Almost every car enthusiast is thrilled with the excitement of modifying a car. While some people focus on customizing aesthetics, others change the ride how they like to make the driving experience more enjoyable.
And if we talk about the most sought-after vehicle mod, lowering the suspension will be at the top as it boosts both the driving experience and aesthetics. Does this mean you can lower your suspension without a second thought?
No, the reality is quite different, as you’ll see both pros and cons of lowering car suspension. This is because lowering suspension doesn’t work similarly on all vehicles and depends on the driving condition and how you have done this.
Do it properly, and you’ll have a car that’s swift around corners and even accelerates and brakes, but if you do it incorrectly, you will have a vehicle that’s uncomfortable to drive and decreased in performance. In this article, we’ll discuss the positive and negative sides of lowering suspension to aid you in making a wise decision.
Read also: Does Lowering A Car Improve Handling?
Pros and Cons of Lowering Car Suspension
What Are The Pros of Lowering Suspension?
Placing the suspension on the lowest level in a vehicle makes the vehicle more accessible. Thus, in addition to changing the suspension, there’s also an additional cost involved. Nevertheless, if you wish to strive, then have a look at what advantages you’re going to achieve:
Enhanced Traction
lowering your suspension means your car’s height is reduced. Consequently, your car’s center of gravity will also be lower. This is the primary balancing point of your vehicle (e.g., imagine you’re balancing something on the tip of a finger, this is where your point would be).
Lowering your center of gravity lets your car have better traction regardless of the tires’ grip characteristics. In addition, the tire will maintain better contact with the road as a result of the improved spring and damping, allowing you to have a greater grip.
For the best results when lowering the suspension, you should mount plus-size tires within the automobile. These tires have a greater surface area (which allows more rubber to be in contact with the road), less roll across corners, and a shorter sidewall.
Improved Aerodynamics
This is the most significant advantage attracting race car drivers to lower suspensions. Aerodynamics refers to the science of the air’s interaction with the object under consideration. In this instance, it describes how air moves around your vehicle.
When your vehicle has excellent aerodynamics, it will suffer little from the wind. By lowering your vehicle, you will have greater aerodynamics. This will boost fuel mileage, vehicle performance, and your vehicle’s top speed.
Diminished Rollover Risk
Lowering your suspension also diminishes the risk of rollover dramatically. Once again, the credit goes to the lower center of gravity as the car has been lowered. Understandably, rollover is rollovers are most frequently associated with narrower and taller cars such as the Jeep, and it is not particularly hazardous in standard vehicles.
Still, lowering the suspension will boost your confidence, and you’re going to be able to steer your car without any hesitation. Additionally, the lower the damping and spring rate, the more precise your vehicle’s movement upon cornering will be. As a result, handling will be better, and the danger of understeer and oversteer can also be reduced.
Greater Handling
If you have a car with better performance characteristics with regard to its aerodynamics, gripping ability, and rollover risk, you will drive better than you did previously by lowering your suspension.
In such a case, you will be able to turn sharper and handle obstacles better in casual driving. That’s so you may have better cornering and greater maneuverability on the road. However, this won’t mean a big difference in day-to-day commutes.
But if you rush on at a higher speed or roar on race tracks and take sharp turns, the change in the way your car handles will be pretty noticeable. Now you might realize why most rally cars and racecars have lowered suspension.
Less Bottoming Out
If a car ran over a dip at a quick enough speed, the underbelly of the car would land on the road very hard. This is because the traditional suspension system allows an impact to be absorbed slowly and gently.
As a result, the suspension system has a high degree of play. It’s easier to bottom out than on an accordingly damaged bump. The lower the suspension is, the less energy it stores, making it negligible to notice a difference in penetration after large potholes or bumps.
It looks counterintuitive because the body is so low to the ground. The effect is more pronounced in springs. Unless it’s much more alive, you won’t be passing over those same waves as you ride on a bump or pothole in the road.
Unique Driving Experience
Anyone who’s ever owned a Ferrari Testarossa or Ford Focus will likely understand what we mean by the unique driving experience. In either of these vehicles, it feels like you aren’t in a terrestrial car; it feels like you’re in a spaceship.
As your car gets lower, you start to perceive things differently. Driving becomes a more entertaining experience, and you may feel upset about riding in your typical car after being behind the wheel.
Maximized Aesthetics
We concur that it is advantageous to lower suspensions just for aesthetics. We see many individuals lowering their cars for appearance, and we believe that action is great. If you modify your driving position, your car or truck might draw more attention to it while you’re driving.
What Are The Cons of Lowering Suspension?
Suspension lowering is not without downsides, either. Let’s describe some of the negative aspects of lowered suspensions here.
Faster Tire Wear
One of the worst aspects of lowering suspension is that it will lead to faster wear. The added grip on your tires is blamed here. Taking into consideration a sandpaper example can help you understand what we mean.
If you lightly press one of the pieces across sandpaper, it will wear down a little. On the contrary, if you push harder on it, the piece will wear down more quickly. Your vehicle’s wheel rims are being pushed even more deeply into the surface of your road when the suspension is lowered. This is not what’s going on, but it describes the process rather well.
You Have to Avoid Rough Roads
Apart from a bumpy road or possibly a construction site; you will likely have trouble when driving with a lowered suspension setup. Your goal should be to drive slowly or another way around any imperfections on the road.
It may be that you will have to become accustomed to driving slowly if you want to drive on a rough road without suffering from backaches after your trip.
Reduced Ride Comfort
A lowered suspension is not only a nightmare for driving on rough roads but also it diminishes ride comfort drastically. When you hit the gas pedal more drastically, expect to have more vibrations and bumps transmitted through your vehicle’s cockpit.
These troubling issues can become unendurable. Previously, irregular road features might have remained unrecognizable to you, but in the present, they may become juddering and jarring.
As we mentioned, standard suspensions better adapt to disturbances on the road and more gradually take them in. With a lowered suspension, the stiffness of your suspension is increased. Necessarily, increased stiffness means that all-terrain difficulties might cause an uncomfortable ride.
Lower Ground Clearance
It might seem quite annoying to remain afraid of whether the belly of your car is hitting the bump, right? Lowering your suspension brings that fear into your mind since it also reduces the height of your car’s front. That means you’re going to have lower ground clearance.
Commonly, ground clearance signifies the height of your vehicle through which an obstacle can be passed without hitting it. So, you are more likely to scrape your bumpers and undercarriage if your car has exceptionally low clearance. That means you will need to be careful when driving over curbs, ramps, and speed bumps.
Suspension and Wheels May Require Alignment
You can’t think about lowering your car’s suspension without changing its geometry. However, how lowering your car affects the suspension’s geometry can initiate more wear on its components. If you do not align all those components after tuning the suspension, it may negatively influence the handling of your vehicle.
To increase road security, you may have to adjust your wheels too. If you’ve ever noticed how wheels that have large wells surrounding them are typically fitted with metal nuts and bolts, you should see this in action.
Even if your tires appear compatible at first glance, they may rub when the wheels are turned at wide angles. Test them out thoroughly before you go out on the road.
Jacking Up Your Car Will Be A Hassle
A general car jack is designed for a vehicle with generic ground clearance. Because your automobile is now lower, it stands to reason that you may not be able to use your vehicle’s basic jack to get underneath your vehicle. You now have extra difficulty getting to the frame of your vehicle.
That is the place where your jack must be put to raise your vehicle. Many people will be forced to buy a lower lift as a result. And obviously, this is an expense you didn’t expect with the standard suspension height.
Risk of Warranty Cancellation
Whenever your car or truck undergoes modifications, you run the risk of voiding your warranty. The warranty is a monetary assurance made by the automobile manufacturer.
Some manufacturers do not allow people to alter the stock suspension. For this reason, you should initially go through the user’s manual and discuss your notion of doing so with your car manufacturer before they can let you do it.
As long as they allow, go for it, but if they do not and if you plan to lower the car, nevertheless, you’ll have to suffer the warranty cancellation. Simply put, if you mess with the car after its warranty is canceled, you may not be eligible for certain repairs from the manufacturer.
Can Shell Out A Significant Amount of Cash
A great deal of time and money may be squandered on lowering your suspension. Just be sure to have a good mechanic do it for you to be certain that the highest quality parts and using the very best techniques all come together. Since high-quality parts and experienced technicians are synonymous with each other, a high bill is inevitable.
You’ll have to get it all right if you don’t do this job yourself. There are a lot of different skills needed to complete the job correctly, and you will need general-level mechanical abilities and a good deal of technical knowledge. We’re not meaning that this won’t be a DIY job, just that you may have a difficult time if you proceed without any skill or experience.
Should You Lower Your Suspension?
In a nutshell, whether you should lower your suspension largely depends on your priorities. If you prioritize improved handling, stability, and a sporty aesthetic, and you’re willing to compromise on ride comfort, increased wear and tear, and reduced practicality, then lowering your suspension could be a good choice. However, if comfort, vehicle longevity, and everyday practicality are more important to you, it might be best to keep your suspension at its standard height. Always ensure professional installation and consider legal and insurance aspects.
