Implications of lowering a vehicle

M

Monkeyballs

Member
BTW first post, new owner 03 P5. Wondering what the effect on safety during a collision after lowering a car (namely P5, 2" lowering springs). I recently read an article about manufacturers engineering their vehicles to an exact height specification to ensure safety during a crash and was wondering if this is even a legitimate concern on my behalf.

Also, n00b question: besides aesthetics, what does lowering a car even do?
 
Welcome! You must have registered within the past couple of days, don't worry about the "Potential Scammer" title under your name. There's a bug with the new forum software that was just installed and every new user has that under their username when they post.

Lowering a car lowers it's center of gravity and also reduces the travel of the suspension, resulting in less body roll while cornering. As for the safety, I actually don't think that has been discussed on here before but I have read about it. Basically, if you're going to get hit and you live in the States you'll be hit by an SUV. Lowering your car an inch or two likely won't change the effects of that very much. More and more trucks and SUVs are coming with lower bumpers so that hopefully they'll hit the doors of cars instead of the windows when impacting on the side.

I think it is definitely a legitimate concern, thanks for making me paranoid now (I'm lowered). kidding of course.

Before anyone else says it, check in the Protege5 lounge (a subforum of this forum) and there is a post about common questions people have. Things like asking about intakes and what wheels fit and things like that. People here are generally friendly and won't get too ticked off when a "n00b" forgets to search before they post, but just putting it out there as a warning.
 
Cool, I'm not necessarily a "n00b" of forums, I race a heavily modified SV650 in the champhioship cup series and I rely on forums for a lot of info. I know VB, and how search works so I hope not to ask many repetitive questions. I was just wondering if the benefits outweigh the dangers in regards to this mod.
 
Monkeyballs said:
Cool, I'm not necessarily a "n00b" of forums, I race a heavily modified SV650 in the champhioship cup series and I rely on forums for a lot of info. I know VB, and how search works so I hope not to ask many repetitive questions. I was just wondering if the benefits outweigh the dangers in regards to this mod.
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OMG HIT T3H SEARCH BUTTON n00B!!!

lol jk, welcome to the boards. What kinda racing you do?
 
Currently I race an SV650 in CCS series, but I was hoping to try auto x in my P5. Racing is a passion of mine, and I enjoy meeting people and competing.
 
Monkeyballs said:
Cool, I'm not necessarily a "n00b" of forums, I race a heavily modified SV650 in the champhioship cup series and I rely on forums for a lot of info. I know VB, and how search works so I hope not to ask many repetitive questions. I was just wondering if the benefits outweigh the dangers in regards to this mod.
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Welcome to the board! It's always nice to see a fellow racer, even if they use two fewer wheels :D.

The only crash implication that I'm aware of driving a lowered vehicle is the possiblity of finding yourself beneath another vehicle be it from you rear-ending a another vehicle (especially a truck) and vice versa.

Generally, lowering a car effectively reduces the center of gravity. Such yields an improved cornering stance and associated characteristics, much like that of holding your body as low as possible on a bike when throttling through a corner.
 
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Monkeyballs said:
Currently I race an SV650 in CCS series, but I was hoping to try auto x in my P5. Racing is a passion of mine, and I enjoy meeting people and competing.
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well, welcome to the club. I auto-xed my p5 last season, but I've got a co-drive in a STS2 CRX (I know I know, but it's a ride) for this season. Hopefully by next season (the plan is, at least) I'll be able to afford a 1g Protege LX and make that my dedicated autocross hoopty, run it in HS for a season or so, then (if I can wait that long) start modding and eventually (3+ seasons) max it out in FSP trim
 
Well, let me say I'm glad to see intelligent responses to my inquery, I'm still on the fence regarding lowering my P5. Anyone with positive or negative experiences please respond....
 
Monkeyballs said:
Well, let me say I'm glad to see intelligent responses to my inquery, I'm still on the fence regarding lowering my P5. Anyone with positive or negative experiences please respond....
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I've installed a set of lowering springs on mine (Goldline) and I have been pleased with them for the past 1.5 years. The spring rate is a tad bit stiffer than stock, but the ride quality hasn't been significantly reduced.

Have a look HERE for a comparison of spring rates and height adjustment.
 
If you rearend a Hummer that 2" is not going to make any difference...you'll still end up underneath it.
 
well, there are always going to be strengths and weaknesses. For instance, now that mine is lowered, I tend to really hate steep slopes and sometimes it is unavoidable so if you cherish your bumper, may not be a wisest choice unless you get something less durastic. If you want better handling, lowering the car isn't bad and I do like the better stance my car has through most corners. Just a matter of balance between the 2.
 
I would just go for a more moderate lowering. You dont really need to lower it 2'' to increase performance.
 
where i live a 2" drop is a garuanteed fubar since downtown is not very car frendly. i saw a diablo bottom out falling into a massive pothole filled with water once in downtown but the streets are getting better now though. but thats something you might want to consider as far as safety goes. as far as getting rear ended. its all the same 2inches or not and trust me im the expert in getting rear ended in the P5.....2 times.... worst case scenario problywould be you rear ending a truck that has a typical ride hieght.. thats the only other safty issue i could think of. the lower your ride hieght when you slam those brakes the more likely you will go right under the truck.
 
Welcome,

If you plan on lowering and want to use it in motorsports, then plan on getting the full suspension change. Everything will complement each other.

The other side effect is that with proper lowering, the vehicle will be stiffer riding. The tradeoff is Roadhandling v.s. Ride Comfort.

If you change the wheel's and tires, then the steering feel can be altered, as well as ride comfort, more roadnoise, and it could get annoying when the tires track every rut in the road. That is if you plan on driving that car on public roads.

Speaking in terms from a performance aspect, in a nutshell, lowering is one of the ways to facilitate better tire contact and control of the vehicle.

Pick up this book : "Performance Handling : How to Make Your Car Handle" by Don Alexander. It's one of the better suspension books out there.
 
Come to think of it, your best bet might be coilovers especially if you want to auto-x.

That way you can drop it more for racing and less for street use.
 
Action Jackson said:
Pick up this book : "Performance Handling : How to Make Your Car Handle" by Don Alexander. It's one of the better suspension books out there.
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not to thread jack (ok, so I'm totally threadjacking, deal with it), are there any other good books on this? I read a couple reviews on it and they said it was good and easy to follow, etc, just kinda out of date. Any suggestions?

(jacked)
 
aMaff said:
not to thread jack (ok, so I'm totally threadjacking, deal with it), are there any other good books on this? I read a couple reviews on it and they said it was good and easy to follow, etc, just kinda out of date. Any suggestions?

(jacked)
Click to expand...

He was supposed to write one up for the import crazed tuner market, but I cannot remember if it was actually published.
That book is easy to read. If you want more, then "Competition Car Suspension" by Allan Staniforth is more indepth.

Then there's the car driving techniques such as:
"Bob Bondurant On High Performance Driving"
"Sports Car and Competition Driving" by Paul Frere
"The Technique of Motor Racing" by Piero Taruffi is one of my favs.

I've also read the ones by Alain Prost and Aryton Senna. They're okay but pretty general.
 
Would you have to adjust your headlight alignment after you lower? Especially because a lot of springs lower the front more than the rear.
 
jonlong said:
Would you have to adjust your headlight alignment after you lower? Especially because a lot of springs lower the front more than the rear.
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short answer yes, but I doubt many people bother. it only takes a minute, though. really easy on our cars. I adjusted mine after the drop.
 
a mild drop of 1-1/5" isn't probably gonna matter to much. i don't think the crash differences could be measured (dropped vrs stock)
 
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