L400 spacegear rolled on it's side icy road and drives away

[Green1]

Oops, yeah sorry I forgot the 400's do start..... They just won't go into gear when it's cold!!
Out of town, won't start, won't move, to pretty, whatever, when we hit the trails, you can still ride with us, and leave the mom-bus at Starbucks.

Bikepoor

This one also has more ground clearance than my L300, I think it'll hold it's own off-road.

It gets in to gear no problem now too (easy fix)

I think in Monkey's case he was sliding sideways then hit something like a curb

Judging by the picture, that's pretty much exactly what this L400 did, the dirt/snow/whatever piled up on the side of the road is probably what it hit.

[jessef]

Overall dimensions of L400 Delica

• Total Length (mm) 4685
• Total Width (mm) 1695
• Total Height (mm) 2060 (high roof)
• Wheel Base (mm) 2800
• Tread (mm) Front 1440, Rear 1435

Overall dimensions of L300 Delica (P25W):

• Total Length: 4,365
• Total Width: 1,690
• Total Height: 1,975
• Wheel Base: 2,240
• Track Front: 1,430
• Track Rear: 1,415

I think if we look at the dimensions we ought to look at them all. To mention that the track is wider is subjective. The L400 may be a third of an inch wider track* but it's also higher. The L300 engine location is also further back, which makes the tranny further back. Displacement is where it's at.

As far as stability is concerned, I have travelled sideways at 50 KPH and all I did was list into the skid and stop. However, it was a constant friction, not slippery then friction.

Falco.

* A third of an inch makes a difference.

You're right !

Get the same models and you guys might be surprised to know that the L400 is LOWER, WIDER and LONGER = more stable.

L300 P25W (low roof)

• Total Length: 4,365
• Body Width: 1,690
• Total Height: 1,975
• Wheel Base: 2,240
• Track Front: 1,430
• Track Rear: 1,415

L400 PD8 (low roof)

• Total Length (mm) 4,595
• Body Width (mm) 1,695
• Total Height (mm) 1,855
• Wheel Base (mm) 2,796
• Track Front: 1,520
• Track Rear: 1,505

I've seen quite a few L300's rolled over and headed off to the wreckers.

http://www.delica.ca/forum/roll-over-in ... -2139.html

Both L300 and L400 fare well in simple roll over's because of the box shape. Instead of a full roll over, it may just topple onto it's side because it's tall and boxy.

This is a great read :

http://monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc262.pdf

It has both L300/L400's in there as well.

It's a crash/roll analysis that is very in depth.

I've owned both and driven low roof, high roof, crystalite roof, fiberglass poptop roof L300's and low roof, high roof, crystalite roof L400's. Stock and modified. On and off road.

Because of the longer and wider wheelbase, the L400 tracks easier when you're in a slide.

The L400 SWB, excels in most areas compared to the L300 when both in stock format.

However, the L300 really shines when pulling it's weight uphill in 4x4 and in tight sections where cornering and section to section maneuvering is required.

I think I have a good say after driving so many different models of both.

There are times when I would like an L300 and times when I would like an L400.

Examples :

Going up vedder mtn from the east up the narrow trail. I would prefer the L300 because it climbs like a goat and gets over and around tight areas. This is where I missed my L300 when I went up the same trail with my L400 (although the LWB at the time). They are different in certain areas.

Barreling down a logging road, on dunes (oregon) or offroad in deep snow. I would prefer the L400 because it's very predictable when you get to know it and handles high speed offroad very well.

There is no all-in-one that makes one better than the other.

Down the road, I'll just have one of each.

They are different and people should just accept that.

Comparing apple to oranges doesn't make sense. It's fun on forums but gets old.

[EnviroImports.com]

I used to have some picts of a guys p25 who was out by pt Renfrew on the logging roads, had his delica a WEEK and was out driving around, him and his buddies decided to try DRIFTING in it.... Ya, for real, rolled into a ditch, fliped a couple times, everyone was ok and walked away, but that delica was TRASHED!!!
I wish i still had the picts but they are on my old pc HD and that went to the land of great computer adventures that end in "oh crap- what just happined"

Probably what the owner of any crashed delica thinks just after lol...

[jessef]

Here's another on black ice.

Someone is watching over these people.

http://www.mdocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29645

Deli died yesterday after hitting black ice, and rolling into the river Dee 40 feet below.
Mrs Medic has 2 fractures to her spine and I have bruised lungs and fractured sternum. Just glad it was  the deli and not  her MG.

[Green1]

Unfortunately for the Brits, I think this really comes down to 3 things, driver experience on ice (they get a lot less of it than we do), lack of ice capable tires (hey, if I was in that climate I probably wouldn't have decent tires for ice either!), and a complete lack of any road maintenance for the conditions (salt/sand, again, if you don't get the conditions, why have a fleet of sanding trucks?) And before anyone says anything about it only being L400s, you must realize that the UK has many more L400s than L300s at this point

Of course this means the times when they DO have icing conditions they are in much worse shape, and things like this happen. I do wish them all the best in their recovery though, and hope that nobody was seriously injured (though I must say that last one didn't sound good)

[jessef]

Green1, I've been to the UK a few times both up north and down south. It's no different there than here.

There is no way to measure capable vs non-capable drivers from one country to another, whether people are using ice tires or not and whether they get more or less ice than we do in certain areas.

Ice is ice and black ice is the worst.

Canada is no different. People/cars slide in all directions and there is no rating from 1 to 10 which country has the better end of the stick.

The same posts are on different vehicle forums with their specific vehicles.

I just posted this to show that people do survive some of the worst accidents with no plausible explanation sometimes.

[Green1]

Green1, I've been to the UK a few times both up north and down south. It's no different there than here.

with all due respect, "here" for you is a very different place from "here" for me.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Unfortunately for the Brits, I think this really comes down to 3 things, driver experience on ice (they get a lot less of it than we do), lack of ice capable tires (hey, if I was in that climate I probably wouldn't have decent tires for ice either!), and a complete lack of any road maintenance for the conditions (salt/sand, again, if you don't get the conditions, why have a fleet of sanding trucks?) And before anyone says anything about it only being L400s, you must realize that the UK has many more L400s than L300s at this point

Of course this means the times when they DO have icing conditions they are in much worse shape, and things like this happen. I do wish them all the best in their recovery though, and hope that nobody was seriously injured (though I must say that last one didn't sound good)

Okay, it has been a few years since I was last in England, things may have changed. However, in the years between 1980 & 1988 in Britain I experienced a lot of ice. Britain has roughly the same precipitation as Vancouver but unlike Vancouver much of it is mist. In Vancouver it rains a lot. I used to frequently experience "freezing fog". Because there is so much mist & fog, when it gets cold out it freezes and the fog appears thicker. As you walk through the fog you hear this tinkling in your ears from all the fog crystals breaking as you walk through them (pretty trippy, actually). Out in the West Country and up north and in Wales you would hear reports of five feet of snow on the BBC. In London, typically, it would snow for a two to three week period at the end of January, beginning of February (one or two feet). Every year Brit Rail & London Transport would shut down for at least one week, saying every year that "we didn't expect it this bad this year" ~ I think they did but looked forward to a walk in the snow without the drone of London in the background. The grit trucks were out from sometime in December to February every year that I can remember.

The river that Medic refers to is the River Dee. There are four rivers called Dee in Britain, one in North England; two in Scotland; and one in North of Wales. I am guessing that he is referring to the River Dee in the North of England by the description of "a 40 foot drop", which would be in the North Yorkshire/Cumbria area.

Typically the tyres on cars in the UK, that I remember, were all season radials ~ be that what it may.

In a line: There was quite a bit of black ice in the UK during the '80s.

Green1, I've been to the UK a few times both up north and down south. It's no different there than here.

with all due respect, "here" for you is a very different place from "here" for me.

Don't confuse British Columbia with the Lower Mainland. We may be playing tennis in January in Vancouver but over the first row of mountains it is a different story. -40 Is a common number, with cold snaps of up to -50 in places like Prince George.

Falco.

[jessef]

Green1, I've been to the UK a few times both up north and down south. It's no different there than here.

with all due respect, "here" for you is a very different place from "here" for me.

I'm from Edmonton so I'm sure I'm in 'your' vacinity for cold.