Optimum ground clearance of a Car? & how it is measured... - Team-BHP

skamb · 9th February 2005, 15:58

Considering the great Pathholes, SpEeD bReAkErS in our country (Thanks to the local corporation). How much the "Minimum Possible ground clearance" should a car have (not SUV/MUVs ) (150/160/170/170mm+) !

It is an important factor in our country and we should consider it before buying a car. Isn't it ? A car may be a World class car but only outside of India if it is without sufficient ground clearance

tsk1979 · 9th February 2005, 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by skamb

Considering the great Pathholes, SpEeD bReAkErS in our country (Thanks to the local corporation). How much the "Minimum Possible ground clearance" should a car have (not SUV/MUVs ) (150/160/170/170mm+) !

It is an important factor in our country and we should consider it before buying a car. Isn't it ? A car may be a World class car but only outside of India if it is without sufficient ground clearance

I own an indica DLS and i still manage to scrape the bottom on the Outer Ring road in bangalore if i am not tooo slow, and if there are more people in the car i have to go sideways. I have seen Citys, Lancer guys going on the monster sideways because going straight would wreck the underbody. I guess you need atleast 170mm

GTO · 9th February 2005, 16:45

I am with TSK, 170mm is the absolute minimum. But adding more people to the car would also make another variable very important : how stiffly sprung the suspension is. If its too soft, it will bottom out much easier.

GTO

deepakhon · 9th February 2005, 16:47

My palio scrapped the bottom twice in one year in b'lore, both times with 5 ppl in the car. palio claims to have the ground clearance of 172 mm. I agree with GTO on the suspension part.

Psycho · 9th February 2005, 17:17

170 mm is the ideal clearance for Indian cars but other than the point of the suspension there are a few more points that need to be looked at

1) If you use lower profile tyres than what is recommended by the manufacturer you end up have a lower tyre which in turn reduces your clearance.
2) most cars worldwide have softer rear suspension the easiest way to get over this is to add rubber spacers under the rear suspension coils to harden it a bit. (Not suggested if you typically have just 2 ppl in the car)
3) please check your shocks Dampers tend to wear out over time and might need to be replaced before the coils. The best way to check is to go to each corner of your car and push it with your full body weight and release imm. If your car bounces it is time to replace your dampers (Avg life of a damper is close to 3 years)
4) It is unfair to blame the cars as most of the speed breakers (and potholes for that matter) are not of even shape or height forcing us to go over them in an angle. I have seen even Amby taxis scraping their bottoms out on these speed breakers.
5) Most often people mistake the exhaust systems touching the ground sound to the car bottoming out, hence please make sure that the exhaust is well suspended within the brackets provided.
6) Crazy but true : please be careful to continously oil the bottom of the car (spray diesel or old oil) so as to aviod rust formation on the chasis.

hope this helps

Shan2nu · 9th February 2005, 18:05

I'd say 175mm with the car loaded is the safest clearence. So unladen clearence should be around 180mm (to be on the safer side).

Shan2nu

man23ish · 9th February 2005, 18:20

A very good topic.

I feel in bangalore the minimum should be 180, Rest of India can do with 165.. heh heh..

No seriously, I was considering buying a diesel zen when i moved to bangalore, and even went to Bimal motors for a test drive. I liked the vehicle, but the first speed bump on the outer ring road near marathahalli made me change my plans. Zen, normally a very good car on mumbai roads is the worst in terms of ground clearance.

Anyways, i am an MUV/SUV type of guy so i don't face much problems..

DCEite · 9th February 2005, 19:11

well... 165mm is just not good enough for my soft suspension wagonR... repeatedly scrapes bumpers of my college campus even with 3 people!....

X-Machine · 9th February 2005, 19:35

I believe 170 shud do just fine.Anything below that is bound to scrape atleast on Mumbai roads.But it also depends on numerous other factors like suspension,tyre pressure etc.

X

speedsatya · 9th February 2005, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

I'd say 175mm with the car loaded is the safest clearence. So unladen clearence should be around 180mm (to be on the safer side).

Shan2nu

.
is ground clearance in any way related to the handling???
as there might be a reason for car makers to give lower GC.

satya

Rtech · 9th February 2005, 21:19

well, I think 170mm is too high! I would much prefer the occasional scraping of the undercarraige than to live with a raised ride height permanently. Look at the Corolla!!

And, I have faced no problem's with the Skoda's 134mm of ground clearance.

DCEite · 9th February 2005, 21:22

whats the problem with raised ride heigt rtech??

RJK · 9th February 2005, 21:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by dceite

whats the problem with raised ride heigt rtech??

One of the major flaws in Corolla...sloppy handling which is due to this raised height.

Rtech · 9th February 2005, 21:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by dceite

whats the problem with raised ride heigt rtech??

Well, you're fighting physics here. The more you raise your ride height, the higher your center of gravity goes. The higher your CoG goes, the more roll you're likely to encounter. The more roll you have, the worse your handling gets.

Deeps · 9th February 2005, 22:17

Retch, the Octavia has just 134mm clearance?? Doesn't seem that low when viewed from the side.

9th February 2005, 15:58	#1 (permalink)
skamb Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pune Posts: 19	Optimum ground clearance of a Car? & how it is measured... Considering the great Pathholes, SpEeD bReAkErS in our country (Thanks to the local corporation). How much the "Minimum Possible ground clearance" should a car have (not SUV/MUVs ) (150/160/170/170mm+) ! It is an important factor in our country and we should consider it before buying a car. Isn't it ? A car may be a World class car but only outside of India if it is without sufficient ground clearance

9th February 2005, 16:45	#3 (permalink)
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 13,178 View My Garage	I am with TSK, 170mm is the absolute minimum. But adding more people to the car would also make another variable very important : how stiffly sprung the suspension is. If its too soft, it will bottom out much easier. GTO __________________ GTO Change the way you think, and watch the world change around you. Please don't PM for support. Use the Contact Form instead. Please read the NEW Team-BHP FAQ section for all your queries.

9th February 2005, 16:47	#4 (permalink)
deepakhon BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 941	My palio scrapped the bottom twice in one year in b'lore, both times with 5 ppl in the car. palio claims to have the ground clearance of 172 mm. I agree with GTO on the suspension part. __________________ Deepak Honnalli.

9th February 2005, 17:17	#5 (permalink)
Psycho Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 784 View My Garage	170 mm is the ideal clearance for Indian cars but other than the point of the suspension there are a few more points that need to be looked at 1) If you use lower profile tyres than what is recommended by the manufacturer you end up have a lower tyre which in turn reduces your clearance. 2) most cars worldwide have softer rear suspension the easiest way to get over this is to add rubber spacers under the rear suspension coils to harden it a bit. (Not suggested if you typically have just 2 ppl in the car) 3) please check your shocks Dampers tend to wear out over time and might need to be replaced before the coils. The best way to check is to go to each corner of your car and push it with your full body weight and release imm. If your car bounces it is time to replace your dampers (Avg life of a damper is close to 3 years) 4) It is unfair to blame the cars as most of the speed breakers (and potholes for that matter) are not of even shape or height forcing us to go over them in an angle. I have seen even Amby taxis scraping their bottoms out on these speed breakers. 5) Most often people mistake the exhaust systems touching the ground sound to the car bottoming out, hence please make sure that the exhaust is well suspended within the brackets provided. 6) Crazy but true : please be careful to continously oil the bottom of the car (spray diesel or old oil) so as to aviod rust formation on the chasis. hope this helps __________________ Learning is a continuos job that keeps me busy.

9th February 2005, 18:05	#6 (permalink)
Shan2nu Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnataka - India Posts: 4,168 View My Garage	I'd say 175mm with the car loaded is the safest clearence. So unladen clearence should be around 180mm (to be on the safer side). Shan2nu __________________ VTEC flyby - youtube.com/watch?v=1AhWJlVRPqE

9th February 2005, 18:20	#7 (permalink)
man23ish BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 557	A very good topic. I feel in bangalore the minimum should be 180, Rest of India can do with 165.. heh heh.. No seriously, I was considering buying a diesel zen when i moved to bangalore, and even went to Bimal motors for a test drive. I liked the vehicle, but the first speed bump on the outer ring road near marathahalli made me change my plans. Zen, normally a very good car on mumbai roads is the worst in terms of ground clearance. Anyways, i am an MUV/SUV type of guy so i don't face much problems..

9th February 2005, 19:11	#8 (permalink)
DCEite Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: (Gur)Gaon Posts: 1,951 View My Garage	well... 165mm is just not good enough for my soft suspension wagonR... repeatedly scrapes bumpers of my college campus even with 3 people!....

9th February 2005, 19:35	#9 (permalink)
X-Machine Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mumbai/Tokyo Posts: 1,369	I believe 170 shud do just fine.Anything below that is bound to scrape atleast on Mumbai roads.But it also depends on numerous other factors like suspension,tyre pressure etc. X __________________ ------->> X <<-------

9th February 2005, 21:19	#11 (permalink)
Rtech Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,986 View My Garage	well, I think 170mm is too high! I would much prefer the occasional scraping of the undercarraige than to live with a raised ride height permanently. Look at the Corolla!! And, I have faced no problem's with the Skoda's 134mm of ground clearance. __________________ He who makes the loudest noise usually has the least to say. Unfortunately they don't realise that and keep at it! ____

9th February 2005, 21:22	#12 (permalink)
DCEite Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: (Gur)Gaon Posts: 1,951 View My Garage	whats the problem with raised ride heigt rtech??

9th February 2005, 22:17	#15 (permalink)
Deeps BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Delhi/Noida Posts: 861	Retch, the Octavia has just 134mm clearance?? Doesn't seem that low when viewed from the side.

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