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Why does my bumper scrape when driving fast over a bump but not slow?

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up vote 30 down vote favorite 5 When driving my car over a bump or a quick change in gradient (from flat to uphill or downhill to flat), if I don't drive slowly and the bump/change in gradient is large enough, I'll end up with my front bumper dragging on the road/bump. But if I go slowly, there's no such issue. I would expect that the wheels are still taking the same path regardless of the speed, so the car's body should also act the same regardless. Why does it make a difference when speed is changed? Why doesn't the car behave the same way regardless? newtonian-mechanics everyday-life collision spring share | cite | improve this question edited Nov 13