Raked look and Consequesces

[Sean2010]

Ok, I have 225 50 r 17's all around right now. Dropped 1.75".

I picked up 2 - 205 40 r 17's. I'd like to put them on the front of the car to lower it even more considering the tallness of my tires. My question is, does riding on this stance have adverse effects on suspension? Seriously, will it break components by riding like that.
Looking similar to this
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/366/m3db6.jpg/
But dropping more with a smaller series tire.

Opinions?

 

[skatethesea]

The general disclaimer for every modification you will ever do is "it's gonna break something." So it is up to you to prepare your car for the impending disaster. If you want to go that low, upgrade other parts. End links, lower contol arms, stronger camber arms with a higher degree of adjustment. Even some antisway bars. Tighten up and beef up your suspension components and the stress from the lower stance wont be of concern. If you have detailed questions about suspension tuning feel free to pm me. I will be happy to help.

 

[njaremka]

you are going to understeer horrendously with that setup, and crash into a tree on the first corner. make sure its a left-hand turn, so you dont run someone else off the road.

 

[Sean2010]

LOL^

Why are you the 1st and only person who said something like that. (Thats on 2 different forums too)

I'm not talking about going all out, 150mph around turns or anything. So normal daily driving with this set up will send me into the trees will it?

 

[njaremka]

seriously? you are going to have 225's on the back and 205's on the front? usually, i've seen the skinnier tires put on the BACK to balance the handling of a front wheel drive car, not the front. you may not hit the first tree on the first corner with that set-up, but i personally am glad i dont live near you if you decide to go with that set-up.

 

[Killer]

Do not do it.

 

[skatethesea]

Here is what I am saying. If you drop your car an inch or 3" you will put more wear on the associated suspension parts. As far as how much you seem to want to drop the car, I would highly advice upgrading your camber links if anything. It will save you money on tires if anything. And be prepared for your shocks to go out soon if you are just using springs instead of coil overs.

 

[njaremka]

Here is what I am saying. If you drop your car an inch or 3" you will put more wear on the associated suspension parts. As far as how much you seem to want to drop the car, I would highly advice upgrading your camber links if anything. It will save you money on tires if anything. And be prepared for your shocks to go out soon if you are just using springs instead of coil overs.

he's not looking at lowering with springs, but "lowering" with a smaller, skinnier tires.

 

[CTt3P5]

Seeing that it's FWD, it would make more sense to put the wider tires up front....this is of course if you were racing it....otherwise:

Staggering Tire Size
Another aspect to the fat vs. skinny debate involves using different sized tires on the front and rear axles, also known as "staggering." Generally speaking, whichever axle gets the power (the rear tires on rear-wheel-drive or front tires on front-wheel-drive) gets wider tires to help plant it. Pro drag cars often use very skinny tires on the front wheels, but that's mainly to reduce both weight and the tendency of the car to "oversteer" at high speed. In the real world, this "fats and skinnies" approach will often lead to dangerously bad handling with very little increase in straight line performance.

 

[Sean2010]

exactly, i'm not racing it. But, I think i'm going to go against doing it. I either need 2 more 205 40 r17's or keep rolling on tires too tall

 

[ToNeZ90]

Well your speedometer might also be off by a mph or 2, if you do the switch. Stock tires are 205/55/16's, and my 225/40/18's were barely a match in tire height from ground to top, and i still have a like umm...0.6mph difference at i think 60mph. keep that in mind aswell.

U might wanna beef up a little bit considering that when you brake, you will have more of a weight shift to the front of the car than normal. Heavy OR Light braking.

You're gonna be lower but not by much since the Wheels are still 17's.

 

[Sean2010]

ok...so i did it...not really tho ahaha. I ended up getting a set of 205 45 r17's for cheap so I put them on the back. 40's up front 45's in the rear...lol..aka raked...not really, but it did bring me down a little bit more (along with the springs) so now the outter edge of the bumper sits about 3.5" above the ground. Thats fine for me around here with these roads....

 

[ToNeZ90]

looks good. hows ur handling so far?

 

[Sean2010]

looks good. hows ur handling so far?

Handling improved so much I find it odd. Haha. Seriously tho, the ride is MUCH smoother, there is no more wheel spin from a stop (better grip), the car accelerates noticeably more, and most of all, no more rubbing issues.

 

[QNman]

Changing ride height by lowering your tires profile is not a great idea. It alters the suspension geometry from what was designed by Mazda - rarely does this improve, even if the "seat of the pants" say otherwise. Lower profiles may give you a feel of greater grip, but the alteration still exists. Testing on a "skidpad", even a makeshift one, may prove out whether you are handling better or worse.

What it ABSOLUTELY WILL do is alter your speedometer/odometer. By reducing the radius, your car will not be going as fast as the speedometer registers. More importantly, your odometer will register the miles your speedometer registers - and will result in clocking more miles than actual. This may have a negative effect on warranty, resale, etc. I would look at least at recalibrating for your current tire size. I don't know who might be able to do this, but Cobb AP or similar may.

 

[Sean2010]

I know it's a little smaller. I'm not too too worried. It's my car and I plan on driving it into the ground in the years to come, not sell it. I have plans for this car .

I do thank you for your insight though.

I just love the way it sits. And you can say running a smaller diameter tire will alter the suspension geometry, but so does slamming your car on coilovers, but that doesn't stop people does it?

 

[QNman]

Hey... you asked.

This opinion is worth every cent you paid for it...

 

[blkspdfreak]

i did somewhat of the same to my msp, but the tires were all the same size. if im not mistaken, the srt4s have a "raked" suspension also. nothing bad ever happened to my suspension or components, besides my lip getting cracked due to it being so low. and the handeling of it actually improved.

 

[Sean2010]

i did somewhat of the same to my msp, but the tires were all the same size. if im not mistaken, the srt4s have a "raked" suspension also. nothing bad ever happened to my suspension or components, besides my lip getting cracked due to it being so low. and the handeling of it actually improved.

thanks...I agree, lots of cars are "raked" or slammed on coilovers. I feel it sticks better to the road, accelerates faster, and looks better....win win win

 

[Killer]

so much for rotating your tires when needed.

I often wonder why people come on here...ask for advise...get advised not to do something then just go ahead and do it anyway. :lol: