Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 17:34:51 GMT From: Paul Halliday <pjghnopsamyonder.co.uk> Subject: Re: first performance tweaks?
in article pi0icv0h02ejoglj9tcd2a1had9j7sqhi2nopsamcom, 'nuther Bob at none1nopsam.com wrote on 19/05/2003 17:44: > On Sun, 18 May 2003 12:06:19 GMT, Paul Halliday > <pjghnopsamyonder.co.uk> wrote: > >>> 1.what are lowering springs >>> (seriously, sorry - I dont know much about cars) >> >> It's a boy-racer trick to make the car look and feel more sporty. Look out >> for some local Corsa and Nova kids whose wheels are inside the arches :) It >> is supposed to give better road holding, but a kid with a couple of hundred >> pounds to spend on expensive shocks does not know more than Saab who >> invested millions into getting the ride height correct in the first place. >> Grounding on speed bumps is all part of the fun as well :) > > I'll disagree that it's a boy racer trick. I will agree that a lot of > boy racer's (we call 'em "ricer's" in the states) do lower their cars, > and lower them way too much, just for appearance. However, a properly > fitted set of lowered springs, preferably with an increased but > progressive spring rate, both lowers the center of gravity *and* > stiffens the suspension - resulting in better handling at some limited > expense to the ride. A set of performance shocks that are stiff > enough to counteract the stiffer springs are also required. > > Manufacturers build cars for the masses. Those who want better > handling can often get it at a slight loss in ride comfort. I'll agree with you there but ... (remember there were several winks in my statement). The general perception of lowering, most often coupled with over-sized tacky looking wheels, ground effects and another other "carnoisseur" tack, is a styling matter. It's fairly pointless for most cars it is done on and most of the lowering I see on a daily basis is done badly - I can tell that by the way the wings/fenders are misplaced. I'm thinking Vaux Corsa, Vaux Nova, Renault Clio, et al, but a well-lowered Skyline is another matter. I did mention that Saab offered lowering and anti-roll bars as part of the S option pack of the era (the guy asking the question has an '88 900i) and I have this option on my car ('89 900 T8 S). It does handle amazingly better than the '88 900 T8 (not S/Aero) I had before did. Paul 1989 900 Turbo S http://saab.go.dyndns.org/
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