[EURO] 1cm Higher on Front Passenger side.

[Guzzy888]

Hi All,

I have observed that the height of the Front passenger side is 1 cm taller than the driver's side. Have you noticed this on your Aussie Euro? My friend is the one who first noticed the 1cm extra height on his Euro too. Is this normal by design? This makes the car look a bit slanted.

My car drives well. I have checked tyre pressure according to Honda's recommendation. I used the recommended "constant high speed" tyre pressure.

I have taken height measurement from verious flat surfaces and it always come back as 1 cm higher on the front passenger side as compared the the driver's side. His car is 1 cm higher too.

Generally, you wouldn't notice the car isn't 100% level but once someone mentioned it, and I have measured it, it tend to stick in my mind.

Can anyone confirm this with their Aussie Euro.

This is driving me nuts. Honda service said it is within specification. Please help!

Thanks

Guzzy

[aaronng]

I haven't noticed it, but I'll measure it later today. Is it enough if I just measure the space between the tyre and the side guard? Or do you want a from ground to front spoiler measurement?

[Guzzy888]

I measure from the alloy rim to the rim of the car. I also did a measure from the ground up, it still comes up with a 1 cm difference.

Thanks for doing this :)

[EuroAccord13]

Mmm.. How I see it is that no one's been sitting in the passenger seat and with only the driver, the weight is on the driver side spring as I'm pretty sure the front pair from factory has the same compression rate.

When I had my MIVEC lancer, It was mostly only me in the driver seat and I weighed prolly around 60-65KGs that time and when I had my suspension changed (App. 1 year after I got the car), the driver side was seating lower than the passenger side..

Hope it helps :)

[Tobster]

There was something similar being talked about at in the forums at www.tsxclub.com but I can't find the thread now...

I'm inclined to say weight of driver plus the fact that very few surfaces are actually genuinely FLAT. Having paved most of my house myself, it's surprising how easy it is get a 10 mm variation over a small area and it still look flat. The suspension may just be keeping the car level...

[VirIIx]

It also might be more suitable to the fact our cars here are Right Hand Drive? im not sure if that would be an issue but a valid idea based on how we would steer and go into a corner, as well as taking into account where most of the weight would be - driver side.

[Guzzy888]

I have thought about all these scenario before. However, if i examine my friend's Mazda6, his car is dead level on both side.

I am wondering if this is normal on most Euros in Australia?

It is annoying because i like to admire the car from different angle, but always find it slanted. I have never experienced this on my previous cars i have owned.

[PERTH_EURO]

just tilt your head to compensate :)

[Pum[Z]]

Sorry to say this but deal with it...

Most cars are like this.. My old car was like that.. Even my GF's Bmer is like that as well...

Since ur car is not lowered u can't really tell unless ur fanatical about it..
What EuroAccord13 says is true. It has to do with u not having enuf passengers.. Looks like ur constantly driving by urself thats why ur passenger side is higher...

If ur so paranoid about it check it out with honda.. If not get height adjustable suspension to make the height the same :D

[VirIIx]

mmm hydrolicks :)
that'll fix it up! and you'll definately be pimping it out there :D

[stephen8512]

Airbag Suspension! Wooooooot!

[Guzzy888]

Yes i do see the logic you guys have mentioned.

I am curious to see if other non modified Euro out there also have the same characteristic. I have done 13,500KM.

and yes i am quite paranoid about my car. maybe i should let go.
i guess i can put some bricks on the passenger side.

the suspension should be strong enough to get back to the original shape. cant believe it moulds to the road.

[aaronng]

Hello. Just got back. Measured my Euro. It's 1cm lower on the right side too. I've got about 7600km on the odometer and it's all stock except for the gearknob.

[Kandy]

My car drives well. I have checked tyre pressure according to Honda's recommendation. I used the recommended "constant high speed" tyre pressure.


I thought this was only highway driving??? 51 or so psi? Hmm maybe I'm reading this wrong, but you don't usually have it on the constand high speed setting??

[PERTH_EURO]

im one big boi, i am always the only person in my car, and there is 5mm dif (lower on drivers side).

You have nothing to worry about. It has nothing to do with who or how long someone sits in particular spot.

Thing of it this way.. you have 10mm dif... there might be a couple of mm in suspension setup.... couple of mm in kit... mm dif in ground and before you know it 10mm is accounted for.

Its nothing.

[Guzzy888]

Thank you so much for all of your input.

It was because I've had so many issues with my cars before and i get paranoid with things that looks suspicious.

Thanks to Aaronng for checking it out. How was your reaction to this?

I do wish i have bigger tyres though :)

_________________________________

I have one more observation. I noticed on the front passenger side - if you look just above the wheel, there is capping type thing which looks golden and clean. If i compare it on the driver's side, it has a dark substance coating on it. Why is the "capping" is clean on the passenger's side but not on the driver's side. I've checked it with one of my Euro friends, and he did also noticed this golden capping on the passenger side. The coil sits ontop of this capping. Any idea what this is called?

[aaronng]

Well, I'm the guy with the loud creak from the rear parcel shelf. A 1cm difference is not freaking me out yet. It will when my car starts pulling to the left or right on its own when driving. Hehe. I'd say, don't worry about this one because the general population has it and no one has had suspension problem yet. I would like to have the 17" stock rims.. but I bet tyre prices would be significantly higher!

[VirIIx]

i'd like to have 17" rims as well :| they just look so much nicer...

but tyre's do cost more as they get lower profile and larger :(

[bigdongers]

just get a heavy friend to sit in the passenger seat with you when you are driving to help even it out :)

[aaronng]

Time to revive the thread. I know it's 4am... but I had an epiphany! The reason why our cars are lower on the front driver side is because of corner balancing! With the driver in the car, the front right has more weight, hence they lower the front right so that the weight in that corner is reduced to balance it out. Check out "corner balancing" on google.

Good linky: http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Performance/cornerbalance.htm

[BiLL|z0r]

Wouldn't the drivers corner be higher than the others then, not lower. When the driver sits in the car it makes it lower and hence it's the same height all round?

[aaronng]

Wouldn't the drivers corner be higher than the others then, not lower. When the driver sits in the car it makes it lower and hence it's the same height all round?
Nope, nothing to do with looks. It's to do with handling by weight balancing. If you reduce the height on the driver's side, then it takes less weight and more weight is applied to the other side instead.

They do this by placing the car on 4 balancing scales, one under each wheel.

[EuroDude]

Nice, but if there is a passenger in the car, the offset balance could cause handling issues.

So the reason they did it could be because of the transmission weight weighing down one side more than the other.

[BiLL|z0r]

I understand now Aaron. So fat people, loose some weight, you're throwing the handling out :)

[aaronng]

Nice, but if there is a passenger in the car, the offset balance could cause handling issues.

So the reason they did it could be because of the transmission weight weighing down one side more than the other.
The transmission is more on the left side and not as heavy as a person too. I think when Honda was going into such fine detail as corner balancing, they would have considered it for only 1 driver because when you are driving at the pace where corner balancing can affect handling, it's usually without passengers. :D

[BiLL|z0r]

Or showing off to your mates :)

[Limbo]

yeah i have a best motoring DVD that confirms this. Honda take into account a single driver so that its balanced when tracking.
Not sure if aftermarket ones do also??

But i know my 5zigen ones do, cos i thought i had the same problem also

[Omotesando]

That's true, the whole point of having Adjustable Coil-Overs Suspension for the track is so that optimum cornering balance can be adjusted left/right/front/rear, and then some have adjustable shock levels to obtain the most suitable rebound and maximise grip available. The Euro has non-adjustable *Coilovers* by the way. :)

Anyway, if Honda took the effort to make a sporty family sedan to be weight balanced for a single driver, I guess I am surprised because it shows how thoughtful they are. (although I nearly always have a passenger on board)!
I guess if there are more passengers then there will be more tyre grip anyway, so in a way it is optimal to adjust it for only 1 driver? :O

It reminds me of the remote key's inability to lock all windows, without the key in the keyhole. Some find it a nuisance, but Honda thinks its good for you :)

[Adagio]

Re:[EURO] 1cm Higher on Front Passenger side.

I have just measured my 2005 Euro lux manual 20,000 km. The drivers side underneath the door is 3mm lower than the passenger's side. As I have just finished an all roads, 1,600km test of the car I am sure the suspension is now settled. 50% of the time I travel two up.The measurement was taken from a professionally laid flat smooth concrete floor with a 2% slope which should not make any significant difference.
Adagio

[aaronng]

You're meant to measure from the wheel arch to the floor. :)

[Adagio]

OK, I have measured from the top of the wheel arch and yes it is 1cm lower than the same spot on the pax side??? What about my under the door measurement shouldn't that have the same disparity it is still 3mm?
I now have checked the distance from the wheel arch to the bonnet crease on both panels and they are the same so the wheel panels are the same but the height is different from the ground by 1cm from the wheel arch only??? As they drive on the same side as us in Japan I would imagine the springs would be the same or is this model sold in the USA? If that was so they would be allowing for the large size average Yank.

[Omotesando]

It got me thinking re-reading this that, if I have two passengers on board both sitting on the left hand side, then due to the oem balancing for 1 driver only..... the car will now be entirely left biased.