Severe lowering of suspension?

Well when they are propped up with crap shocks from the factory its not hard to improve :p

My pug 306 was miles better with Koni shocks and Eibach springs, the same combo on the ITR is a step down from the OEM shocks IMHO.
 
puggie said:
handled like crap, thankfully something I've grown out of.
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mainly because by lowering a car you effect its roll centre, beyond a particular point you end up severely buggering up the handling of the vehicle.


but for alot of the folks that are lowering their cars this severely they arent really interested in how it handles, its more for looks!
 
Trig's said:
:thinking: How many of these actually tell their insurance company of the "mods" that they have done to their cars....
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I do. Double sided sheet of A4 for the Singer (Imp), the Clan is much more extensively modified but REIS only wanted to the know the engine capactiy and if it was forced induction. I double checked, they didn't want to know about any other mods (and there are very many, it's a stage rally car).
 
onomatopoeia said:
I do. Double sided sheet of A4 for the Singer (Imp), the Clan is much more extensively modified but REIS only wanted to the know the engine capactiy and if it was forced induction. I double checked, they didn't want to know about any other mods (and there are very many, it's a stage rally car).
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i feel your pain, it used to be up to a 4 page form for some insurers..
 
I had to fill out a biblical form when first with Adrian Flux for the Celica, but when I swapped to the Civic I didn't need to fill in anything, I confirmed at renewal that all my mods were declared and he read them out to me and all was in order so sweet, no more paperwork for me!
 
I didn't get anything at all this year, then again the actual copmpany who underwrote last years bible no longer does business so it was a different mob this time round.
 
mine was from the actual insurer, NIG, though I had to send it to AF along with the immobiliser declaration and some other bumph. I wasn't requested to fill in another one when the Civic came along though as I was expecting, and this year only had the Immobiliser decleration.
 
It's a style thing rather than a performance thing. It's not practical to go to those extremes.

I'm not a fan of the cars in this thread. The first one in particular just looks like a shed with the wrong size wheels to me. Not very well done at all. I have to admit to having a soft spot for the VIP car scene though. As below..

img_2776sig.jpg


vip7.jpg


Some more extreme than others!
overkill_tuned_vip_car_off_camber_01.jpg
 
Trig's said:
:thinking: How many of these actually tell their insurance company of the "mods" that they have done to their cars....
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All the modifications on my car are declared.
Decat, performance exhaust, silicone boost pipes and induction pipe, K&N panel filter, uprated brake pads and discs, lowered springs, larger intercooler and remap. In fact I informed the insurance company when I took the policy out and the only upgrade that had been made at the time was the air filter.
 
Trig's said:
:thinking: I can remember back 25+yrs ago where it was a case of how HIGH you could get the rear of the car an show off that nice chromed rear axle with the red lights - and of course the huge side exhausts :lol:
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But all that costs money, some naff springs from ebay and you've got the lowered look.
 
Galaxy66 said:
Naaa that's impossible :D
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You can get CV joints that articulate that far. Some old old Formula Ford race cars use them, but that's due to the transmission arrangement and not to get stupid amounts of camber.

Anyone actually driving something with that amout of camber is nuts. It would be insanely dangerous (think about the contact patch of the tyre when braking, never mind the geometry and amount of grip it would not have in corners, tramlining etc etc), so I'm going to assume it's a photoshop.
 
onomatopoeia said:
think about the contact patch of the tyre when braking, never mind the geometry and amount of grip it would not have in corners, tramlining etc etc), so I'm going to assume it's a photoshop.
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I posted "Naa that's impossible" because I reckon it would be impossible to steer let alone grip the road on corners;) in any case you would not get away with that in any civilised country because it would be the side wall making contact with the road surface............if it were possible to drive:D and yes photoshop also came to mind;)
 
Hehe, here's another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H11E0zwI7QA&feature=related
Oh and NSFW, few swearies at the start.

There's a photo near the end of how it is done but these must then all be front wheel drive and there must be a fair bit of fiddling about to get steering and power to the wheels. Bet they never ever allow wheel spin. :)
 
A most of the big stuff in the 'VIP' scene is rear drive, big Lexus, toyotas etc. Its all done with custom built suspension arms :) and as for struggling with the handling the BTCC Astras of a couple of years ago ran some pretty extreme rear camber!

I don't really get it though either, I guess you flip your tyres round when you have worn one side out as the outer is probably untouched.
 
puggie said:
A most of the big stuff in the 'VIP' scene is rear drive, big Lexus, toyotas etc. Its all done with custom built suspension arms :) and as for struggling with the handling the BTCC Astras of a couple of years ago ran some pretty extreme rear camber!I don't really get it though either, I guess you flip your tyres round when you have worn one side out as the outer is probably untouched.
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The BTCC Vectras still do from time to time, the camber on this pic is not as extreme as the camber they sometimes run.
3.jpg
 
nilagin said:
The BTCC Vectras still do from time to time, the camber on this pic is not as extreme as the camber they sometimes run.
3.jpg
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That is a racing car on slicks on a race circuit though, and if you look at the loaded rear tyre the whole width of it is in contact with the tarmac. Even so, the camber on the rears even on the unloaded side is nothing like the other picture.
 
onomatopoeia said:
That is a racing car on slicks on a race circuit though, and if you look at the loaded rear tyre the whole width of it is in contact with the tarmac. Even so, the camber on the rears even on the unloaded side is nothing like the other picture.
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Hence why I said not as extreme as they sometimes run. The camber was extreme enough on Tony Gilhams Vectra at Donington, he actually managed undercut the rear wheel arch of Andy Neates Focus and ride up over the wheel and wheel arch, resulting in Neate crashing and Gilham breaking his suspension as the wheel landed back on the track.
 
have a look at the robert dalgren polestar racing volvo in the WTCC, alot of camber on the rear of that, but thats purposeful to assist with the cars handling, during cornering the tyre will roll over to maximise contact patch through the corner, whereas on the straights the reduced contact patch will reduce friction from the rear tyres which would otherwise slow the vehicle down.

whereas these vip cars are just to impress people who have zip all taste......


lets hope anyone who attempts that in the UK ends up with a £1k fine and 3 points per tyre for being worn!, either that or doesnt cause an almighty accident that hurts others
 
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I have coilovers on my Subaru which allow me to change the ride height to suit what I am doing and also control the stiffness of the ride using a buton on the dash. Sure they were not cheap but give me what I am looking for. I do drive my car hard and do a lot of track days; the car is actually set up with the front struts swapd over to get the desired camber level to make the turn in sharper than a sharp thing - Is all about personal taste I guess.
 
nilagin said:
That's alright then, but you see so many people (kind word for chavs :lol:) who fit coilovers and just lower it as far as they dare with no idea whether their car is still balanced, so long as they get the look they want.:cuckoo:
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same as those fart can exhausts and "air filters" which they think are adding 300 horsepower but may well actually be hampering performance :gag:
 
ah the old induction kit discussion.. personally i wouldnt bother fitting one that wasnt enclosed in a cold air feed (like so - http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilgates/3643151877/in/set-72157619903991283). that is more beneficial than an open filter in the back of the engine bay sucking in hot air.

and the best exhaust is one tuned to the correct backpressures. not just one of those dustbin backboxes..
 
i think a lot of them just do it for the sound it makes. Most are just ricers that know nothing about how to get more power out of the motor...

Most of the Corsas and other ricemobiles around here are so obviously stock (except for the cosmetic mods of course) its not even funny. Except for the tennents can stuck on the back and the occasional air filter I've never seen one around here that actually meant business... lol.

Glasgow last weekend was a breath of fresh air... 10 minutes walk to the cinema and I saw several STs and SRIs, some went for it too.
 
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trencheel303 said:
same as those fart can exhausts and "air filters" which they think are adding 300 horsepower but may well actually be hampering performance :gag:
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important to get the lengths of the primary and secondary pipes right for the camshaft and rev-range you are intending to use ... Those on my Imp engines work best 5500-9000 or so. Which helpfully is also the powerband of the camshaft.

ofc the people fitting these things might not know what a camshaft is.
 
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