Why the BIG DEAL about wheel gap?
 

I never understood the issue with wheel gap.

It seems a lot of enthusiasts make it out to be some crazy big deal and it's always one of the first mods on cars. Even when I had my Subaru all I would ever hear is "lower it"....same with this car.

Yet it's only from enthusiasts. Everyone else always tells me the stock height is perfect.

So why is it such a big deal among us enthusiasts?

I look at other cars and see they have the same wheel gap as our cars.

Even super expensive supercars have wheels gaps like the MPC.

https://s24.postimg.org/grwiqcixx/mclaren_mp412c.jpgupload picture

A stock height twin

https://s28.postimg.org/j4zr9il4d/DSC_0002_web.jpg

It's a look things from one aspect, i prefer a flush look, but also from aerodynamics, less ground clearance better airflow over the top, hypercars and super cars have such great aero that they either 1) lower themselves through suspension ability 2) under panels to significantly increase airflow.


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I'll also just add. I find stock height cars are much more enjoyable for everyday drivers/daily drivers.

You don't worry about scrapes. The car is comfortable and can be driven more freely.

I say this from experience regarding my WRX. I enjoyed that car to the fullest in stock form. When i put my Cusco Zero2 coils it ruined everything. I had to worry about scraping. I had to deal with a rough ride even with the 5 damper settings and I wasn't able to enjoy the car in the same ways as in stock form.

By the way, brought up the MPC cause I was watching this youtube video. It's also funny how you see a stock height supercar and a slammed one in the same video side by side.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znSziiek0j8"]McLaren MP4-12C Cheap For A Reason? - YouTube[/ame]

To each their own, I say.

Most trends start with social media, marketing, or well-known people's endorsements.

We would have to look way back when the trend started to better understand it.

I was never aware/a fan of lowering. In fact I probably bought coilovers just to say I had done so for the experience. Is it worth the money? That's highly subjective and have yet to make that determination. Perhaps next summer.

I suppose that those who cut and slam their suspensions are going for the race car look. Problem is, race tracks don't have speed bumps, potholes, high road crowns and (usually) road debris.

I enjoy my stock ride height, and I don't think I could manage to daily a lowered car, my stock ride still makes me scrape on parking ramps. And some of the shit I've seen on highways in Georgia, glad I can just drive right over it.

I think the problem of the look of the gap is that the stock tires sometimes look puny and don't fit the rest of the car's presentation.

I believe to the majority its a looks thing. Then there are the minority out there that will lower the car for performance. To the looks crowd there is alot of sacrifices they will make to look good, like your Cusco experience, they are fine with it. In terms of suspension the 86 was designed very well, its not perfection but its pretty good. The stock suspension is very well balanced and has just a few compromises. In terms of upgrading for performance the choice of suspension is even more difficult with this car. Also it needs to setup perfectly to out perform the stock suspension.

I'm coming from a 2013 Camry, you wanna talk about wheel gap, damn. I had to drop it to get it to that nice even gap around the wheels.

There are times Ill walk out to my FRS and the wheel gap will strike me and Ill think Its pretty good already but still needs flush wheels. Then Ill see a picture or one about town that is lowered and think damn this car looks good lowered with some flush wheels. I'm pretty sure I'm more part of the looks crowd.

In terms of a super car/hyper car they will have all types of active suspension and active aero dynamics that changes as the car goes faster or brakes harder or takes a corner at .5g vs. 1g. The height will change according to what the car is doing and what the setting from the cockpit. The down force alone generated by the aero will drop the car as it goes faster. Also, when it comes to super car/ hyper car there is no compromises, its straight performance and tons and tons of R&D went into making that stance perfect.

I'm with you on this one, there, @Mr.Impreza.

Why take a perfectly good, all around suspension and mess with it .....:sigh:

However, folks have been "slamming" cars for years now.

Back-in-the-day, some folks would take a torch and heat the springs until the car sat right down on the bump stops ...... and called it "cool".

Well, for those who haven't had the opportunity to ride on a steel wheeled hay wagon on a washboard country lane ....... now you know what it feels like.....;)


humfrz

I never notice the stock height wheel gap until someone points it out...

I keep going back and forth on lowering the car or keeping it stock height. Been telling myself to pull the trigger on the RCE Yellows for almost a year now. :D

Perhaps when I decide to take auto-x more seriously is when I'll get all the suspension bits.

Practicality and other reasons aside, I think it's hard to deny that a lowered stance looks bad. I lowered my car because I like the visual aspect of it. But these days, I'm gaining an appreciation for leaving things as they are.

I don't think I will put the stock suspension back on my FRS, but I am thinking of raising the car up a little bit, even though I'm not particularly low.

I can't say I won't lower any future car I buy, but I will definitely be more subtle in suspension modifications if at all.

I've never messed with springs/dampers but had to on my BRZ. The standard step-up just looks wrong and I have noted the same on number of new cars mx5 et al.. then there is the sunken wheels in the wheel wells thing that also looks wrong!

For a while there the thing to do was to slam the front end as far as possible and jack the rear end up to stupid heights. Al the whole 4 or 5 sizes bigger wheel on the back then on the front thing was huge. Had more than one that I worked very hard to throw the balance completely off.

http://www.malaysiaminilover.com/pho...-super-bee.jpg

I personally prefer the look of a lowered car (mine is almost 2 inches) as long as the wheels still go straight up and down.

........and they called it the "California rake" ........ I wonder why ..... ;)


humfrz

Riding on springs or air?

Springs ....... sort of.

Just heat the front coil springs till the grill almost touched the ground then place the rear leaf springs so they were positioned on top of the axle.

Of course, then the folks in California took it to another level with the hydraulics.

Some stole the hydraulic rams off of farm machinery. Yep, I found that out the hard way.......never did catch the kid that stole the ram off my disk ......:mad0259:


humfrz

Didn't you get the memo, humfrz, you big jerkface? Your mother was a snowblower!

For me, I think EVERYTHING looks better lowered, and it also lowers the Cg, from a performance aspect. That said, I grew up around hot rods, and lead sleds. Eventually I got into the minitruck scene, and low was they how they rolled. I've installed hydraulics, cut springs, added lowering blocks, helped with air shock installs (before airbags got popular).

First speedbump after I lowered the BRZ, and you could hear it scrape, many would cringe, my wife started to laugh, because I had a grin on my face :)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcuXQB8fGKg"]Kid Frost ft. Latin Alliance - Low Rider - YouTube[/ame]

Stock my car would just clear most parking curbs. Without lowering the car, how am I supposed to ram the bumper into them? :popcorn:

EDIT: IDK about others, but coming from the lowrider scene, i naturally think it looks good. Also, it makes no sense now, but we called imports "euros" even if they were from Japan.

Well...

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gdEcOZkDO...gy_breasts.jpg

Well. That escalated quickly.

Actually it has been festering for months with occasional flair ups.

Everything automotive :)

I have to run ma-ma's car up to the station to get gas ...... while she is in the shower ..... so she doesn't know I drove it ....... do you guys think you can behave till I return ... ??


humfrz

Giving both a warning.

At least air gives you have an option to either go low or high to suit your mood..

Answer is quite simple really.

Modern cars have such high hood / belt lines and tall profiles that the wheel gap needs to be minimized in order to look good.

Late 20th century cars and especially sports cars / exotics tend to have a much lower profile body which wouldn't have made the larger wheel gap such a big deal to remain optically pleasing.

http://australiancar.reviews/_images...91_ser1_01.jpg

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims...rx-7_hi020.jpg

Golden ratio?? I recall reading something about a certain ratio but don't remember what it was now...

It's not just about lowering the car. It's also about the wheels filling out the entire space. Larger diameter wheels and tires, spacers.

You could be right. Golden ratio == 1.618 and is used in the design of nature.

BRZ has a borderline porky body when viewed from certain angles that I can't see myself ever running the full body kit without going to 18" rims. I'm sticking with 17" rims and just the front lip as my car is only 15mm lowered. The black paint on the STI body kit helps a bit with the slight diet look.

The stock wheel gap and smaller wheels don't bother me as much as with most European cars in the looks dept.

From where I sit (the driver's seat) I think the car looks fine, so I have no intention of lowering it and potentially ruining its handling, the very thing that drew me to it.

Flip side, I won't deny some cars look nice when lowered without getting ridiculous. I just have no desire to affect the driveability of mine on a daily basis for someone else's approval or satisfaction. I bought a car that doesn't need to be lowered to improve its handling. I'm not unhappy with the stock height and wheel gap, and I get no anxiety over it when I'm behind the wheel, so I'm leaving it alone. I can already hear all my friends asking when I'm gonna lower it, though. The same friends who have to swerve for seams in the road and take interesting angles into driveway ramps so they don't scrape their everything and/or chew up their fenders and outer treads. I'm good.

The stock setup on these cars is already awesome from the factory, I think slamming this car is a overkill maybe a small drop by like 10 to 20mm is sufficient.


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If I could cut the bottom 3 or 4 inches off the car I would lower it. But I scrape on the smallest inclines even when I go as sideways as possible. I want another half inch or so of ride height just to cure that.

I love the sunken wheel look, I think it is awesome.

I like a full look in the well and always wondered why so many American cars had huge gaps while BMWs were so tight. It's always bothered me that pick-up trucks have so much vertical gap in excess of the suspension travel/ frame and axle height limitations. It's as if they have clearance for a six inch coating of mud and snow on the tires. On the other hand, I tolerate my narrower track so I can use my old Subaru stuff, and pity the cars that are so overstuffed that people are running stupid camber just to get under the fender (and lowered with the differential 2" from the ground)

It could be my generation's fault for why there are less and less lowered cars and having more and more trucks and SUVs.


In the last 10-15 years they built so many speed bumps where it is a grey area. Why?


Maybe because those involved couldn't handle it or there was so much snitching, bitching and complaining that it had to be done. Speed bumps aren't cheap. In some countries they build them on the highway and I don't blame them.


For me I admire lowered cars. The lower the better. In an emergency situation you need care, control and due process as variables no matter how much courage you have. Rather than driving over curbs or ruining supercars SPECTRE style.


How come nobody has hydraulics no more?

Hydraulics are alive and well. Join a lowrider club. I had two pumps in my new yorker. (Learned I should have got a chevy) Got clowned all the time! Haha!

Wheel gap? Slammed on 13's. I don't think so!!!

Probably because US crash testing for side impact has a cart that is set higher than the Euro counterpart, so they jack it up to get the 5 star rating.

But if you cut the bottom 3 or 4 inches off, it would still look too high. So you would have to cut a few more inches off. And keep doing that, until you ended up with something like this:

http://dailynewsdig.com/wp-content/u...atmobile-3.jpg

http://dailynewsdig.com/wp-content/u...atmobile-2.jpg

And then you'd have to drive this when you had the kids along.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/...31_468x286.jpg

Had one or two that ended up looking like that after I cut all the rust out!