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As far as ground clearance goes, rubber coil spring spacers should do the trick to lift it up an inch or so.
Yes, with some caveats; more load on the CV joints and some geometry changes... Perhaps lowering the whole strut/spring assembly with a spacer like Subaru folks do...

I'm thinking more about a really good skidplate...

regards
 
Discussion starter · #22 ·
Yes, more wear but I think it would be minimal if you only went up an inch. Lowering the whole assembly sounds pretty involved but have not looked into that.
As for skid plates, I did look into that as well. I think you could do a custom one with the material used for cutting boards. You can buy sheets of this stuff and cut to shape. Different thicknesses etc. You would slide over anything you hit. LOL
 

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Getting a bit OT, but most drivers never learn how to use the built-in safety features. Back when anti-lock brakes were first being offered, insurance companies were offering discounts on cars so equipped; the increased braking performance should reduce accidents, correct?

Turns out, the vast majority of drivers were unsure how to use anti-lock and kept trying to pump the brakes, defeating the design. Those who did learn how to use anti-lock drove faster and braked harder, depending on the system to bail them out. Net result, little reduction in accidents due to anti-lock.

Same with StabiliTrak. For it to function as well as possible, the driver must keep the steering wheel pointed in the direction he wants to go. Once again, most drivers panic and will try to steer themselves out of the problem they got themselves into. Thus, the StabilTrak can't help, because the driver is confusing it by steering into the skid or otherwise giving conflicting inputs.

Corvette was one of the first GMs to get StabiliTrak. A survey found most didn't even know it was there or how to get the out out of it. The few who really loved it admitted to driving harder, because they'd experienced being able to get away with more stupid.

jack vines
ABS is designed to maintain steering ability under braking. There is no steering if the wheels are locked up. Pumping the brakes allows the wheels to not be locked up, and is a crude form of ABS. Better than pumping brakes is to apply just less than the amount of braking than would lock up the tires. Difficult to do, thus ABS.

Stability control seems intuitive to me. I swerved hard to avoid a crate on a bridge once, then swerved hard back to avoid the wall of the bridge. It put me into a fishtail which I immediately began to counter, but stability control recovered control in 2 corrective turns in what otherwise would have been more like 5. I could feel the rear brakes bringing the car back into line much quicker than otherwise would occur.
 
Stability control seems intuitive to me.
That you're on this site suggests you're not an average vehicle operator.

OTOH, I witnessed a geriatric couple make a major driving mistake and to this day I'm amazed didn't cause a huge pileup killing several, as there were semi-trucks in the traffic. The old lady in the new Cadillac had been blocking the left lane of I-90 for several miles. Finally, someone saw an opening and passed her on the right, just as she decided to move to the right lane. She saw the other car beside her at the last second, turned the wheel hard left, causing a violent swerve, corrected even harder to the right, each swing getting wider; for what seemed a very long time the car was all over both lanes. The new Cadillac had StabiliTrak; she just had no concept of how to let it help her.

jack vines
 
Yep!

By lowering the strut, I mean using strut spacers between the tower (car body) and the top strut mounting point/bolts. In this case, the shocks keep their original travel and working height. I don‘t mean lowering the powertrain (this is too much of a hassle) ...


30197


Yes, more wear but I think it would be minimal if you only went up an inch. Lowering the whole assembly sounds pretty involved but have not looked into that.
As for skid plates, I did look into that as well. I think you could do a custom one with the material used for cutting boards. You can buy sheets of this stuff and cut to shape. Different thicknesses etc. You would slide over anything you hit. LOL
 
That you're on this site suggests you're not an average vehicle operator.

OTOH, I witnessed a geriatric couple make a major driving mistake and to this day I'm amazed didn't cause a huge pileup killing several, as there were semi-trucks in the traffic. The old lady in the new Cadillac had been blocking the left lane of I-90 for several miles. Finally, someone saw an opening and passed her on the right, just as she decided to move to the right lane. She saw the other car beside her at the last second, turned the wheel hard left, causing a violent swerve, corrected even harder to the right, each swing getting wider; for what seemed a very long time the car was all over both lanes. The new Cadillac had StabiliTrak; she just had no concept of how to let it help her.

jack vines
...and my sister rolled a Camry 5 times because she has the same positive feedback reaction to fishtail, and the car didn't have stability control.
 
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