Hot Rod Forum banner

How Low To Go?

3K views 22 replies 11 participants last post by  bentwings 
#1 ·
What is considered a safe height measuring ground to lowest point on the front crossmember? I want to drop my coupe some more, but if I use 2" dropped spindles, my clearance will be 4" to the ground. Too low to be safe or OK?
Thanks
 
#4 ·
In wa state the rule is no lower than the bottom of the rim of the wheel so the minimum ride height is the height of the tire sidewall..hope this helps..at that height you will bottom on some of the higher speed bumps and scrape on some drive entrances..

Sam
 
#7 ·
how low to go?

I went to a website to learn about the scrub line. Here is what I did. Correct me if I am wrong. I measured the lowest point of the IFS cross member to the ground - 6". I then measured the bottom of the rim of the wheel to the
ground-3 1/2 ". The difference is 2 1/2". I then subtracted the 2" for dropped spindles giving me a 1/2" clearance. Is this amount of clearance enough? I do want the low look but I also want to be safe.
 
#9 ·
how low to go?

you must have some humungus speed bumps where you live. I think your scrub line would be much lower than 6". with the 2" dropped spindles I would actually have 4" of clearance from the ground to crossmember with fully inflated tires. The 1/2" clearance I mentioned is the amount of clearance if rim sat on the ground, which isn't going to happen. Mt question should have been, is 4" enough clearance? Sounds like it would be marginal. I'll think on this some more.
 
#11 ·
Many years ago, this question was on my mind too, so I thought about it for a while and determined that the lowest OEM automobile would be the Corvette. I went up to the local Chevy dealer and crawled as close to under as I could get to push a tape measure up under the car all around. I found that nothing was any lower than 4" from the ground. I reasoned that if the General had it figured at 4", that would work for anything I would build. Down through the years, I have kept a 4" x 4" block of wood in the garage. I slide it around under the car as I'm building and everything has worked out well for me.

Slamming a car looks nearly as stupid to me as a chopped top. Monkey see, monkey do.
 
#12 ·
how low to go?

Thanks for your info. I have actually thought of doing what you did with the corvette, but hadn't got around to it. 4" drop will look great on my coupe and if too low I can always change the spindles back. The speed bumps in our local area are in the 2" range, so with some slowing down I think they can be maneuvered pretty well. I don't like the slammed or chopped look either, but I do like a nice rake on an old ford coupe.
Thanks again for your common sense idea. I am going to try again to load a couple of pics of my coupe on this site. Tried over the weekend, but did something wrong I guess as I don't find them now.
 
#18 ·
how low to go?

As a guy who does lots of woodworking I am aware of the dimensions of the lumber yard bought 4x4. With a table saw there are lots of ways to make real 4"x4" blocks. I think they will suffice and 2" dropped spindles will spare the large expense of airbags. Good shocks, and healthy IFS will provide a nice ride.
Thanks for the tips though.
 
#19 ·
One problem with a set clearance to any obstruction is where that lowest point is. If it's inline with the front or rear wheels it will rarely cause an issue, but if the lowest point is halfway between front and rear wheels it will be a constant problem. As will a low point that is close to the front or rear bumpers. The farther you get from the wheels, the more likely the low point will scrape.
 
#21 · (Edited)
A lot of fellas don't care about scrub line issues, but since it is being discussed, consider this:

The 4 x 4 method doesn't take into account tire sidewall height. Let's say your rear shock brackets are the lowest part of the rear suspension and they are 3-1/2" off the ground and are mounted close to the tires. Let's also say you have a 5" tall sidewall on your rear tires. If your rear tire goes flat your shock brackets are now plowing into the asphalt.

The air bag anology of "adding more air" is a faulted one... what if you loose an air line?

To be safe the other scenario you have to look at is to assume the vehicle is sitting on the snubbers on all four corners, assuming the vehicle even has suspension stubbers.

Study the scrub line photos Sedanbob linked to, I attached them to this post also. They help to define what the issues can be.

Hope this helps.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top