Increase the vehicle's ground clearance, especially for off-road driving enthusiasts. We will try to tell you in detail about the methods that are needed for this and the nuances during work.
The content of the article:
- What is clearance
- Spacers in springs
- New suspension springs
- Clearance due to wheels
- Height due to springs
- Torsion bar suspension
- Shock absorber inserts
- Air suspension
- Component price
An important thing in a car is its ground clearance, it is he who affects the aerodynamics and handling of the car. Some deliberately underestimate, while others, on the contrary, increase it. As a rule, fans of off-road driving and to transport heavy loads increase the clearance.
What is vehicle clearance
Ground clearance, or in other words, ground clearance, is the space from the road surface to the lowest point of the underside of the car. As a rule, the lowest point of the car is most often considered to be the differential, the engine sump guard, the suspension struts or the exhaust pipe.
Often, experienced motorists associate ground clearance with the maximum depth of a hole that a car can drive. This figure gives a 100% result that the underbody of the car will not be damaged and the car will not get stuck on the road.
For all characteristics, the largest clearance in SUVs, from the manufacturer's factory, these cars are initially designed for off-road driving. The clearance of such SUVs or crossovers starts from 200 mm. For example, the clearance of VAZ 2121, Mitsubishi Pajero (Pajero Sport) is 220 mm, Toyota Land Cruiser is from 225 mm to 270 mm (for complete sets with air suspension).
Passenger cars have a lower ground clearance, Lamborghini Diablo is about 100 mm, Lada Kalina - 158 mm, Honda Civic 6 EJ6 - 110 mm. But there are situations when the car is completely satisfied with the owner, but its clearance is not, as a result, the search for options begins to change it.
Increase due to spacers
One of the most common ways is to increase ground clearance due to special struts in the springs. For this, special rubber gaskets are bought, calculated in thickness a little more than the span between the coils of the spring. Installing is quite simple and you can handle it yourself.
The essence of the work of such inserts is to support the car when it sags on the springs under its own weight. Rubber inserts simply reduce this sagging and maintain ride height. Due to the inserts, the coils of the spring, where it is located, almost do not bend, and the free coils bend as much as possible, as a result, the clearance increases.
For example, by installing such rubber inserts on Kia Rio, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla cars, you can increase the ground clearance by 3-5 cm, if you do not abuse it, if you overdo it, you can achieve greater results.
Such a change in ground clearance will adversely affect the suspension stiffness in the negative direction. It will definitely be noticeable knowing the stiffness before and after the change. With such tuning, it will be very uncomfortable to drive off-road, it will be pulled by the deterioration of control and directional stability of the car.
New suspension springs
In addition to the trick described above, due to rubber inserts, the vehicle's ground clearance can be increased by replacing the standard suspension springs. Replacing with larger springs with a large number of turns, you get the desired clearance result.
But there is one thing, the presence of such springs will depend on the popularity of your car model and how much this type of tuning is in demand. Some models are full of them, but other roofing felts do not exist at all, roofing felts are sold at exorbitant prices. As a rule, original springs made by the same manufacturer as your car simply do not exist in nature, in very rare cases even on SUVs. Often these are special manufacturers who work purely in this direction. When buying such a part, you must understand that it must be made with high quality, with proper materials and withstand heavy loads. Regarding the disadvantages, the most unpleasant is the deterioration of the car's behavior on the road, due to the loss of directional stability, as well as rolls when cornering.
With this method, the clearance can be increased by 8-12 cm, or even more. It should be understood that such figures will greatly affect the safety of the car and its aerodynamics.
Fitting wheels with a larger radius
The third way to change the ground clearance is to replace the entire set of wheels and tires on the car. Often this method is chosen to improve the appearance of the car and in the case when you simply do not understand about cars at all.
As an example, for this method, you can pick up a set of wheels and tires 215/65 R16, while the car costs 205/60 R16 or 195/60 R15. It is worth remembering that replacing wheels can not always increase the ground clearance, sometimes you can get the opposite effect. Often, tires with a larger diameter are low-profile, which means that the ground clearance will not change or, on the contrary, will decrease.
The disadvantage of this method of increasing the clearance is that the wheels will begin to rub on the arches, wheel arch liners, especially this will be clearly visible and audible when cornering. Therefore, when choosing new wheels and tires, re-read a hundred times, calculate and make sure that this does not lead to consequences for your car. Usually this method increases the ground clearance by 1 to 3 centimeters.
Leaf springs, adding a leaf spring
This option to increase the ground clearance is suitable only for those cars that have leaf springs. Not to say that this is the easiest way, but one of the most common. If your car has springs available, then it is enough to add the required number of plates, and you will get the desired result.
The downside will be an increase in the stiffness of the suspension, but the plus is that the nominal load on these springs will increase. In other words, you can carry heavier loads than before. Experts recommend changing the discs together with the springs and one size larger, this will show a much better result both in terms of softness and quality of replacement.
Adjusting the torsion bar suspension
If your car has a torsion bar suspension, then consider that many of the problems with changing the ground clearance have simply gone away from you. To increase the ground clearance, it will be enough to adjust it. It is necessary to regulate in moderation and not to abuse, then the aerodynamics of the car and the quality of its control will not change.
Shock absorber spacers
This is most likely the best and most commonly used method to increase the vehicle's ground clearance. The essence of this method is to install special inserts at the junction of the struts of the shock absorbers and the body. These spacers perform a similar role as rubber spring spacers and increase ground clearance.
The disadvantage of such spacers is the deterioration of the center of gravity of the car, as a result of the deterioration in the car's handling. Dense plastic or aluminum is used as a material for manufacturing.
Car air suspension
The coolest way to increase ground clearance is considered to be the installation of air suspension. This method involves replacing almost the entire chassis and costs a lot of money. But the result justifies its own, you can choose the ground clearance at will, setting the parameters. At the same time, the car's handling will not deteriorate, some say the opposite, it only improves.
The cost of components for clearance
The first on the list were the rubber inserts for the springs. Depending on the make and model of the car, the price may vary. An installation kit for Nexia or other Russian-assembled machines can cost from 250 to 1200 rubles.But for foreign cars Kia, Toyota or Honda, such a kit will cost from 1,000 to 4,000 rubles.
The second way to increase ground clearance is to replace the standard springs with higher springs. The price of such pleasure will also depend on the car model, the average cost starts from 1000 rubles, the maximum in this variant is hard to say.
The third option for changing the ground clearance involves replacing discs and tires with a larger diameter. It's hard to say about a specific price here. It all depends on taste and desire, the start is usually from $ 100, but there is definitely no maximum, everyone goes crazy to the best of their wallet.
The next way to increase the ground clearance is the spacers between the shock absorbers and the car body. The price of such pleasure does not vary much. Plastic will cost around 400-800 rubles, aluminum will be a little more expensive.
