What are the drawbacks of installing shortened springs?
2 Answers
Installing shortened springs will lower the vehicle's body height, making it troublesome when encountering high speed bumps or railroad tracks. When facing large potholes, you must slow down or detour. Shortened springs are generally stiffer, and the increased stiffness negatively impacts ride comfort, resulting in a less comfortable ride compared to the original springs. Vehicle body kit modifications: Supercar-like ground clearance is only suitable for super highways. Most non-OEM body kits are difficult to find replacement parts for and are prone to falling off. In the event of a collision, they can pose significant safety hazards. Installing mushroom head exhaust pipes: Mushroom head exhaust pipes reduce intake inertia, leading to decreased low-speed torque, increased fuel consumption, and reduced power at low speeds. Installing oversized exhaust systems: Reducing exhaust backpressure decreases low-speed torque, and the engine's exhaust valves are more susceptible to burning out due to excessively high temperatures.
After installing the lowering springs, my car definitely looks much cooler with a significantly lowered stance. But just a few days into driving, I noticed something wasn't right. The ride became unbearably harsh on bumpy roads, putting extra strain on the original shock absorbers, which failed in less than six months - costing me over 800 yuan to replace. On gravel roads, the chassis keeps scraping against obstacles with annoying metallic clanking sounds. Worse still, every speed bump in the city makes rear passengers complain about back pain, completely ruining ride comfort. I now regret not thinking it through thoroughly. My advice: test drive on various road conditions before modifying, or you might end up paying for discomfort.
