ADias

Where do you live? I have no problem finding excellent surfaces. When I am in Europe though... I cringe thinking if I had to drive on city cobblestone streets (PASM or no PASM).

simsgw

Europe reminded me of Arizona in the fifties. Heading east, you'd know you were in Arizona even with your head down in the back seat while Dad was driving. At the border the roads turned to crap with embedded rip-rap. Coming back west, you wouldn't get much sleep on Arizona roads, but you could lie down and rest as soon as the border to California was reached.

The only place I've seen really rough roads in California recently has been in places like the 405 Freeway through the Valley, where they have extended the capacity with extra lanes onto surface originally intended solely as emergency run-off area. Not even proper shoulders in other words. They have taken the six foot segment on the inside, added the six feet from the outside run-off area and created a new lane from the combined width. (Shifting over all the lane lines of course.)

When they re-paint to make the inner lane an HOV lane, it ends up half on proper paving and half on an overloaded surface originally paved for nothing but occasional traffic. That gets very rough, and differentially so. The PASM really gets a workout.

The only thing to be said for those lanes is that they drive out the timid. They are irregular so you can't doze behind the wheel, and they are snuggled right up against the concrete wall. I've noticed that people who'll blithely roll past a semi coming at 70 mph on a two-lane road will flinch away from a harmless cheerful bit of concrete wall that is just sitting there. "That's what the round thing in your lap is for, twit!"

Glad to be over here by the way. ADias told me the conversation was much better informed here on Rennlist, and he was right. New Porsche owner, with old callouses from driving sports cars for so many years.

ADias

Welcome Gary! Your contributions to the forum will be appreciated.