"Road Magazine" (roadmag)
08/02/2014 at 16:15 • Filed to: Stance | 0 | 11 |
Most motoring enthusiasts have often toyed with the idea of lowering their vehicle. Whether using shorter spring sets ups, adjustable coilovers or air suspension, an increasing amount of motorists believe the only way to go is low.
As with all modifications, there are healthy arguments from both the pro and con lobbies. Here at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , we explore the points for and against impartially for you, the consumer.
As predicted, there are many safety and practicality drawbacks from slamming your prized project car. Firstly, the probability of beaching your chassis upon a speed bump or curb increases with every millimeter towards terra firma. Besides the obvious embarrassment from loudly scraping in your local high street, severe and often costly damage can be made to your exhaust system or oil sump.
Tyre safety is also a grave concern for those who prefer to sit on the ground, as uneven tyre wear is a common symptom. Also those choosing custom wheels should seek advice from experienced wheel and tyre experts, like !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , to assist with fitting options and safety tips.
Ride quality is affected every time you lower your vehicle too. Although sometimes preferable for those who yearn for a stiffer ride, the level of comfort varies massively with the quality of parts used and the ride height. In short, if a smooth ride is what you desire, lowering is ill advised. Handling may not necessarily be improved either, as ride height is often deemed a precise science which is best not interrupted by a novice.
Jacking up your vehicle becomes massively problematic once your vehicle is lowered to ridiculous heights too, which can prove compromising should you need to replace a tyre at the road side. Your local mechanic will also find themselves infuriated by the inconvenience now caused by living the low life.
Besides looking incredible, lowering a vehicle can often prove beneficial for the handling. When measured precisely and using high quality parts, the handling can often find itself more spirited. Those seeking a track weapon should definitely seek industry advice as to which combinations to make. Theoretically, lower vehicles are less likely to overturn and can become more aerodynamic.
In the reality of the situation though, most owners lower their vehicle as a fashion. Particularly common amongst revellers on the VW scene, is the need to lower the car so low that it's practically lying belly down on the ground. Should your needs require earning scene points on the show scene, then you are right to go lower. A slammed vehicle certainly looks amazing and purposeful, and transforms the appearance unbelievably.
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GhostZ
> Road Magazine
08/02/2014 at 16:24 | 3 |
It entirely depends on how its lowered. Air suspension or hydraulics aren't so bad, but static coilovers and giant wheels? No.
Jedidiah
> Road Magazine
08/02/2014 at 16:40 | 3 |
No. Go high or go home.
Jonee
> Road Magazine
08/02/2014 at 17:20 | 1 |
My answer has always been no, but I'm thinking of changing it to, "no, except for Renault 4's" because that thing is sweet.
Shiftright
> Jedidiah
08/15/2014 at 00:49 | 0 |
I hear that does wonders for handling.
Shiftright
> Road Magazine
08/15/2014 at 00:50 | 0 |
As in all things, moderation is key.
Haig
> Road Magazine
08/15/2014 at 12:37 | 1 |
This misses a lot.
Tire wear is due to improper suspension geometry as well as rubbing on fender lips and the chassis/suspension.
Scene people also do dangerous things like mount narrow tires on wide wheels and excessive changes in wheel offset or stacking wheel spacers.
If you don't know a camber curve from a scrub radius, you should not mess with your suspension.
Once you understand what you're doing, you probably wouldn't do most of that stuff.
Jedidiah
> Shiftright
08/15/2014 at 12:46 | 0 |
That's not really the point of those cars.
Significantly changing the ride height of a car, either lowering or raising, will negatively affect handling.
Shiftright
> Jedidiah
08/15/2014 at 15:42 | 0 |
Lowering a car generally and theoretically improves its handling because it lowers the center of gravity and keeps the tire patches flatter to the road. Extreme lowering will obviously affect its ability to navigate small road imperfections and variations in surface elevations not to mention cause tire / body interference issues which makes it horrible or impossible to drive.
Shiftright
> Road Magazine
08/15/2014 at 15:45 | 0 |
I know gassers are raised to aid in rear weight transfer during acceleration, but don;t understand why lowering them wouldn't do the same thing and do it better? Can anyone enlighten me?
PardonMyFlemish16
> Road Magazine
08/15/2014 at 18:34 | 0 |
Within reason. Stance needs to die.
Jedidiah
> Shiftright
08/16/2014 at 16:29 | 0 |
*This is based off my previous understanding of suspension geometry, so it may not be %100 accurate and it is fairly long-winded*
It changes the suspension pickup location and affects how the geometry changes over wheel travel.
Lowering the car extremely or adding drop spindles will affect steering by changing the locations of things like the tie-rods and center link. Unless the factory geometry was absolute crap, then this will probably make handling worse.
You should also consider how suspension travel affects camber changes. In most commonplace strut suspensions, wheels gain positive camber as the shocks/springs compress. Of course, this is bad for handling because it minimizes the contact patch under load and cornering. Unfortunately, this is an inherent flaw designed into strut suspensions and you can't do anything about it. Making the wheel travel shorter by lowering the car will make these geometry changes more pronouced as the suspensions goes under load and will likely make the car bump steer. Bump steering is when the car changes direction when it hits an uneven section
Lowering your center of mass is advantageous to controlling body roll, because the center of mass will move less. Unfortunately, this is not advantageous for acceleration because you will have less weight on the driving wheels. This is one of the reasons those gassers I posted are lifted; it allows the center of mass to move towards the rear wheels and improve traction.
Unfortunately, you will unlikely notice any differences in cars that have been lowered a safe amount to preserve good front-end geometry. An inch or two isn't going to produce any noticeable amount of handling gain.
Your best change of improving handling will be by adding firmer shocks and progressive springs, but these advantages are going to come mostly from improved dampening and not a change in ride height.