This page explains a Hersonissos jeep safari through the story of the word safari, then the suspension, ground clearance, the off-road tire, the parking brake and the speedometer. Four answers wrap up the page, and every new term is defined where it appears. Browse more trips at Greece tours.
What is a Hersonissos jeep safari?
A Hersonissos jeep safari is an outing in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, along dirt tracks and mountain roads. It runs around Hersonissos, a municipality on Crete’s northern shore. Crete is an island of Greece. The word safari has its own history.
In the 19th century, better technology and medicine let foreigners travel safely deeper into Africa. Early expeditions established the concept of safari-style travel. A safari is an overland journey. An expedition is a long trip made for a set aim. A Hersonissos jeep safari page borrows the word, not the African setting.
Other visitors aimed to hunt animals, especially elephants for their tusks. The hunting side of safaris is said to have begun in the early 17th century near Évora, Alentejo. Villagers there formed hunting parties to hunt wild boar and reclaim land for farming. A tusk is a long pointed tooth.
An SUV is a sport utility vehicle. It blends road-car traits with off-road features such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. Narrow definitions require a light truck chassis, while broad ones accept any vehicle with off-road design features. A chassis is the base frame of a vehicle.
The term SUV is suggested to have replaced jeep as a general word for off-road vehicles. One British dictionary defines an SUV as a powerful four-wheel-drive vehicle capable of being driven over rough ground. Predecessors of the SUV date back to military and low-volume models from the late 1930s.
- Gap: There is no agreed definition of an SUV, and its use varies across countries.
- Style: The safari style began with jackets worn by British officers on their African campaigns.
- Chic: A Hersonissos jeep safari page notes that safari chic arose after the film Out of Africa.
A Hersonissos jeep safari joins an old travel word to a modern kind of vehicle. The word safari points to long overland journeys, and the SUV points to four-wheel drive. Next, the vehicle suspension takes the stage.
On a Hersonissos jeep safari, what does the vehicle suspension add?
A Hersonissos jeep safari page turns to the suspension. This is the set of parts that links the wheels to a vehicle. This section covers springs, dampers, bars and stops. A damper is a part that calms the bounce of a spring.
A Hersonissos jeep safari page starts with the springs. Conventional suspensions pair passive springs, which absorb impacts, with dampers that control spring motion. Semi-active suspensions include air springs, switchable shock absorbers and self-levelling solutions. An air spring is a bag of air that acts as a spring.
Independent front suspension was pioneered in 1922 and became more common from 1932. In 1901, a Paris maker first fitted an automobile with shock absorbers. The Hotchkiss drive was a rear suspension used in American cars from the 1930s to the 1970s. Independent means each wheel moves on its own.
In 2002, Malcolm C. Smith invented a new passive suspension part called the inerter. The inerter adds inertia to wheel suspension through a geared flywheel, without adding significant mass. Inertia is the tendency of a body to keep its motion. A flywheel is a heavy wheel that stores spinning energy.
A limiting strap stops downward suspension movement at a pre-set point before maximum travel. A bump-stop protects the suspension, the vehicle and its occupants from violent bottoming. Self-levelling suspension counteracts a sinking tail by inflating cylinders to lift the chassis. Bottoming is when the suspension runs out of travel.
- Bars: Anti-roll bars are a typical example of mechanical interconnection in suspension.
- Rate: Wheel rate is the effective spring rate measured at the wheel, not the spring alone.
- Link: This Hersonissos jeep safari page defines a suspension as the link between wheels and vehicle.
The suspension links springs, dampers and stops into one working set. A Hersonissos jeep safari lends this page its title, and the suspension is only one of its subjects. Ground clearance follows, along with tires, brakes and gauges.
On a Hersonissos jeep safari, what does ground clearance add?
A Hersonissos jeep safari page next turns to ground clearance. This is the gap between the lowest part of a vehicle and the ground. A vehicle built for rough ground needs high clearance to drive well off the pavement. Pavement is a hard paved surface.
Axle clearance is measured from the lower of the axle or differential housing to the ground. Running clearance is the distance from the lowest sprung mass to the ground. An axle is a rod that carries a wheel. Sprung mass is the weight the springs carry.
A road car has a ride height of around 16 to 17 centimetres. An SUV has around 19 to 22 centimetres. Higher ground clearance gives the wheels more vertical room to travel and absorb shocks. Higher ride heights raise the center of mass, which increases rollover chance. Ride height is the gap under the body.
A Hersonissos jeep safari page also meets ride height. Self-leveling suspensions are designed to keep a constant ride height regardless of load. Vehicles without self-leveling pitch down at one end when loaded. Coilover springs offer a manual way to adjust ride height. Pitch means to tip forward or back.
Tractor-trailers must consider ground clearance on uneven terrain, such as raised railroad crossings. A tractor-trailer is a truck that pulls a long trailer. The Kégresse track, a system for modifying cars, was developed between 1906 and 1916. Military vehicles developed in the Second World War later gained civilian popularity as utility vehicles.
- Measure: Ground clearance is measured with standard vehicle equipment, and axle clearance has its own method.
- Need: High clearance helps an off-road vehicle navigate off the pavement effectively.
- Under: The Hersonissos jeep safari page here explains that clearance is the gap under a vehicle.
Ground clearance is the gap that lets wheels travel and absorb shocks. Ground clearance is one more subject under the title of a Hersonissos jeep safari. After it come the tire, the brake and the gauge.
On a Hersonissos jeep safari, what does the off-road tire add?
A Hersonissos jeep safari meets the off-road tire here. This is a tire with deep tread, made to grip unpaved ground. The tread is the pattern of grooves on the rubber. This section explains how these tires differ from street tires.
A Hersonissos jeep safari page opens with the tread. Off-road tires use deep tread to give more traction on unpaved surfaces. Unlike ice or snow tires, they have no studs, and their grooves are deeper and wider. A stud is a small metal spike set in the tread.
On paved roads, a smaller contact patch gives off-road tires less traction than street tires. The contact patch is the area of the tire that meets the ground. Tires with less aggressive knobs give up off-road grip for grip closer to street tires on pavement. A knob is a raised block of tread.
Off-road cycle tires are called knobbies. They appear on motocross and enduro motorcycles, ATVs and mountain bikes. Motocross is racing on rough dirt tracks, and enduro is long-distance off-road riding. An ATV is a small off-road vehicle. All-terrain tires are meant for both on-road and off-road use.
In the Second World War, the bar grip on United States military vehicles split tread into two zones. One zone served roads and the other served rough ground. Modern all-terrain tires use hybrid tread patterns and tougher compounds to last longer on mixed surfaces. A compound is the rubber mix.
- Tread: A Hersonissos jeep safari page lists deep tread as the mark of an off-road tire.
- Grooves: All-terrain tires have grooves and channels that spread the load evenly and improve traction.
- Codes: Tire codes M+T and M/T denote tires designed for mudding, rock crawling and desert racing.
On dirt roads with rocks slightly too big for all-terrain grooves, mud-terrain tires can improve traction. The title belongs to a Hersonissos jeep safari, and the tire is one of the subjects beneath it. Then the parking brake takes over.
On a Hersonissos jeep safari, what does the parking brake add?
A Hersonissos jeep safari reaches the parking brake in this section. It is also known as the emergency brake, e-brake or handbrake. A brake is a part that slows a wheel. The facts below follow the lever, the cable and the electric kind.
The parking brake is a pulling mechanism attached to a cable that connects to two wheel brakes. In manual transmission cars, the parking brake helps hold the car still on an incline. A mechanism is a set of parts that work together. An incline is a slope.
A center lever is pulled up until there is tension, engaging a ratchet. A ratchet is a toothed part that locks in one direction. The parking brake sits in the center console, between the driver and front passenger seats. A console is the box of controls between two seats.
Electronic parking brakes were introduced to the mainstream market in 2001. In the cable-pulling type, an electric motor pulls the parking brake cable when a button is pressed. Hill-hold, also called hill-assist, stops a vehicle rolling back when preparing to drive uphill. A Hersonissos jeep safari page lists it as one more feature.
The mechanical nature of the parking brake lets the driver apply it if the hydraulic brake system fails. Hydraulic means driven by liquid pressure. A line lock traps hydraulic pressure in the brake lines, so the four wheels can be locked. In power operated systems, springs apply the brakes if air pressure is lost.
- Warning: A dashboard shows one or two warning lights when the parking brake is engaged.
- Drum: A transmission brake is a separate drum brake on the driveline.
- Hold: On this Hersonissos jeep safari page, the parking brake is the part that helps hold a car still.
The parking brake works by cable, by lever or by electric motor. A Hersonissos jeep safari heads this page, and the parking brake sits among its subjects. After it come the speedometer and four short answers.
On a Hersonissos jeep safari, what does the speedometer add?
A Hersonissos jeep safari stops at the speedometer in this section. A speedometer is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Instantaneous means at one exact moment. The facts below cover its history and its parts.
Speedometers became standard equipment on motor vehicles from about 1910 onward. A Croatian inventor created the electric speedometer in 1888. It was originally called a velocimeter. Croatian means from Croatia, a country in Europe. Equipment means the parts a vehicle carries. A Hersonissos jeep safari page starts the story there.
German inventor Otto Schultze patented his eddy-current speedometer on 7 October 1902. A small permanent magnet on the speedometer cable interacts with an aluminium cup called a speedcup. A fine torsion spring holds the pointer shaft toward zero. A torsion spring works by twisting. A pointer shaft carries the needle.
A rotation sensor in the transmission sends pulses whose frequency tracks driveshaft rotation speed. A computer converts the pulses into a speed shown on a needle or digital display. A pulse is a short burst of signal. A driveshaft is a rotating rod that sends power to the wheels.
Pulse data can trigger ABS or traction control and calculate average trip speed. ABS is an anti-lock braking system, which stops wheels from locking. Calibration must account for gear ratios, the final drive ratio and tire diameter. Calibration is the setting of a gauge so that it reads true.
- Reverse: The eddy current speedometer cannot show speed in reverse gear because the cup then turns the opposite way.
- GPS: A GPS device can estimate its velocity using the Doppler effect.
- Gauge: This Hersonissos jeep safari page describes a speedometer as a gauge for vehicle speed.
Speedometers moved from cable and magnet to sensor and computer. A Hersonissos jeep safari names the page, and the speedometer is one more of its subjects. The Doppler effect is a change in wave pitch. Four short answers close the page.
Which questions do readers ask about a Hersonissos jeep safari, and what do the answers say?
A Hersonissos jeep safari raises four plain questions, and short answers follow. They cover the season, the regional unit, the village of Stalida and the Cretan dialect. Each answer rests on its own reference article, and each new word is explained.
Which season suits a Hersonissos jeep safari?
Heraklion sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean zone, coded Csa in the Köppen climate classification. Summer days in Heraklion are warm to hot, dry and clear. Winters are mild, with moderate rain. A climate describes the weather of one place over the years. Köppen sorts climates into types.
Which regional unit contains the town behind a Hersonissos jeep safari?
Heraklion is a regional unit of Crete, and Crete has four of them. The unit is divided into 8 municipalities. The A90 motorway runs along its northern coast. A regional unit groups municipalities into one administrative area. A municipality is a smaller one inside it.
Which village lies between Malia and the resort behind a Hersonissos jeep safari?
Stalida is a village between Malia and Hersonissos, on Crete’s northern coast. Its name comes from a Greek verb that means stop for a rest. The Byzantine church of St. Ioannis in Stalida dates back to 1600. Byzantine describes the Greek-speaking eastern Roman world.
Which dialect is spoken behind a Hersonissos jeep safari?
Cretan Greek is a variety of Modern Greek spoken in Crete and by the Cretan diaspora. Crete stayed under Venetian control for nearly five centuries. Turkish words entered the vocabulary of Cretans after the Ottoman conquest of 1669. A diaspora is a people living far from their homeland.