Lowered car with stiff shocks are bad for road handling?
Discussion
There is a rule that lowered cars handle better and lean less in corners. But looking at videos it seems that not lowered cars are more agile, more predictable and handle better. Check out how this 860hp car leans in the corners and under accelerating and braking. What is your opinion?
Greekminir56 said:
There is a rule that lowered cars handle better and lean less in corners. But looking at videos it seems that not lowered cars are more agile, more predictable and handle better. Check out how this 860hp car leans in the corners and under accelerating and braking. What is your opinion?
what car ?And "handling" is subjective, not definitive.
And there is no rule one way or another. There are many perceptions though, and even more variables.
Smooth race circuit - stiffest set-up is likely to give best handling. The tyres have no difficulty staying in contact with the tarmac.
Bumpy B road - stiff set-up is likely to likely to leave you with only two or three wheels gripping properly at any one time and wayward behaviour as grip moves from one wheel to another. Avoid.
Unless you're on a smooth circuit, "supple" is good.
Bumpy B road - stiff set-up is likely to likely to leave you with only two or three wheels gripping properly at any one time and wayward behaviour as grip moves from one wheel to another. Avoid.
Unless you're on a smooth circuit, "supple" is good.
I'd say there is no one size fits all solution.
Application is everything. All cars are compromised to some degree to be good in most situations.
A lowered, stiffly sprung sports car will be great on a smooth road surface, but is likely to bounce about all over the place on a bumpy back road and possibly even bottom out. A car with a bit more clearance and softer springs might actually be able to make better pace on such a road.
Application is everything. All cars are compromised to some degree to be good in most situations.
A lowered, stiffly sprung sports car will be great on a smooth road surface, but is likely to bounce about all over the place on a bumpy back road and possibly even bottom out. A car with a bit more clearance and softer springs might actually be able to make better pace on such a road.
Much the same with the fad for huge wheels with rubber band tyres, great on a billiard smooth surface, the trouble is most of our roads are rutted pot holed ruins, you need a certain amount of compliance (aspect height) in the tyres and the suspension so the tyre stays in contact with the road at all times, plus can absorb the shocks protecting both wheels and suspension/frame from the worse hits.
Greekminir56 said:
There is a rule that lowered cars handle better and lean less in corners. But looking at videos it seems that not lowered cars are more agile, more predictable and handle better. Check out how this 860hp car leans in the corners and under accelerating and braking. What is your opinion?
Never to be seen again.
InitialDave said:
Greekminir56 said:
There is a rule that lowered cars handle better
There is not.Handling is more the relationship between input and feedback, the communication of the car. It isn't about measurable performance, lap times, or other such metrics.
It is a shame that there is a huge aftermarket in coilovers but the majority of them are made as a cheap way to lower a car and give a "sporty" ride...sadly the manufacturers of main stream cars do put a lot of work in to making suspension work well on the road and then barry ruins it with the coilovers.
I really like the idea of an UP Gti but they are known for poor ride, you can drop the wheel size and put better rubber on but the suspension is crashy...the good kits like bilstein B16 give a stiffer ride but much better damping....I would want a more compliant ride for UK B roads but it is near imporssible without spending £3k to £6k+ to get a quality damper that is designed for the weight of the car and the purpose you want.
Race / track cars are much easier to drive fast when they are softer but a good driver with a good tyres and a very low and stiff setup would get a faster lap time. Softer cars are more progressive and forgiving.
I really like the idea of an UP Gti but they are known for poor ride, you can drop the wheel size and put better rubber on but the suspension is crashy...the good kits like bilstein B16 give a stiffer ride but much better damping....I would want a more compliant ride for UK B roads but it is near imporssible without spending £3k to £6k+ to get a quality damper that is designed for the weight of the car and the purpose you want.
Race / track cars are much easier to drive fast when they are softer but a good driver with a good tyres and a very low and stiff setup would get a faster lap time. Softer cars are more progressive and forgiving.
I think those type of posts have been used for quite a long time on PH. I think haymarket, or whoever owns PH actually does put the odd anonymous post in to stir up discussion. I think outside companies also put in posts like this one which end up with recommendations for specialists
But they are very difficult to tell from trolls and genuinely quite strange posts from people. I think its important to read all threads with a fair degree of scepticism
But they are very difficult to tell from trolls and genuinely quite strange posts from people. I think its important to read all threads with a fair degree of scepticism
julian64 said:
I think those type of posts have been used for quite a long time on PH. I think haymarket, or whoever owns PH actually does put the odd anonymous post in to stir up discussion. I think outside companies also put in posts like this one which end up with recommendations for specialists
But they are very difficult to tell from trolls and genuinely quite strange posts from people. I think its important to read all threads with a fair degree of scepticism
I think you are bang on. Click bait and the world of e marketing is a whole industry….I heard of a local lady recently who makes a decent income making fake posts to drive traffic to businesses. She also posts as if it were the business owner making posts on Facebook with arty pics etc.But they are very difficult to tell from trolls and genuinely quite strange posts from people. I think its important to read all threads with a fair degree of scepticism
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