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How to properly increase a car's ground clearance

Russian roads make us think about how to increase the car's ground clearance . Such topics can even be found on forums dedicated to the Chevrolet Niva, to say nothing of cars of the tenth family. raise the suspension in different ways and to different heights, let's try to understand the advantages and disadvantages of all methods.
The vehicle's ground clearance is a parameter that does not happen much on our roads. Although, if you look from the other side, it is not uncommon to come across a car on the street with a lowered suspension.

Most often they decide to increase clearance due to the following cases:

1. A loaded car hits the fender liners with its rear wheels or the mudguards on the ground, so they want to lift the rear of the car .
2. It touches the bottom or crankcase protection on an uneven road, so they want to raise the front of the car .

In some cases, they decide to raise the rear and front suspension at the same time. It is no secret to many that after such actions some troubles may arise, wear of some components may increase, and the characteristics of the car may change. Let's try to find the answer to the question: how to increase ground clearance without negative consequences .

Compressor or turbine for the “six”

You can increase engine power by installing a compressor or turbine, but first you need to figure out what is required for this. First of all, you need to understand that, due to its design features, it is possible to install a turbine on a carburetor engine, but it is quite problematic. The nuances include both large material and time costs. The most important points to think about when equipping a car with a turbine are:

READ Replacing ball joints VAZ 2107 without a puller

Mandatory installation of an intercooler. This part is a kind of radiator, only the air is cooled in it. Since the turbine creates high pressure and the air is heated, it must be cooled to obtain the effect of the installation. If you don't use an intercooler, there will be an effect, but much less.

If you are not such an avid racing driver, then you should look towards the compressor, which has the following differences from the turbine:

• Does not develop high blood pressure.
• There is no need to install an intercooler.
• You can equip a VAZ carburetor engine.

To equip a VAZ 2106 with the unit in question, you will need a compressor kit - a kit that includes everything necessary for converting the engine (pipes, fasteners, supercharger, etc.).

The product is installed according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Refinement of the intake and exhaust system

Upgrading the cylinder head and manifolds, if desired, can be done by anyone who owns a “six” or another classic Zhiguli model. The main goal pursued is to increase power. It is achieved by reducing the resistance when supplying the fuel-air mixture at the inlet, i.e. by removing roughness. To carry out the procedure, the cylinder head must be removed from the vehicle and disassembled. After this, it is recommended to wash the unit. For these purposes, you can use modern means or ordinary kerosene or diesel fuel. From the necessary list of tools and materials you will need:

• drill with the ability to adjust speed;
• drill;
• flexible rod;
• rollers;
• skins of different grain sizes;
• rags;
• calipers;
• exhaust valve and set of washers for boring over 32 mm;
• graphite lubricant;
• vice.

Replacing the crankshaft

The engine of the VAZ “six” has a VAZ 2103 crankshaft with a piston stroke of 80 mm. In addition to increasing the diameter of the cylinders, you can increase

stroke of the piston, thereby boosting the engine. For the purposes under consideration, the engine is equipped with a VAZ 21213 crankshaft with a piston stroke of 84 mm. This way it will be possible to increase the volume to 1.65 liters (1646 cc). In addition, such a crankshaft has eight counterweights instead of four, which has a positive effect on the dynamic characteristics.

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If you think about what affects a car's ground clearance , it becomes clear that there are a number of ways:

1. screw suspension.
2. install spacers between the body and the strut support.
3. install non-standard strut supports, springs (longer) or shock absorbers.
4. install interturn spacers in the springs
5. install higher rubber bands under the springs
6. replace tires and wheels

If you install “house” spacers under the pillars, you will be able to raise the rear of the car.

As you might have noticed, there are many ways to make a car taller, but how is increasing ground clearance and car performance ?

Spacers as a means of increasing ground clearance

Shock absorbers and ground clearance, where is the truth?

When the car is standing still, the shock absorbers will not lift the body - after all, it hangs on springs. The role of the struts can be understood in motion, when the car sways and “pecks” on soft or dead shock absorbers. You drive off the curb and your car’s nose hits the asphalt! If the shock absorbers are in good condition, they will “catch” the car halfway. Thus, shock absorbers do not affect ground clearance, but have the same effect as increased ground clearance.

How to make spacers to increase ground clearance

Do-it-yourself spacers for increasing ground clearance are one of the simplest and cheapest ways to solve the problem of the bottom of a car clinging to bumps on the road and increasing cross-country ability.

But how much they can help, what their advantages and disadvantages are, should be understood in more detail.

The problem of insufficient clearance

A lot of owners of passenger cars during operation are faced with one problem - the low ground clearance of the car, which is why, when overcoming bumps, the car clings to the bottom until it hangs on its belly. This is especially true in winter.

Moreover, the problem with insufficient ground clearance can arise both with new cars, which are structurally designed with low ground clearance (such cars are popularly called “puzoterki”), and with models with ground clearance that is, in general, quite acceptable, but due to shriveled springs suspension, there was a decrease in it.

And anyway, what driver doesn’t want to bring his car at least a little closer to crossovers and SUVs in cross-country ability.

And the easiest way is to increase the ground clearance.

Ways to increase clearance

There are several methods for increasing ground clearance, but when choosing the optimal one, you should take into account what problem is being solved - increasing the ground clearance to improve cross-country ability or eliminating the consequences of flat springs.

One of the easiest ways to increase ground clearance is to install larger diameter wheels on your car. This solution can really help add a couple of centimeters between the bottom and the road.

But there are many negative aspects here - installing such wheels will be expensive, the clearance will increase, but the distance between the wheel and the arch will decrease, and the load on the suspension and transmission will increase. In general, this method is not the most optimal.

You can increase the stiffness of worn-out springs, thereby reducing body vibrations when driving over uneven surfaces, not only by replacing them (which is also not always cheap), but also by installing elastic elements between the coils of the springs.

Their main task is to resist compression. Previously, ordinary tennis balls were used for these purposes (and now for some, such tuning is quite relevant).

Now you can simply buy special rubber spacers that are installed between the turns. This modification of the suspension only increases the stiffness of the springs and has virtually no effect on ground clearance.

You can also increase ground clearance by completely reworking the chassis and installing an air suspension instead of the usual one. But this is a very expensive option.

Installing spacers is the easiest way to increase both ground clearance and spring stiffness.

There is no need to modify anything in the car suspension, they are inexpensive, or you can make and install them yourself.

The essence of this method comes down to adding special substrates under the shock absorber struts between the body and the support (increases ground clearance), or between the support and the spring (increases rigidity).

It's simple: the spacer will prevent the shock absorber strut from becoming all the way (resting against the body), as a result the load-bearing part will rise relative to the wheel, thereby increasing the ground clearance.

As for spacers to increase rigidity, after assembling the strut the spring will be in a more compressed state.

What are spacers made of?

Manufacturers of auto parts and accessories have already noticed that spacers are in demand, so they have already started producing them.

Moreover, different materials are used for their manufacture:

1. Polyurethane;
2. Rubber;
3. Aluminum;
4. Plastic.

Polyurethane and rubber are elastic materials themselves, so they can compress during use, which allows vibrations to be dampened to a greater extent.

At the same time, polyurethane is very resistant to negative environmental influences, so it can last for a long time.

But the design of such spacers often uses metal bushings in the bolt holes, and this is their disadvantage.

When compressed, these bushings come into contact with the body, and corrosion may appear at the point of contact.

Although rubber is subject to “aging,” such spacers do not contain any metal elements, so they do not have any negative effects on the body.

On a Suzuki Escudo it looks like this:

Aluminum spacers are highly durable, but since they are metal, corrosion may occur at the point of contact with the body.

Plastic is better in this regard. It is also durable, but will not rust. Therefore, rubber and plastic spacers are optimal for installation on cars.

Moreover, it is noted that it is advisable to use spacers made of durable materials on the front suspension, and elastic ones on the rear suspension.

In addition, you cannot increase the ground clearance indefinitely using spacers.

Their thickness should not exceed 3-5 cm; the use of thicker substrates will lead to a significant deterioration in the car's handling.

Advantages and disadvantages

If we consider the positive aspects of using spacers to increase ground clearance, then, in general, there are not so many of them:

• Increased vehicle maneuverability;
• Increasing spring stiffness;
• Increasing the vehicle's carrying capacity (the vehicle does not sag as much when loaded);
• The likelihood of damage to the underbody of the car is reduced.

There are much more negative sides to such suspension tuning, so you should think carefully about whether it is worth installing them.

Spacers in a car suspension are:

• Reduced vehicle stability on the road due to a change in the center of gravity;
• Increased wear of chassis components;
• Increased load on drive joints (in front-wheel drive cars);
• Changing the work fails in general (it becomes tougher);
• Deterioration in controllability.

But here it is worth noting that with the right approach to the issue of installing spacers, the negative impacts will be minimal and almost unnoticeable.

Installation algorithm

Installing spacers to increase ground clearance (in the case where they will be placed between the strut support and the body) is not difficult, and it can be done independently.

The following is the general sequence of work for their installation. It is suitable for almost any car, but it is worth considering that each model has its own specific nuances.

To install spacers at the front you need to:

1. Jack up the wheel and remove it from the car;
2. We disconnect the levers and steering tips from the rack;
3. Unscrew the nuts securing the strut to the body;
4. We lower the rack down and turn it so as to provide access to the upper support;
5. We remove the “original” bolts from the support (knock them out), put elongated ones in their place (to prevent the bolts from turning when tightening the nuts, it is better to weld them to the support);
6. We put a spacer on the bolts;
7. We install the stand in place and secure it with nuts;
8. Let's put everything back together.

"Lifting" the machine

In principle, as we have already noted, this is enough for a more or less comfortable ride. But, of course, many people want to “raise” the VAZ 2110 a little more, based on their realities.

We will tell you how you can actually do this. But let us warn you right away: “raising” the car above the asphalt level entails a number of unpleasant consequences:

• Clamping the springs, firstly, will lead to a decrease in comfort while driving, and secondly, the shock absorbers will suffer as a result, which will not be able to cope with their responsibilities;
• The suspension also suffers from too stiff springs, as this leads to increased loads on it;
• Corrosion is inevitable when using aluminum spacers;
• By increasing the ground clearance of the VAZ 2110, car owners risk the stability of the car while driving. The fact is that the center of gravity shifts, the car can rock, and in some cases it can even roll over. Therefore, experts strongly recommend not increasing the ground clearance by more than 5 cm. That is, the maximum limit should be no more than 170 mm!

What wheels are suitable for the VAZ 2107 in a non-standard version?

Any manufacturer will always recommend for installation as an option exactly the same dimension that he sets himself, since when using it he can guarantee the operation of the car without any risk of mechanical failure. This means that when developing the model, all calculated loads were taken with these wheels, and other parameters can harm the car.

AvtoVAZ allows the following options for replacing disks for the VAZ 2107:

• If a driver wants to change all 4 standard wheels on a car, and their original radius was R13, he should consider “stamping” or “casting” with dimensions of 5.5J × 13 ET32 or 6.0J × 13 ET32, which will be especially convenient for installation of winter tires, which should be slightly wider than summer tires to increase the specific area of ​​adhesion to the road surface. Tires suitable for this size are 175-195/70-80/R13.
• When a car enthusiast prefers a 14 radius, but for some reason he is not satisfied with the factory size, he has the opportunity to use the 6.0J × 14 ET32 size and tires with a width of up to 195 mm and a profile height of at least 60 mm on his Lada. These characteristics are so universal for VAZ that you can install all-season tires on them and not spend extra money on seasonal re-shoes.
• When a car owner sets the radius to R15, he should still adhere to the factory size, changing the rim width to a maximum of 6.5J or the overall tire size to 205/50/R15, since otherwise he will not be able to do without modifications to the suspension, or the deadline car service will be significantly reduced.

Read, it may come in handy: Engine tuning of the seventh model: a complete guide with photos and videos

Spacers

One way to increase the clearance is to install spacers - a kind of spacer supports that can be found in stores and car markets. They are installed between the body and the support of the VAZ 2110.

They come in three types:

1. made of plastic – they have practically no flaws, are quite durable and last a long time;
2. polyurethane ones are also wear-resistant, but when the car “flies” into a hole, it is strongly compressed, which is why the impact becomes very noticeable;
3. aluminum ones “peel” the paint from the supports and body, thereby increasing and accelerating corrosion.

How to raise the ground clearance on 2111

#1 Arxangel

• Users
• 45 messages
• Car make: sold VAZ-2111, now crocodile 2131
• From: Peter

I changed the struts on the rear and installed new springs. And he sits low. There are spacers under the struts, but you can’t put second ones :( I saw spacers under the cups on the front. How to raise the rear, I saw a 2110 on the highway, it went forward and the landing was almost like a cornfield. And that one can’t even drive into the forest, damn it.