Life with lowered cars

[kwy]

Consider this the lowered car owners support group. Share your stories here.

Car: 2G DSM turbo AWD
Setup: Megan Racing springs, 17" Eagle Alloy wheels, 40 series tires.
Ground clearance: 1" with 1 additional inch of slack in exhaust hangers.

During the first week of driving with it lowered, I tore off an exhaust shield and "left my mark" on speedbumps aplenty.

When I went camping at Golden Ears this summer, I literally high-centered the car on their excessively massive speedbumps. If the car wasn't AWD I'm not sure I would've made it over. The scraping sound was brutal.

Also, I feel like an idiot every time I have to hit a speedbump. I have to slow down basically to a stop and feather my way over.

It`s all worth it though. Your turn.

[ilvtofu]

Raised my car about 1/3 of an inch last week, definitely isn't cool IMO to scrape everywhere, but the kicker for me was scraping in and out of my garage. speed bumps you can avoid/crabwalk over usually, especially in my car because of the short wheel base, but if I can't have the peace of mind of going home without hurting my car that does it for me. I'll have to raise it a little more because the new exhaust I'm installing is even thicker

I guess it's all about how much you value following the trend and fitting in, but IMO getting hassled by cops and putting up with the unavoidable bumps and bruises every now and then isn't worth it

[Datsun]

1. hazard lights on
2. slow down to a crawl
3. angle car 45 deg to go over bump
4. impatients gon' impatient. let em honk

This is in a '98 Cororra.

So does anyone run skid plates? Or fab extra metal strips to protect the frame rails. That way when they 'wear out' you just ditch them for a new set.

[kwy]

#'s 1 and 2 sound like me, haha. I'm gonna try angling the car as well. Skid plate idea is interesting, extremely ironic though. Most of the time they're on huge lifted off-road trucks, haha.

Anyone ever get hassled by the cops for having a low car? So far I've had no troubles.

Edit: Anyone run spring spacers? I've seen the donut style ones that look like a pain to install and the ones that wedge in.

[Datsun]

I was wondering about skid plates because one time I saw the underside of a beat up S13 being covered with "borrowed" road signs before (covers up the oil pan etc). A little bit of work is def. needed, takes a few bends with a desk edge and trimming excess material with shears to get it bolted on. Looked pretty effective even with it being such thin sheet metal.

[Volvo-brickster]

I have 2 cars. One has under 4 inches of clearance, the other has 9 (truck).

I sometimes forget I'm lowered and I pay the price. My h pipe its scraped to shit.
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[apl_lb]

bucked my fender chasing a guy that stole my phone during a Craigslist deal...fenders cracked in two spots now ...wait for bikerx to chime in haha

[s300ae]

1. Cracked my front lip first day of having it on
2. Got a VI for being too low
3. Can't park at my work's parking lot due to awkward driveway
4. Getting into my complex, I have to angle the car so much down an incline this happens:







Heck, I wouldn't change a thing. LOWIN life!
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[CharlieH]

it was a huge pain in the ass in my old car. i'd have to avoid certain roads just so i dont hit the bump stops while im cruising at city speeds. current car is stock, and i'm keeping it this way forever lol

[chewbacca]

I shudder to think what the OP will do when he actually lowers his car. :-/

My frame rails are ~1" off the ground, oil pan 1.5" off the ground, front lip and mud flaps 0.5" off the ground, and all of my fenders are within millimetres of my sidewalls at all times.

Once you learn how to drive a lowered car properly you won't scrape/drag frame/body/exhaust.

Originally Posted by s300ae

4. Getting into my complex, I have to angle the car so much down an incline this happens:

Me too:

[donjalapeno]

^ lol you scraped at the 230th tim hortons entrance a little while ago.

[TRDeol]

I live in a neighborhood where there was speedbumps everywhere due to an elementary school. Sideways in the morning was hell because every parent is in a rush to drop off their kid, swearing was a given. My sides scrape going into nearly every sort of parking lot or driveway. Have new rims so had to raise it quarter inch and the sides still scrape.

I love it.

[Qmx323]

lowered my 240 a few weeks ago...

fucking got backed into because the car was too low for the idiot in the SUV to see. FML

[TRD Rs200]

I have 1 inch off the ground.
came out of rise auto.
45 degrees off that speed bump.
scraped sooo bad I felt it on my shifter.
car stuck on speed bump.
add gas to get off.
b-pipe came off hangers.
sparks from exhaust all the way back home

[Dragon-88]

I wish I could go moar low, but my alley is identical to a 3rd world country road and the city wont fix it anytime soon..

[chewbacca]

Originally Posted by Soltaaa

^ lol you scraped at the 230th tim hortons entrance a little while ago.

That's one of the only places that I can't avoid going to that I scrape, and it's only mud flaps, nothing metal!

[kwy]

Originally Posted by chewbacca

I shudder to think what the OP will do when he actually lowers his car. :-/

My frame rails are ~1" off the ground, oil pan 1.5" off the ground, front lip and mud flaps 0.5" off the ground, and all of my fenders are within millimetres of my sidewalls at all times.

Once you learn how to drive a lowered car properly you won't scrape/drag frame/body/exhaust.



Me too:

Wow, that's pretty extreme.

My car isn't super low compared to some cars here for sure, but it's enough to cause a lot of damage with just one mistake. Took a few bumps a few km/h too quick and my stock exhaust system got banged up pretty good.

It doesn't look as low as it really is in the pics because the car has huge wheel wells and I only have 17" wheels. Some DSMers run 19"s, then it looks more appropriate.

I've just gotten used to taking the long way around to avoid certain speedbumps.

Haha, just a way of life now.

[JordanLee]

Awwww yeaaaa.

When I scrape it's usually my sways first, heat shield on cat, then I get hung on my shift linkage underneath. Once I locked it up on a bump so bad I couldn't reverse. I occasionally scrape my front jack point often during dips or bumps straight on.

My rear left lip was almost touching my fender.

[icemiko]

Scrape everyday in my alley since it's those Vancouver alleys with speed bumps everywhere.

[The_AK]

First day of low I scraped my lip reversing into our driveway, I reverse at an angle now. Whenever I hit up the local save on folds I scrape the front jack mounts too. Not as serious as you guys have it. However, any dips, cracks, or imperfections do make it a bitch sometimes.
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[Dc2R_K20R]

getting stuck on speedbumps and on a daily basic, thanks to my gf for either push or jump in my trunk to put some weight on the rear wheels and get some traction !

[DiiCii]

being low has definitely turned into a lifestyle.

me with a low car:

- front lip sits 2.5" off the ground (haven't check clearance on the rest of the car)
- took about an hour and a half to get my car on a flatbed(usually takes 10 mins)
- takes me about half an hour to get car porperly hoisted in school LOL
- scrape everywhere and my girlfriend finds it funny and loves it
- scrape in and out of driveway
- i go "one wheel at a time" on speedbumps
- mangled up 2 front lips, now i'm on my third
- intercooler coupler scraped and i had a boost leak
- always back into parking spots now
- loud scrapes = scaring the shit out of pedestrians. probably think they heard like a car accident or something LOL
- probably some points i'm forgetting

Spoiler!

flattened downpipe


2.5"


3rd lip


scraped intercooler coupler


custom intercooler skid plate


low


current stance(back will go lower when my car is back on the road!)

[!Aznboi128]

ya I must say loving it but I'm raising it .... slightly



problem?

when I had lip lip


when the car was raised

[TheSalesman]

Lol, you guys have some pretty slammed cars....

I currently have a cracked front lip, both side skirts cracked and it's not nearly as low as some of the ones posted here...

[k3lv]

Sideways on every ramp and speedbump. Swerve to avoid dips and potholes. I tell everyone this when they ask if they should go for the lowered look, make sure you got thick skin, because the impatient and bystanders will always be there for your awkward moments.