The poor quality of the roads, the abundance of the holes and the need to move on off-road force car owners more and more often think about increasing the road lumen of the car. In this article we will look at the main ways to increase clearance.

Why increase car clearance

Most of the modern car owners have to face mechanical damage to the body as a result of poor-quality road fabric. Bad roads entail the failure of the components of the suspension, the replacement or repair of which is worth a lot in our time. Therefore, many car owners make a decision to increase the clearance of the vehicle.

Thanks to this, any obstacles, such as laying police, large road pits or railway moving, will no longer be insurmountable. In addition, country roads with numerous ughabs will cease to pose a threat to the bottom of the car.

The advantages of increasing the road lumen include:

• Protection of the bottom of the machine from damage.
• Increased Pateuries TC
• Sensible pendant springs are returned to its original position.

Clearance and car safety

However, it should be known that the increase in clearance has its drawbacks, namely:

• In some ways to increase the clearance, there is a decrease in the comfort of driving a car.
• Changing the position and operation of shock absorbing components (in some cases, not for the better).
• More intensive wear of parts and steering knots and other car mechanisms.
  
• Violation of the stability and reliability of the suspension design (as a result of a change in the angle of inclination of the wheels, the width of the wheelbase, the angle of convergence and collapse).
• Reducing the controllability and stability of the car on the road (as a result of the bias of the center of gravity).

What is clearance, how to determine the optimal height of the clearance

The clearance is called the distance between the lower point of the body and the road. With certain calculations you can find out if you need to increase the clearance. For measurement, a tape measure or a regular ruler will fit. Having determined the center of the body, you need to find a point in it that is closest to the surface of the Earth. Next, measure the distance between the surface of the road and this point.

The procedure for determining clearance is a bit difficult. First of all, this is due to the presence of a large number of protective components of the engine and the bodies set at the bottom. In fact, all cars have a lower point, which is under the engine (if you, of course, did not increase the exhaust pipe and did not make a car tuning).

When choosing a car, pay attention to the study of information about the roadmap, so as not to purchase a car with low clearance. Some manufacturers, indicating clearance data, do not take into account the protection of the Carter. Most often in the technical service indicate one information, and in the reality the figure is a bit different.

Ways to increase clearance

There are four basic method of increasing the road lumen:

• Replacing the pendant springs.
• Replacing disks.
• Replacing tires.
• Installing spacers from various materials.

Consider each of the methods separately.

How to enlarge clearance with replacing tires, pros and cons

The easiest way to increase the clearance of the car is to replace the tires that are capable of raising your car a little over the road level. The method is the most economical and simple, which is very important. But there are certain limitations that are associated with the size of the wheeled arches, more precisely, with their inner diameter. When installing too large tires, the wheel will be thrown about the body on turns or with a large car load. Such bodies of the body will lead to a rapid occurrence of metal corrosion.

Advantages: There is no need to interfere in the design of the vehicle.

Disadvantages: Fast wear of the body and new tires, which is associated with their frequent contact (it is about the movement on uneven roads).

How to enlarge clearance with wheel replacement, pros and cons

This method is also good in that it does not involve any constructive changes. The essence consists in replacing the wheels to others, with a large diameter. But here it is necessary to take into account not only the inner size of the arch, and the wheel diameter of the wheel and the method of location on it fastening bolts. The problem is that the holes on the disk may not coincide with the studs that are installed in the hub. All this is solved in a car shop, where employees will help you choose a suitable disk.

Advantages: The large diameter of the disk will give an opportunity to slightly increase the clearance. Also when driving will not be so felt unevenness on the road.

Disadvantages: This method of increasing clearance implies the replacement of all four disks, which will be expensive.

How to enlarge clearance when replacing pendant springs

One of their most common methods for increasing the clearance is to replace the pendant springs. To replace depreciation springs, you will need to complete the front and rear suspension. After that, new springs are selected. Their size should correspond to the size of old springs, but with greater rigidity. View stiffness on the label, which is indicated on them.

Advantages: Increase the road lumen.

Disadvantages: Interference in the construction of the vehicle, which leads to an increase in hardness in the work. In addition, due to the replacement of the springs, the suspension can be softer. Similar changes can affect the comfort of driving, having reduced it during the movement on uneven roads.

What is spacers to increase the car clearance, which materials are made of spacers from which materials

Spacer is a device used to increase ground clearance. This is necessary to increase the maintenance of the machine and ensure the safety of ride on uneven roads. This solution is suitable for car owners who are often moving on off-road.

For the manufacture of spacers, auto parts manufacturers use several materials:

• Aluminum.
• Rubber.
• Polyurethane.
• ABS plastic.

Polyurethane spacers, pros and cons

Polyurethane products are distinguished by elasticity, pecklessness in operation and durability. Polyurethane can withstand actually all the strikes that the suspension gets during riding in irregularities. Among the minuses is a big value of the material, as well as an increase in the load on the sleeve, which may well entail the deformation of the vehicle body.

Rubber spacers, pros and cons

Rubber is similar in its properties with polyurethane, but its technical characteristics are significantly inferior. Produced products made of rubber can withstand an aggressive environment, are relatively inexpensive and do not entail corrosion of the body. However, despite all the advantages, rubber products are quickly subjected to wear.

ABC plastic pluses and cons

ABS plastic is a set of all the positive characteristics of the above materials. ABS plastic actually does not have drawbacks, it is possible to attribute it to the minuses.

Aluminum spacers, pros and cons

Aluminum is a very durable and lightweight material. Even despite the possible formation of corrosion in contact places with iron and its greater value, aluminum remains the leader among the materials for the manufacture of spacers.

What you need to check with the car before installing the spacer

Installing spacers, you should pre-make the required measurements. After breaking the springs, determine their length. The bottom line is that during operation, the length of the springs is reduced (they begin to do), which significantly reduces the efficiency of the installation of spacers. To avoid trouble, it is necessary to compare the measurements received by you, with the topic themes that are listed in the manual for the car. If the springs quickly asked, it will be more rational to replace them. After replacement, you can install the spacer. Increase cliencies TCs can only when the pendant springs are in excellent condition.

It is worth noting that after installing the spacer will be noticeable changes in the functioning of the shock absorbers. Most often such changes are insignificant. The cost of spacers is fairly acceptable, which makes this method of increasing clearance available to all car owners. As for the replacement process itself, there should not be difficulties, especially during work with the rear suspension.

The threat of great clearance

It should also be said that changing the clearance shifts up the center of gravity of your car. This worsens handling, since all the basic technologies and settings created during the manufacture of the vehicle, after changing the road lumen, were violated. Dozens or even hundreds of specialist engineers who conduct numerous experiments on the automotive factories, who carry out numerous experiences in order to obtain the required data regarding the technical characteristics of the car. According to the results of these experiments, the permissible load is calculated, the location of the wheels when turning or driving and so on.

Disorder convergence and clearance as they are interconnected

If you have increased the road clearance at least five centimeters, be prepared for the fact that the changes will affect and the collapse of the wheel convergence. In addition, the reaction of the wheels on the rotation of the steering wheel will not be as it was before. All this entails rapid wear of the suspension components. However, this concerns only significant changes in the design of the machine, and the minimum increase in the road lumen will not lead to such consequences.

Tips Prof.

Finally, I would like to note that during the replacement of the springs, the suspension also needs to be changed and shock absorbers, since the old can work incorrectly as a result of the poor performance of the bumps. Such defects entail a breakdown of car suspension components.