a wheel (105k miles on cheap Rotas). Never broken suspension or anything.
There are absolutely NO roads in this geographic area that cannot be easily and safely handled by any stock-height car in production (aside from maybe some supercars). Yet there are a billion crossovers and SUVs here.
It has nothing to do with road conditions and everything to do with being the trendy thing to have.
(I only own an SUV because I need towing capability, else we'd have a minivan).
Just pick up one of these and quit crying about the roads. 
Though lose the wagon wheels and put better tires under there. This is better
I could care less about the rough roads, it's the congestion that kills me. They recently repaved a section of highway that is regularly backed up for miles. The reason they have to repave it is the number of trucks slamming on their brakes due to congestion. If they just fixed the congestion in that area, they wouldn't need to repave every 5 years.
The roads up here in MA are awful. In the winter, they are 1000x worse. I run slightly oversized snows and steelies in the winter on my Mazda because of this, and the car just eats anything the roads throw at it. When these snows are toast, I may get some all-terrain tires!
As much as I want to get something cool for my next vehicle, the idea of a small crossover or truck with some ground clearance and AWD/4WD has crossed my mind. The winters lately have been getting worse, and something with ground clearance would help out. If someone builds something like a Subaru Crosstrek with a less anemic engine, I'd be interested.
Huntsville and Alabama in general has fairly good roads.
The worst roads I have been on are in New Orleans and I have been to Honduras. E36 M3ty doesn't even start to describe them. I was down there this weekend and I swear they are getting worse.
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