Raising the car = better handling???
Hi everyone,
So i recently went to the suspension shop (won't name it) to get a wheel alignment.
upon have a discussion with the mechanic, he was saying that given my setup (buddyclub N+ coilovers, adjustable rear camber upper arms, adjustable camber & caster front upper arms, relatively new bushes, lowered to 2-2.5 finger gap "1inch" above the tyre) if i were to raise the car would ride and handle better, not to mention it would probably solve my scrubbing issues.
i'll say now i have a very basic understanding of suspension setups but general knowledge would say lowering the car, lowers centre of gravity hence less potential for bending moments and weight transfer, keeping the car flatter allowing for more grip and therefore better handling.
The reasoning the mechanic gave me was something along these lines, (sorry i can't recall everything he was saying and trying to search on the net isn't coming up with what he was talking about):
Essentially given the setup i had, by lowering the car i had affected the SRI/A? (steering something inclination/angle). These angles cross each other and the centre of gravity lies in line and above with the crossover point, I had moved the crossover point away from the centre of gravity.
For ideal handling, the closer the crossover point is to the centre of gravity the better the car behaves, this is achieved by changing the SRI/A. Ideally you want the centre of gravity below the crossover point, but this is practically impossible for manufactured cars. Even F1 cars can't achieve this but get close.
Through raising my car, i would be bringing the crossover point closer to my centre of gravity, and allow the suspension to travel properly and hence overall increase the performance of the cars handling.
Not to mention gain back additional adjustability for camber and toe as it currently can't go any further for some reason. The front camber can't move any more from -0.5 and the rear toe can't go any less that 1.5mm toe in (3mm overall).
Sorry for the massive post but does this make any sense to anyone?
Thanks